Introduction
The aim of this paper is to discuss the Miranda rights and how they are applied incase an individual is arrested. This paper will define these rights and explain under which circumstances they are used. This paper will discuss how people who do not understand English are read their Miranda rights. A boy who does not understand English will be the example that will be used to discuss this issue.
Discussion
Miranda rights are the rights that an arrested person is read before the police officers conduct any form of interrogation in order for him to understand his constitutional rights. These rights are important since they act as a guard against a suspect incriminating himself. These rights are optional and the suspect can choose to forfeit them. These rights include having a right to be represented by a lawyer and also they right not to incriminate yourself.
Police officers can choose to decline to read a suspect his Miranda rights but this has consequences. “If they choose to do so then the law allows them to continue to interrogate the person and use the knowledge acquired in their investigation” (Peak, 2009). However the law enforcement officers are not allowed to use the personal statements of the arrested person to incriminate him in court.
According to the Fifth Amendment suspects who have been arrested have been accorded the right to be silent while the sixth amendment allows a suspect to have legal representation. Incase a suspect decides to waiver these rights and then the interrogation begins, the suspect can call for a halt of the interrogation process through the invoking of sixth and or the fifth amendment rights. In circumstances where the suspect speaks about the incident and yet his Miranda right regarding to remain silent is not read to him, or later when he is being interrogated or when he is detained, the words that the suspect speaks may be used in a court against them. This happens if the suspect has not clearly stated that he does not wish to talk to the law enforcers.
According to Coldrey, (1991) the law enforcers are supposed to tell the suspect that you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?
In many court proceedings, the judges require that “warnings should be meaningful and therefore it is crucial that a suspect be asked if he is able to understand usually after each sentence” (Peak, 2009). It is important to note that there are times that evidence has been deemed by a court inadmissible due to the reason that the suspect does not have a better understanding of English and also the police officers who arrested him did not bother to read the Miranda rights to the suspect in the language he understands.
“It is necessary to translate what a policeman is saying so that the suspect can understand” (Coldrey, 1991). This is acceptable in court provided that the translation and the original message are recorded. This recording should be written or taped.
In the scenario that I am a police officer, the best possible way that I could have handled this investigation was first to inform the family member about the rights of an arrested person. This would help me to read the Miranda rights to the boy while the family member would do the translation. The translation and my interrogation would be stored in a tape recorder so that I can produce it in court as evidence. I would inform the family member the details of the incident and why I think that the boy is a prime suspect of the break in.
The family member would have to write a statement saying that he was involved in the translation of the Miranda rights from English to Mandarin. I would also explain to them why it is important for the boy to have legal representation which can be provided by the state. I would also explain to them what the consequences of forfeiting your Miranda rights are. All this would have to be translated by the family member to the boy so that he can understand his rights properly.
I would continue with the investigation and questioning after the boy understands his rights and therefore would use his statement in court. The boy should also be aware that he has the right to stop the interrogation and remain silent by using amendment five and six of the constitution.
Conclusion
Miranda rights and their application have been discussed in this paper. These rights are controversial since the court can dismiss a case if it is found that the rights of the suspect were not read to him. The courts also insist that the suspect has to understand English and if not there has to be a translation that is recorded.
References
Coldrey, J. (1991).”The Right to Silence: Should it be curtailed or abolished?” London: Prentice hall.
Peak, K. (2009).Policing America Challenges and Best Practices. London: Prentice hall.