Knoxville — Persons suspected of committing a crime can sue police officers if they think they were discouraged from exercising their Miranda rights, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
But according to UT Law College professor Neil Cohen, police are not likely to stop giving the Miranda warning.
“My hunch is that even if the Supreme Court reverses [Miranda], it won’t have a large impact on law enforcement,” said Cohen, “because there are not that many cases where Miranda issues are important, and even where they are important, a Miranda warning still would be advisable.”
The Miranda warning states that anything a suspect says can be used against them, that they have a right to an attorney, and that one will be provided to them if they can’t afford to hire their own attorney.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued the ruling Monday. The court case arose when several persons alleged they were read their Miranda warnings, then discouraged from trying to invoke them.