Happy Birthday, "Miranda Warning"!
When Silence Is Golden (and Talkativeness Can Kill You)
June 13 is the unofficial birthday of one of the most influential rights in criminal proceedings: the right to remain silent, known as the Miranda Warning.
This is not taken from a movie plot. This is a real rule that came into being after the Miranda v. Arizona case in 1966. Ernesto Miranda confessed without a lawyer, not knowing that he could remain silent. His confession was declared invalid. After his case “Miranda Warning” rule was born. This rule states that every detainee must be informed of their rights prior the interrogation.
In Canada:
Here, despite the absence of the "Miranda Warning" in the American format, the right to remain silent has the full legal force and is enshrined in the Article 7 and the Article 10(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
If you are detained, you have the right to:
- say nothing at all,
- contact a lawyer,
- and not sign any documents before consulting a lawyer.
What you say can and will be used against you!
The right to remain silent is not a formality, but your defense. Anything you say (or “let slip out of your mouth”), the police have every right to include in the report and interpret in their favor. This is especially dangerous if:
- you do not know the legal language,
- you are stressed,
- did not understand what you are accused of. I want to draw your attention: using chat GPT or an automatic translator in this case is a VERY BAD IDEA
- Why? Because the legal language is another trap
- You said that you “were nearby”?
- And in the protocol it already sounds like:
- “The accused admitted his presence at the crime scene.”
Did you sign it? It’s too late
As soon as you verbally agreed to be interrogated without a lawyer, you have already given the police an advantage. If you signed a confession or consent to interrogation, it is almost impossible to take it back. Even if you didn’t understand what you signed. The question “Do you mind just talking?” is not politeness. It’s a trap.
The police know how to ask leading and tricky questions, know how to put pressure and drag out interrogations. Often it all starts with the phrase:
“We just want to clarify a few details…” and it ends with a confession that you later regret.
And finally: a lawyer is not a luxury, but a necessity. Of course, law enforcement agencies around the world do not like lawyers; because a lawyer prevents them from “working the old-fashioned way”: pressuring, stalling, extracting confessions.
This invisible war is as old as the system itself. The police want a confession. And the lawyer wants this confession not to be extracted by deception or coercion.
Silence is not the weakness. It is YOUR protection, provided by law. If you are detained, keep quiet and demand a lawyer. Not a single word spoken without legal understanding will improve your situation. And certainly do not sign anything.
Oleksandra Melnykova, Immigration and Refugee Consultant in Canada
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