Tenant rights and safety.

Boston Marathon Terrorist Attacks (April 2013): Does the "Public Safety" exemption to the Miranda warning waive a suspect's rights?

• The Boston Marathon bombing suspect is not being read his rights under the public safety exemption. Does this mean he simply isn't being informed of his rights, or that the rights themselves are being suspended? For example, my understanding is that if a suspect says he wants a lawyer and police continue to question him, any resulting statements can't be used against him in court. Does that, and similar protections against self-incrimination, still apply under the Public Safety exemption?

• Answer:

  The public safety exception waives the duty of the police to stop questioning a suspect once they have invoked their 5th Amendment right to silence or to counsel; the suspect still has the right to remain silent or to counsel, but the police do not have to cease interrogation immediately, and any information that is provided by the suspect in a matter that the court determines falls under the public safety exception would be admissible in court. It bears noting that the exception has not applied in the past to general questioning about a specific crime, but to facts concerning the potential for imminent public danger - are there more devices, are there other people involved who still pose a threat, was this part of a larger plan, etc.  Those would be appropriate questions, but questions about the actual bombing on Monday or the specifics thereof could still be thrown out even if the public safety exception applies.This answer is not a substitute for professional legal advice....