Voluntary Statements to the Police

As any experienced criminal defense attorney will tell you, never give the police a "statement", whether written or verbal, without the advice and consultation of an attorney.  Furthermore, most people know about "Miranda Rights" (you have the right to be silent, etc.), but some people misapply the "right" to be given Miranda Rights.

The Miranda warning (aka Miranda rights or Miranda rule), is the "warning" given by police to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) before they are interrogated to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them in criminal proceedings.  If you are truly in custody, and the police don't give you your Miranda rights, then any statements given by you while in custody should not be admissible against you in court.

However, as recent as last week, in the Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished) case People v. Livingston, the court again reiterated that you are not required to be given the Miranda warnings unless you are in custody (or in custodial interrogation).  There are numerous factors to look at whether you were in custody, but a big factor is whether you are free to leave, free to terminate your discussions with police and leave their presence.

Here is a summary of the case:

 Detectives approached defendant in the middle of the day, informed him that he was not under arrest, and asked him if he would be willing to accompany them to the police station for questioning. He voluntarily agreed to accompany them and the detectives thanked him several times for his willing cooperation. Once at the station, he accompanied the detectives inside through the public parking lot and entrance. The record did not indicate that "he was ever handcuffed or otherwise restrained during the interview." Although defendant was "occasionally asked to sit down for security reasons, he was also permitted to stand, stretch, and reenact events related to the incident - including placing one of the detectives in a headlock." He was also offered several bathroom breaks, and, at the start of the interview, was told that detectives would drive him home after the interview was completed. Also, "when defendant asked the detectives what was 'holding' him there, they replied, 'Nothing.'"

The court held that the circumstances "did not rise to the level of creating an environment where a 'reasonable person [would] have felt he or she was not at liberty to terminate the interrogation and leave,'" and so "did not create the deprivation of freedom necessary to find that defendant was in 'custody' for Miranda purposes."

Therefore, those statements he made to Police can be used against him! 

Seek the advice of a criminal defense attorney BEFORE you voluntarily act on a police request for your statement.