Legal Question in Criminal Law in Arizona

Reading your rights within the first few hours....

A friend of mine was arrested with two of his friends for narcotics among other things. They were never questioned until they started interrogating them which was about 4-6 hours afterwards. They were never read their rights, plus were asked questions and the cops never told them what they were under arrest for. Most of these cops were undercover if that makes any difference, and it seemed mixed and like everyone had know clue what was happening because it was a bust at a hotel room with about 30 undercovers and about 6 people in the room that was busted.


Asked on 1/28/02, 10:48 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jason Lamm Jason D. Lamm Attorney at Law

Re: Reading your rights within the first few hours....

Time has nothing to do with it. Your friend is in a serious situation and should consult with an attorney right away as police and prosecutors frequently "turn" one suspect against another, and if your friend is odd man out, the results could be devastating. To answer your question, Miranda rights must occur if two things are present:

1. custody- given the length of the detention, this was custodial

2. interrogation - were the questions designed to illict incriminating responses.

Even if statements are thrown out, other evidence can still be used against your friend. If you have more specific questions, call me at (602) 222-9237.

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Answered on 1/28/02, 1:10 pm


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