Everyone knows the iconic phrase “you have the right to remain silent.” It is usually the first thing that police tell someone when taking them into custody, and it makes up one of the several rights – commonly known as “Miranda rights” – that people have when in police custody.

Police must notify a person of their Miranda rights before taking them into custody or interrogating them. If they do not, they risk having a judge throw out any statements or admissions that the person in custody might make.

Determining the exact point when police officers have taken someone into custody presents difficulties, however. Obviously, an arrest constitutes police custody, but other situations can amount to police custody even without a formal arrest.

To decide whether or not police have placed a person in custody, courts will examine the facts of a particular case in order to determine whether or not a reasonable person would have felt like they could leave the situation or interrogation. If a reasonable person would have felt free to leave in that situation, then the police have not taken the subject into custody. If a reasonable person would not have felt at liberty to leave, then the police have placed the subject in custody and must notify them of their Miranda rights.

The same rules apply when the situation involves the questioning of minors. The Supreme Court recently expanded on those rules, however, when it decided that the police must take a person’s age into account when determining whether the circumstances of a case merit a Miranda notification.

Read More Police Questioning of Minors – FindLaw.