Salt Flat, TX Criminal Defense Law Firms & Lawyers

Miranda rights are an advisement or warning the police must give a suspect upon arrest, before asking questions, other than a basic request for identification. Miranda Rights are derived from a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona. They consist of the following basic warnings (but don't have to be in this exact language.) You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense. After reading you these rights, the police will usually ask, "Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present?" If you say yes, you are waiving your Miranda rights, and anything you say in response to their questions can be admitted in court against you. If you refuse to answer questions after being "Mirandized", or if the police fail to advise you of these rights before asking you questions, the remedy is that your statements cannot be introduced in evidence to establish your guilt. The remedy is not a dismissal of the charges. If you were arrested and taken directly to jail, and the police did not ask you any questions about the crime you are suspected of committing, either when they arrested you or during the ride to the jail, the failure to read you your rights won't make a difference. If they did ask you questions without first Mirandizing you, and you answered, your attorney can seek to have your answers kept out of evidence.

Because you are a minor, you will not have the ability to "drop" the charges.  Your parents together with you may be able to talk with the prosecutors and explain to them that you do not wish to testify against your boyfriend.  Nevertheless, the law allows the State of Texas to still bring a case against him.  Even if you were an adult, the State of Texas and the prosecutors ultimately can still bring the case against your boyfriend.  The trial lawyer representing your boyfriend should know what to do in this case.  You should also make sure that you are safe.  You should do what you can to get good counsel on how to proceed to look out for yourself and keep yourself safe at all times. Your boyfriend needs to retain a lawyer who knows how to represent him in these types of cases.

No. The Miranda rights you are referring to only have application in a situation where a person is interrogated while under police control, and makes admissions in response to questioning that could be used to obtain a conviction. Miranda is not a prerequisite to arrest. All law enforcement needs to make a valid arrest is to be able to articulate a belief that there was probable cause for the arrest.