Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Police Questioning

If a Police Officer acknowledges the fact that he has not read you your rights and then asks a question and you answer and your answer increminates you can that answer be challenged in court and be thrown out of court


Asked on 10/07/08, 5:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Neil O'Brien Eaton County Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

Re: Police Questioning

As a general answer: yes, you can always challenge incriminating evidence in court and possibly get evidence "thrown out".

But your issue is not as cut-and-dry as you present it. A threshold issue is whether you were "in custody" at the time of the Q&A. If you were not, then police can talk to you without reading you the Miranda rights. If you were in jail, you were in custody and rights must be read. But if you were sitting in your car on a roadside during a brief traffic stop, then you were probably not deemed to be in custody.

If the question was to an innocuous point that was not indended on getting you to tell him incriminating evidence (like "What's your date of birth" at booking in the jail) and you then blurt out "OK, I killed him!!!", your statement is probably not going to be thrown out.

These are not the only issues that comes into play regarding police questioning, and whether it is legal. You should have a criminal defense attorney in your area review all the case facts with you (not the snippet you gave us), plus the information in the police report, and see if there is an argument to be made that the Q&A should be suppressed.

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Answered on 10/08/08, 12:38 pm


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