Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Illinois

Re: violated miranda rights??

Many laypeople believe a Miranda violation makes an arrest invalid and prevents a prosecution from going forward. This is not how it works. A Miranda violation only limits what evidence the government can use against the defendant at trial. In many cases where Miranda was violated, there is plenty of other evidence which can be used and which would support a conviction.

Miranda only comes into play when the prosecution tries to use as evidence some statement you made to the police while you were in custody but before you were read your rights. The definition of "in custody" is complex and it is possible that you were in custody when the police interviewed you the first time. However, unless the prosecutor tries to use your oral and/or written statements from that interview (or any evidence obtained as a result of those statements) there is no Miranda issue here.

The police may have arrested you based entirely on evidence they obtained from other sources. If that is the case, and if only that other evidence is used against you in court, then your Miranda rights were not violated.