A judge ruled last week that Winston-Salem police officers did properly advise a woman accused of armed robbery of her Miranda rights.
Attorney Raymond Marshall had sought to suppress evidence in the case on grounds that Winston-Salem police officers had no probable cause to search his client's vehicle and that they threatened and did not properly advise her of her Miranda rights. He wanted to suppress evidence that was taken from her car and a statement she gave police.
Tanesha Elaine Meekins, 23, of 2700 Reynolda Road, Apt. 1010, was arrested Oct. 5, 2007, on charges that she and another woman, Racquel Haynes-Richardson, had robbed several men, all of them Hispanic.
Meekins was a student at Winston-Salem State University at the time; Richardson, 21, was a member of the Army National Guard.
Judge Richard Stone of Forsyth Superior Court denied the motion in a ruling last week.
Police are supposed to advise suspects of their right to remain silent and their right to an attorney when they are about to be interviewed. Suspects can waive those rights, but courts have ruled that suspects have to be advised of those rights before police can interrogate them, legal experts say.
In a weeklong hearing last month, Marshall argued that police officers and detectives threatened Meekins before and during her interview, and did not allow her to contact an attorney after she asked for one. He also argued that the police did not advise Meekins of her Miranda rights in a timely manner.
Stone rejected Marshall's arguments in his ruling. In a signed order, Stone found that Meekins had not made an "equivocal or unequivocal" request to contact an attorney and was not threatened.
Meekins also was advised of her Miranda rights and waived them after she understood those rights, Stone said in his order.
Miranda rights have been heavily litigated since a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1966 that ruled prosecutors could not use statements from defendants who had not been advised of their rights.
"The test is clear," said Ron Wright, a professor of law at Wake Forest University. "The legal test says that the police have to provide Miranda warnings if they are engaged in a custodial interrogation."
That means the person has to be in some form of police custody and about to be interrogated by police, Wright said. But police officers aren't required to read Miranda rights when they handcuff a suspect, like on television, he said.
"Miranda only applies when they interrogate you," Wright said.
A trial for Meekins has not been set. Richardson pleaded guilty last year to charges of attempted armed robbery and armed robbery. She was sentenced to three years and six months to five years in prison.
mhewlett@wsjournal.com
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