Legal Question in Constitutional Law in North Carolina

Re: miranda right

The lack of a Miranda warning by itself is not reason enough to dismiss the case. The warning is required only when police question a suspect who is in custody. When the required warning is not given, the only consequence is that the government cannot use any of the defendant's subsequent answers (or any evidence it obtains as a result of getting those answers) to police questioning as evidence against him at trial.

In many instances, the police do not question the suspect at all after taking him into custody. In others, there is plenty of evidence besides the defendant's statements to support a conviction. Finally, it is very common for lay people to mistakenly believe a Miranda warning is required in circumstances which really do not amount to custodial interrogation.