法律英语导读(19)

      Defense attorneys often try to use the rule to weaken a prosecutor’s case before trial. If a defense attorney can convince a judge that a search or interrogation was improper, and most of the prosecution’s evidence is tied to the illegality, the defense can force the prosecution to dismiss charges or accept a plea to a lesser crime.

　　16. Am I Entitled to Have My Case Dismissed If the Police Questioned Me Without Advising Me of My Miranda Rights?

　　No. One large popular misconception about the criminal justice system is that a case has to be thrown out of court if the police fail to give the Miranda warning to people they arrest. What Miranda says is that the warning is necessary if the police interrogate a suspect in custody and want to offer something the suspect says into evidence at trial. This means that the failure to give the Miranda warning is utterly irrelevant to the case if:

　　the suspect is not in custody （see Question 19）

　　the police do not question the suspect, or

　　the police do question the suspect, but the prosecution does not try to use the suspect’s responses as evidence.