You may have the right to remain silent

Posted by Lewis on November 28, 2005

In Reply to: You have the right to remain silent posted by RRC on November 24, 2005

: : : : When a police officer arrests you, he or she will read out something like" You have the right to remain silent...". Please, can any one tell me the whole paragraph and where did it come from. Thank you very much.

: : : If you go to [Dead link removed - ed]
: : : you'll find your answer.

: : I cant sit back and change the channel so I tend to shout a lot which has caused me to hear the following many many times:

: : You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Do you understand?

: : Anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand?

: : You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. Do you understand?

: : If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. Do you understand?

: : If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney. Do you understand?

: Since that looks like an Internet address that is unlikely to last very long, I'll post another one about the Miranda warning:
: www.usconstitution.net/miranda.html

the phrase in question or in US terms, the "Miranda", is known as a "caution" and it is a warning against self-incrimination.

the words of the formal caution change from time to time and presently it is less clear than it should be as the Government changed the rules so that exercising the Right to Silence can be commented upon by a trial judge to suggest guilt. the present caution implies that if the suspect does not explain their actions after being cautioned, the court are entitled to regard it as suspicious - taking the line that an innocent person would want to give their defence immediately and that the longer somebody take to explain themselves, the more likely it is that they are lying.

the present caution is

"You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

so much less clear than

"you have the right to remain silent, but anything you do say will be taken down and may be used as evidence in court"

it took a rebellion to have Magna Carta, but the rights it protected are progressively whittled away by Government without the public even caring.

somebody once said "the people get the Government they deserve"