[staplor]

You should look into Ernesto Miranda. He did horrible things but the Supreme Court said that he incriminated himself without knowing his rights. Because of this, his conviction was overturned and now cops have to read ‘Miranda’ rights to everyone they arrest.

[ncallaway]

> and now cops have to read ‘Miranda’ rights to everyone they arrest.

This is a common misconception, but the requirement is not quite that broad. The police are not obligated to read you your miranda rights immediately upon request—it's possible that they might not at any point read you your miranda rights.

What they cannot do is begin to question or interrogate you if they do not read you those rights. Any questions they ask without having read you those rights are at risk of being thrown out in court. Police will usually interrogate people after an arrest, so will often read them their miranda rights. (Edit: I also found out that any spontaneous statements you make are also fair game, if they didn't ask a question or prompt the statement)

But, it's not an obligation for every arrest. If you are arrested the police might not read you your miranda rights, and your rights probably haven't been violated if they don't question you.

If you are ever arrested, and interrogated, DO NOT TALK TO THE POLICE BEFORE YOU CONSULT YOUR LAWYER. Never, ever, talk to the police without speaking with a lawyer first. Here's an excellent video that explains the reasons why better than I can. I highly recommend this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE&t=4s

[falcrist]

I just want to note that the thing being read is a "Miranda warning". The rights enumerated in the warning already existed.

I was corrected about this a long time ago by a police officer who knew his stuff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_warning

[toyg]

I do know about Miranda, I was tempted to mention him but I didn't want to end up implying this sort of sentence is always about bad guys - "often" was already a bit too strong for my taste.