Q: Arrest for fraud without prior knowledge; not read rights.
I was arrested by Baltimore County police due to a warrant from Anne Arundel County on November 16, 2024. I was unaware of the warrant until I was stopped by the police while driving for Uber. Apparently, a ride I completed, which involved picking up and dropping off an envelope, was related to fraudulent activity, but I had no knowledge of this. I have been charged with credit card fraud, identity theft, and theft, although no court date has been set yet. During the arrest, I was not read my rights, and I have not yet had the chance to explain to the detective that I'm an Uber driver and unaware of the parties involved. I am currently seeking an attorney and would like to know if I have grounds for a lawsuit regarding the failure to read my Miranda rights and the circumstances of my charges.
A: You should retain an attorney or go to the Public Defender as soon as possible. The failure to advise you under Miranda will not result in a dismissal of the charges. It will only keep out any statements made by you while in police custody. I would focus on defending the criminal charges for now.
A: The only penalty for not being read your Miranda rights is the suppression of any admissions you made during your custody so they would be disallowed as evidence against you at trial. Since you were not questioned, the failure to advise you of your right to remain silent and right to have counsel present during questioning is irrelevant. You need a lawyer, as you plainly recognize, so focus on that. The lawyer will direct you to obtain evidence from Uber to prove who scheduled the pickup and drop off, and the evidence or data necessary for court. It has to be in a form the meets the evidentiary requirements for admissibility at trial, including authenticity of the record, and how it was kept in the ordinary course of business. The lawyer can also provide this information to the prosecutor to potentially convince them to drop the case. You should absolutely not contact the police or prosecutor’s office directly, as you are likely to do more damage than good to your defense. They are not interested in using anything you have to say or provide except for the purpose of securing your conviction. Let your lawyer act as your agent in all communications, as it buffers and protects you from making admissions that they can use to prove parts of their case against you.
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