General Knowledge and Misknowledge of Miranda Rights: Are Effective Miranda Advisements Still Necessary?

Miranda warnings are the Constitutional keystone in protecting the right of custodial suspects against self-incrimination. Although deeply embedded in police practices and popular dramas, a fair question is whether these warnings have outlived their usefulness. If the public is already conversant with the Miranda warnings, then such advisements may represent little more than a pro forma ritual that merits only a cursory recitation to satisfy a Supreme Court's requirement. Using jury pools as a cross-section of the community, participants were (a) asked for their free recall of Miranda warnings and (b) assessed for their knowledge and misknowledge of Miranda rights and associated police practices. Successful recall varied for the first four components but dropped dramatically for the fifth Miranda component with failures exceeding 97% for ongoing legal rights. Using participants' self-appraised knowledge of Miranda, it became evident that those claiming little knowledge performed poorly on Miranda recall with high numbers of Miranda misconceptions. In general, the data indicate a continued need for Miranda warnings or other effective means for communicating rights. They shed light on public policy issues in addressing Miranda misconceptions, which extend far beyond the advisements per se.