What Does it Mean to be “In Custody”

 Posted on April 12, 2018 in Criminal Defense

The Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution give an individual the right to avoid self-incrimination and to consult an attorney. While these rights are in the Constitution, they were not always enforced or followed strictly.

In the Supreme Court case of Miranda v. Arizona, the Court reinforced that an individual has the “right to remain silent” and to consult an attorney. These rights are more commonly known as your “Miranda Rights.”

If the police take you into custody, they must inform you of your rights. There is no question that the rights must be read; however, the idea of a suspect being “in custody” is a vague term. Custody has come to mean being questioned or interrogated by the police after being taken into custody or otherwise deprived of freedom of action in any significant way.

Ultimately, if you believe your rights were violated by police officers in Rolling Meadows, it is in your best interests to contact an attorney for help. To be sure, a legal professional can potentially use this information as a defense in your case and have the charges against you dropped.

Custodial Interrogation

Being in handcuffs could be a sign that you are being taken into custody, but it is not the only situation in which someone can be considered in custody. Since “custody” is so broadly defined and has a lot of gray areas, the court in criminal proceedings is tasked with determining if an individual was in custody or not. Courts will look to the “totality of the circumstances” to determine if an individual was in suspect. This means that the court will examine a wide variety of factors to determine whether the actions of the police amount to the suspect being in custody.

There are different factors that the court will look to when police are interrogating an individual. These include:

• Line of Questioning:The court will look to the types of questions asked, who was asking the questions, or if there weapons were present that could be deemed as intimidating a suspect to answer the questions.
• Initiation of the Questioning: The court will look to whether the questioning was voluntary, who started the questioning, and the physical surroundings of the questioning.
• Circumstances of Questioning: Both the length of questioning and time of day of questioning are examined by the court.

An Attorney Can Help You Today

If you have been charged with a crime and question if your Miranda Warnings were given properly, The Law Offices of Christopher M. Cosley is here to help. Skilled Rolling Meadows criminal defense attorney Christopher M. Cosley will investigate each element of the arrest and questioning to make sure your rights were not infringed upon.

Sources:

http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-summary-miranda-v-arizona

https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1028&context=book_chapters