The Fourth Amendment states that:”you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney, and if you cannot afford one, you have the right to a court-appointed attorney.” North Carolina goes one step further and allows you to make a phone call to a family member, friend, or an attorney should you so need.
These rights just listed, which we have all heard before, whether on television or from experience, is knows as your “Miranda Warnings.” A custodial interrogation is when the officers have you in a position in which a reasonable person would not feel that they are free to leave. This can be a bit of a sliding scale.
Basically, what Miranda says is that if the police are asking you questions about a specific crime that they believe you have committed, it is your right to remain silent and allow your attorney to speak for you. Whether you have, or have not committed the crime you are being accused of, it is always advisable to remain silent because as stated before, “anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Officers are entitled by law to use deceit as a means of tricking an alleged defendant into speaking. They can even use undercover informants, who you may believe you can trust. The issue with this is that once you have spoken, there is no confidential protection, and your words WILL be used against you.
Don’t let this happen to you out of fear. Now that you know your rights, contact an attorney who can help you apply them properly when you have been accused of a crime.
