DUI Miranda Rights in Illinois

Reader’s Question:

The Miranda warnings are very popular statements of the police during an arrest and I don’t know what happens if they forget to say it during a DUI arrest. What if the officer fails to read me my rights if in case I get arrested for DUI here in Champaign, Illinois?

Laquita

Champaign, IL

There is often a common misconception about the failure of a police officer to read a person his/her Miranda rights (i.e., “You have the right to remain silent, you have a right to an attorney”) during a DUI arrest. Unfortunately, if you get arrested for DUI in Champaign, Illinois and the police officer failed to read you your Miranda rights, the DUI case will not be dismissed. These Miranda warnings would only affect the admissibility of statements made by a DUI suspect after he/she is arrested.

For example, if an individual is stopped over because his tail lights are not working and he tells the police officer, “I’m drunk as a skunk and I never should have been driving,” this could be used against the person because the person is not arrested or in custody. But if the individual is in handcuffs and, answering the police officer’s questions says, “I was drunk as a skunk and never should have been driving,” the police could not use this statement unless they have read the person his/her Miranda rights.