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Glite Dictionary
Miranda warning

Miranda warning

3 4.7
A short statement police say to someone they arrest to tell them their rights before questioning
  • noun
  • /mɪˈrændə ˈwɔrnɪŋ/
  • Formal
translation icon : advertencia Miranda
  • Are Miranda warnings required by the Constitution, or not?
  • give Miranda warning

Examples

  • You have a right to have an attorney and if you if the police violate those Miranda warnings, convictions will not stand.

  • Miranda warnings would ultimately come to be seen as constitutionally required prophylactic rules that go beyond the Fifth Amendment's textual protections.

    Academic text (2018)

  • The official Miranda warning is... "anything you say CAN be used against you in a court of law.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The elder Penry paused as he read the Miranda warning, prepared by the local magistrate.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Indeed, Section 3501 specifically lists the Miranda warnings as factors that a district court should consider when determining whether a confession was voluntarily given.

    Academic text (2001)

  • The police officer explained the Miranda warning before asking any questions.

  • Before being interrogated, the suspect listened carefully to the Miranda warning given by the detective.

  • It is crucial for officers to deliver the Miranda warning to protect individuals' legal rights during custody.

Synonyms

Miranda rule
vsMiranda warning
  • Formal
6.2

Police must tell someone arrested they can stay silent, have a lawyer, and anything said can be used in court

is the formal spoken statement of those rights before questioning in custody

Surface Forms

Miranda warning singular
Miranda warnings plural

Morphology

Miranda + warning

The first element is a proper name ('Miranda') with no lexically meaningful contribution and 'warning' is a general word, so knowing both parts does not lead a learner to the specialized sense 'rights read to a suspect before questioning.' This is a culture- and law-specific label (US legal terminology) whose meaning is not derivable from its constituents, making it unpredictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Miranda warning comes from a U.S. court case named after Ernesto Miranda. Police had questioned Miranda without telling him he could stay silent or get a lawyer. So the court said police must tell people these things before questioning, and today the Miranda warning is the official words police use to protect a person's 'rights'.