Can a juvenile case be thrown out if Miranda warnings weren't read at arrest?
Generally, a judge will not dismiss a case against a juvenile if a law enforcement officer did not read the juvenile Miranda warnings at the time of arrest. Typically, even a fundamental mistake by law enforcement officers such as the failure to read Miranda warnings would not cause a judge to throw a case out of court or a prosecutor to drop the case. A juvenile's defense attorney must object to the error and any evidence resulting from it to prevent material from being admitted unlawfully. A defense attorney should ask for the case to be dismissed because of the mistake. Whether their motion is successful depends on the facts surrounding the arrest of the juvenile and why Miranda warnings weren’t read.
The evidence that would prove the prosecutor's case against the juvenile may consist solely or mainly of the juvenile's statements. If the juvenile was not read Miranda warnings at the time of arrest, the juvenile's defense attorney may object to the juvenile's statements being entered into evidence. The judge or jury may then find no grounds to find the juvenile delinquent. The judge or jury would then find the juvenile not to be delinquent.
A prosecutor may choose to drop a case if the only evidence that would prove the juvenile was delinquent was the juvenile's statements and the juvenile had not been read Miranda warnings at the time of arrest. The prosecutor would recognize they did not have enough material to prove the juvenile was delinquent. Even if the juvenile was not read Miranda warnings at the time of arrest, the prosecutor may have other evidence to prove the juvenile was delinquent. This may consist of physical evidence and testimony from other witnesses. The prosecutor would then pursue the case, either seeking to admit the juvenile's statements to law enforcement officers or not, despite the fact that the officer did not read the juvenile Miranda warnings.
If a juvenile remains silent after an arrest, even if they were not read Miranda warnings, there is no reason that the prosecutor would drop the case. The failure by a law enforcement officer to read the juvenile Miranda warnings does not negate the possible culpability of the juvenile. If the juvenile volunteered statements before they were arrested, the prosecutor could successfully argue to have the statements made before the arrest admitted into evidence.
