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 about the patient’s accusations.  Deputy Vega did not read Tekoh his Miranda rights or obtain a waiver prior to the questioning, apparently considering the situation to be a non-custodial interrogation.  Deputy Vega alleged in later court hearings that Tekoh had immediately admitted that he’d “made a mistake.”  Deputy Vega had Tekoh put in writing what he himself referred to as an “honest and regrettable apology,” admitting in a brief account to “spreading (the patient’s) vagina lip for a quick view.”  Tekoh, on the other hand, claimed that he continually denied touching the patient, but wrote out his mini-confession only after having been threatened by Deputy Vega.  Specifically, Tekoh alleged that Deputy Vega refused to allow a third person to accompany them into the MRI room, would not let him leave the room once they were in there, ignored his request for an attorney, ....