Miranda rights protect suspects from self-incrimination during police interrogations. When are officers legally required to read you your Miranda rights?

The Miranda warning requirement, established in Miranda v. Arizona (1966), is triggered by a two-part test: the person must be in custody (under arrest or otherwise not free to leave) AND subject to interrogation. If you are stopped for questioning on the street, you are not in custody and Miranda does not apply. An officer can ask your name and general questions during a traffic stop without Miranda warnings. If you are arrested and then questioned without Miranda warnings being given, any statements you make may be suppressed as evidence, but the arrest itself is not invalidated.