NationStates Jolt Archive

Now, I don't know a whole lot about Miranda rights and when they are and are not supposed to be applied...

How come if you tell a police officer how fast you were going, he can use that in a court of law as an admission of guilt even if you were not read your Miranda rights?

You are not placed under arrest when the cop comes to your window and asks "Do you know how fast you were going?" The police are only required to read you your rights when you are arrested, as that is when they apply.


But besides, if he pulled you over he already believes you were speeding, and his opinion in court always outweights yours anyway.

Well, I don't think it's going to matter a whole lot, because he forgot to write the year or the model of my car on my ticket...

Now, I don't know a whole lot about Miranda rights and when they are and are not supposed to be applied...

How come if you tell a police officer how fast you were going, he can use that in a court of law as an admission of guilt even if you were not read your Miranda rights?
Is your lawyer really gonna come up to the side of the road and argue with a cop for you so you don't have to pay a $50 ticket? Plus the above poster is right, speeding isn't generally a crime it is ussually just a violation.

No, the lawyer is not going to come to the window...just like the lawyer does not come to the scene of a crime...however, with real crimes (not "violations"), you are not obligated to say anything at all until you've had an opportunity to talk to a lawyer.

I understand, however, how speeding is a different case.


And it's much more than a $50 ticket. Have you ever even paid a speeding ticket? They're much more expensive. Not to mention, your insurance gets bumped up, and over time, that costs a lot of money.

No, the lawyer is not going to come to the window...just like the lawyer does not come to the scene of a crime...however, with real crimes (not "violations"), you are not obligated to say anything at all until you've had an opportunity to talk to a lawyer.

I understand, however, how speeding is a different case.


And it's much more than a $50 ticket. Have you ever even paid a speeding ticket? They're much more expensive. Not to mention, your insurance gets bumped up, and over time, that costs a lot of money.
We'll yeah of course you don't have to say anything but in generally court hearsay is admissible, when the other side uses your own statements against you. Thus if bystander saw you speeding and said that you were going 100 mph or something, that statement would not be admissible in court if repeated by a cop testifying because it would be inadmissible hearsay, but if you personally told the cop you were speeding than that would be admissible if repeated by the cop. It is an exception in the law of evidence called a "party admission", which basically means that if a party in dispute says anything, it can be used against him in court and he will have to explain it.

Because a speeding ticket is a violation. You are not under arrest, and you have not committed a violation of the penal law. Miranda right apply only to actual crimes.