Courts have repeatedly held that motorists detained during traffic stops are not ordinarily in custody for Miranda purposes.

In State v. Brown, the Indiana Supreme court held that detaining a motorist as part of a sobriety checkpoint is no more custodial than a routine traffic stop and thus the defendant was not entitled to Miranda warnings at the checkpoint. The sobriety checkpoint did not require a Miranda warning in this case because it was temporary, brief in nature and public. Police officers were working in a well-lit parking lot and were instructed that they had only 2 minutes to discern impairment.

The Court, however, did provide defense lawyers the ability to make challenges in the future by also holding that there could be a set of circumstances where a detention as part of a sobriety checkpoint is so lengthy and/or private that it triggers Miranda.

An experienced criminal defense lawyer will carefully review your case to determine if you been subjected to a custodial interrogation and should have been read your rights. Of course, you should never answer police questions except for your name, date of birth and other such identification questions.

With over 35 years of handling thousands of criminal cases, clients come to Steven Knecht seeking his dependable legal advice and service. If you find yourself having been arrested, you should immediately hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer that you can trust such as Steven Knecht to help you fight the State because you have a lot at stake on the outcome.