Encounters with the police are often stressful. Not knowing what to do may make things feel even more dire. Knowing what your rights are can help. Let’s begin with the Miranda Warning.
Access to legal counsel
You may have heard of the Miranda Warning or your Miranda rights. These are rights that help you navigate through police interviews or interrogations by protecting things like your right to legal counsel or your right to remain silent.
Regarding legal counsel, your Miranda rights guarantee you access to an attorney. If you invoke your Miranda rights, the state must provide you with an attorney if you cannot afford one on your own. They know how to navigate the system much better and can prove an enormous asset.
Your right to self-incrimination
As far as your right to remain silent, it is essentially means what it says. If you invoke this, the police cannot force you into an interrogation or conversation against your will. This protects you from accidental self-incrimination, which even innocent people end up engaging in sometimes for lack of knowledge on how to navigate through police interrogations.
The above is simply a guideline to the basics. The Miranda Warning is far from black and white but includes nuances pertaining to certain situations. For answers to specific scenarios, reaching out to an experienced criminal defense attorney is advised.