June 23, 2022
The Supreme Court’s decision in Vega v. Tekoh clarifies that a police officer’s failure to read the Miranda warnings does not, by itself, does not support an action against an individual police officer for money damages under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The exclusionary rule in criminal cases remains in force for direct violations of a suspect’s Fifth Amendment Rights and for police violation of the requirements of Miranda. Justice Alito’s opinion in Vega establishes that a Section 1983 civil rights claim requires evidence that a police officer engaged in wrongful conduct to improperly obtain a coerced or compelled confession from a suspect.
In summary, and as an over-simplification of many complex legal principles, here are two main takeaways:
- If a police officer beats a confession out of a suspect or if the officer otherwise obtains a compelled or coerced confession from a suspect, Vega still provides that the officer can held liable for money damages in a civil rights lawsuit.
- But if a police officer behaves professionally, treats a suspect with appropriate respect, and does everything else right, the officer will not be held financially liable under Section 1983 just because the officer forgot to read the Miranda script.