Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

question

I have a brother that has been locked up now for 10yrs, they are looking over the case and when he was arrested he was not read his miranda rights. Ten mins after he was taken to the police department the captain read him his rights and brother asked for a lawyer and the captain talked to my brother and sister and told them that it would be in my brothers best interest to talk to the captain, which my brother didnt know any better, so he did and they still didnt provide him a lawyer while they talked to him. Is there anything that can be done about this


Asked on 8/26/05, 2:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: question

Many folks are confused about so-called Miranda rights and the validity of a conviction where there has been some failure to properly inform a defendant of these rights. As long as the state can show that there was evidence other than what was elicited during the unmirandized police interrogation(or developed from this interrogation) which was presented at trial to the trier of fact(judge or jury)and which was sufficient in and of itself(independent of what may have come from the police interrogation) to convict the defendant beyond reasonable doubt, the conviction must stand.

In all probability, there was such additional evidence in your brother's case and a challenge based upon an arresting officer's failure to properly inform him of his Miranda rights would not in this Commonwealth afford an appellate court a basis sufficient to overturn his conviction.

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Answered on 8/26/05, 3:02 pm


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