# You have the right to remain... Oh, never mind. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 21, 2001, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059 "2001-05-21T06:56:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2001, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/1 "2001-05-21T06:56:25Z")
A thought struck me the other day. I had heard once that if someone commits a crime, and is arrested without being read his rights in full, then he can’t be charged. Is this true? I’m curious because if it is, I may have found a stupid loophole… ---
**Author:** ![honkytonkwillie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@honkytonkwillie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/honkytonkwillie)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2001, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/2 "2001-05-21T07:25:01Z")
No. But if he was in custody and being interrogated, anything and everything he said is not admissable as evidence. The DA then has to rely on other evidence. Mrs. Tonk is a lawyer and deals with this issue sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2001, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/3 "2001-05-21T07:31:59Z")
I have been to jail four times, and never had my rights read to me. Once I was interrogated for about an hour and a half before being put in my cell. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2001, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/4 "2001-05-21T08:27:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > **I have been to jail four times** Please elaborate over in MPSIMS, I’d love to hear it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Badge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Badge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badge)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2001, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/5 "2001-05-21T09:31:38Z")
The only time you have to be read your Miranda Rights is if you are in custody (custody being the “functional equivalant of arrest”) \*\*AND \*\* you are being questioned. Miranda only applies to questioning, not to arrest. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2001, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/6 "2001-05-21T12:27:29Z")
Even then, you don’t _have_ to be read your rights in all circumstances, but what you say would not be admissable in court if you were not aware of your rights. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2001, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/7 "2001-05-21T12:34:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badge \* > \*\*The only time you have to be read your Miranda Rights is if you are in custody (custody being the “functional equivalant of arrest”) \*\*AND \*\* you are being questioned. Miranda only applies to questioning, not to arrest. \*\* They’re supposed to read them to you _before_ you’re arrested as well, since anything you say to the officers on the way to the station is also admissible. Even if it seems like friendly banter, it’s the cops tricky way of getting info out of you (a “good cop” scenario). Best thing when being arrested: don’t say a word, unless you have to. And then, don’t swear. All the cops around you might be swearing like sailors, but they’ll use it as an excuse to be hostile if you ask, for example, “Can I use the @!#?@! bathroom.” ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2001, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/8 "2001-05-22T07:42:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cisco \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > > **I have been to jail four times** > > Please elaborate over in MPSIMS, I’d love to hear it 😃 \*\* Not interesting enough to require a new post. 1. Public Intoxication 2. DWI 3. Possession of Drug Paraphenalia 4. Warrant for failure to attend defensive driving ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2001, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/9 "2001-05-22T08:56:57Z")
You don’t have to be read your rights? Well, good, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2001, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/10 "2001-05-23T13:48:15Z")
Well, as others have explained, if the police don’t, they run the risk that any confession or statements by the accused will be excluded - which in turn may mean that charges will be dismissed. So in that sense, yes, the police do have to give the warnings. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/11 "2001-05-25T05:58:54Z")
When a cop asks you if you understand your rights, what happens if you say no? Dumb question, I know. Quix ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/12 "2001-05-25T12:20:17Z")
What would be the point of saying no? You could just say yes and say nothing until you talk to your lawyer. That would make more sense than saying no and risking getting slugged by a cop who decided that he didn’t need to take any smart remarks from a suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/13 "2001-05-25T12:37:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by quixotic78 \* > \*\*When a cop asks you if you understand your rights, what happens if you say no? > > Dumb question, I know. > Quix \*\* In general, it depends on the circumstances. If you seemed sincere, the police might try to explain each right in simpler language. If you appeared to be sarcastic to joking, they might simply choose to treat your answer as a refusal to talk. In my experience, it’s unlikely for cops to use physical violence when interrogating. Admittedly, that experience comes from work in Northern Virginia; I express no opinion what a deputy sheriff in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, might do. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-the-right-to-remain-oh-never-mind/66059/14 "2001-05-25T12:58:15Z")
I wasn’t saying that it was likely that a cop might slug you. In fact, it’s pretty unlikely. Why risk it though? Would making a smart remark which gets you nowhere be so satisfying that you’d risk making a cop angry? Even if you could be assured that several years down the road you’d win some money by suing the cop and the police department for excessive force, what compensation is that for getting your teeth knocked out? Politeness is always the best policy.