2. Miranda Warning: The Scope?
Miranda represents a legal doctrine of civil rights designed to protect the citizen from overzealous police action that may deprive the suspect of basic constitutional protection.
It is enforced as a rule by the courts in order to ensure that there is no abuse of process by the state. The "Miranda rule is a procedural safeguard mandated by the Supreme Court as a specific set of warnings that must be given to an individual
who is in custody and subject to interrogation".8
Note Point: The court identified three basic rights available to a suspect upon arrest as follows:
• The right to silence and the warning that anything said can be used as evidence against the suspect in a court of law
• The right to have an attorney present during questioning and
• The right to have an attorney appointed if the suspect cannot afford one
8 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S 436 (1966).
