Word of the Day

: March 7, 2019

Mirandize

verb muh-RAN-dyze

What It Means

: to recite the Miranda warnings to (a person under arrest)

Mirandize in Context

"Miranda warnings only kick in if you're going to interrogate a suspect. And so if they didn't Mirandize him, and they didn't ask him any questions, that wouldn't be a problem at all. The remedy for failing to Mirandize someone is that their statements to the officers then become inadmissible at trial. — Barbara McQuade, quoted on MSNBC, 1 Feb. 2019

"According to the website, Heller's motion is baseless as there was no need for police to Mirandize the actress since she wasn't in their custody, and it's 'perfectly legal to question people involved in a car accident without reading them their rights.'" — The Huffington Post, 26 Feb. 2013

Did You Know?

"You have the right to remain silent...." These seven words typically begin the notification that police recite to inform a suspect of his or her rights while in custody. The law requiring this recitation stemmed from a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Miranda v. Arizona) in which the court overturned the conviction of Ernesto A. Miranda on charges of rape and kidnapping. The court had determined that Miranda confessed to the crime without being informed that he could remain silent during questioning. The list of rights that must be recited to a suspect in custody subsequently became known as "the Miranda warnings." And by the 1970s, people began using the verb Mirandize in reference to such a recitation.