Miranda as a Prophylactic Rule and the Fifth Amendment:

• Miranda and Civil Liability for Violations
• The Fifth Amendment as it Relates to Miranda
• The Prophylactic Nature of a Miranda Violation

A violation of the rules of Miranda is not also, by itself, a Fifth Amendment constitutional violation.  The use of a defendant’s statements at trial, obtained in violation of Miranda, does not convert the Miranda violation into a Fifth Amendment issue. Therefore, violating Miranda, as a general rule, does not provide the basis for a federal 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights lawsuit. 

Plaintiff Terence Tekoh worked as a certified nursing assistant at a Los Angeles medical center.  In March, 2014, a female patient accused him of sexually assaulting her.  The hospital staff reported the accusation to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.  Sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Vega was dispatched to investigate.  Deputy Vega took Tekoh to a “reading room” (i.e., a small, windowless and soundproof room used by doctors to read MRIs), where he was questioned ....