What will determine being named a 'suspect' vs. 'person of interest'

[JBean]

No. Absolutely not. Again, this has nothing to do with verbal classifications. It has only to do with custody. Miranda Rights are about custody!

And of course, an arrest also triggers Miranda Rights. This goes without saying. A person placed under arrest is obviously, and undoubtedly, in custody.


Being arrested triggers that the person arrested is in some sort of trouble. There is nothing official about being called a suspect. The term doesn't trigger any new rights, and has no effect on the ultimate outcome of the case. It wouldn't matter if that same person placed under arrest were called a POI instead of a suspect.

I agree with what you are saying regarding arrest and custody.
But if someone is arrested they are a suspect or a defendant not a POI anymore.
I don;t recall ever seeing an arrested suspect termed a POI.
jmho of course!

 

[JBean]

Suspect Law & Legal Definition

Once a person is determined to be a prime suspect (the person believed most likely to have committed the crime), the police must be careful to give the "Miranda warnings," or or else any statements or admissions by the suspect may be excluded from evidence in trial. Once a suspect under arrest tell a law enforcement officer that he wants an attorney, all interrogation must cease, subject to certain exceptions

 

[jbar]

pizmex - I read that link, and don't prefer to use someone's random blog as a credible source.

I read this article, and found it to answer the original question pretty well, however it's slightly biased by being written by (who I am assuming) is a defense lawyer.

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/lazarus/20050526.html

 

[JBean]

Person of Interest Law & Legal Definition

Unlike "suspect" and "material witness," "person of interest" has no legal definition, but generally refers to someone law enforcement authorities would like to speak with or investigate further in connection with a crime. It may be used, rather than calling the person a suspect, when they don't want their prime suspect to know they're watching him closely. Critics complain that the term has become a method for law enforcement officers to draw attention to individuals without formally accusing them

 

[pizmex]

I agree with what you are saying regarding arrest and custody.
But if someone is arrested they are a suspect or a defendant not a POI anymore.
I don;t recall ever seeing an arrested suspect termed a POI.
jmho of course!

I agree with this, but even then, the label means nothing. POI is a vague term, apparently never defined, not even by LE. So there's little consolation in not being a POI. The fate of a person under arrest, just like a POI, will be decided based on the evidence for and against. These labels are too meaningless to bother about. All they are is labels, and not very accurate ones at describing an individual's role in any particular case. We know that LE is looking at Casey seriously, because of her arrest. Our perception of her role in this case shouldn't be influenced by any of those other labels because they're meaningless and because LE might purposely lie to advance their own interests.

 

[JBean]

I agree with this, but even then, the label means nothing. POI is a vague term, apparently never defined, not even by LE. So there's little consolation in not being a POI. The fate of a person under arrest, just like a POI, will be decided based on the evidence for and against. These labels are too meaningless to bother about. All they are is labels, and not very accurate ones at describing an individual's role in any particular case. We know that LE is looking at Casey seriously, because of her arrest. Our perception of her role in this case shouldn't be influenced by any of those other labels because they're meaningless and because LE might purposely lie to advance their own interests.

Hopefully you have had a chance to read my legal links and they summarize exactly what I was trying to say. Hope that helps your understanding.
I already said earlier that POI is a vague pre arrest term.

 

[Patty G]

You can be named a POI just by being spotted near the scene in which a crime was committed. They aren't saying that you DID anything - but that potentially you saw something, or know something and they want to talk to you.

A suspect means they have reason to believe you DID something, or had part in it.

If LE wants to talk to someone who was spotted at the scene of a crime and LE has reason to believe this person had something to do with the crime, they are a Person of Interest which is also a "Suspect".

 

[elitenls]

Won't she turn in to a "suspect" as soon as they file "charges" for the dissapearance/murder of Caylee? The whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing comes to mind ... then you're the "suspect" in the investigation. Right now, she's just a "person of interest" -- which means, she's their main focus as a suspect, but they can't charge her with the crime yet -- so they're just interested.

Wow, that's confusing, hope I got my point across.

Person of Interest

Unlike "suspect" and "material witness," "person of interest" has no legal definition, but generally refers to someone law enforcement authorities would like to speak with or investigate further in connection with a crime. It may be used, rather than calling the person a suspect, when they don't want their prime suspect to know they're watching him closely. Critics complain that the term has become a method for law enforcement officers to draw attention to individuals without formally accusing them.

There is concern among critics that innocent people will be tainted by being labelled a person of interest.

The use of the term increased in popularity in 1996, after investigators and reporters named Atlanta security guard Richard Jewell as potentially responsible for the Olympic Park bombing. He was later cleared and won at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements due to his claim that his reputation was forever ruined.

Suspect

In criminal law, a suspect is someone who is under suspicion, often formally announced as being under investigation by law enforcement officials. Probable cause for an arrest exists when the facts and circumstances within the arresting officer's knowledge are sufficient to warrant a prudent person to believe that a suspect has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime.

Once a person is determined to be a prime suspect (the person believed most likely to have committed the crime), the police must be careful to give the "Miranda warnings," or or else any statements or admissions by the suspect may be excluded from evidence in trial. Once a suspect under arrest tell a law enforcement officer that he wants an attorney, all interrogation must cease, subject to certain exceptions.

 

[pizmex]

pizmex - I read that link, and don't prefer to use someone's random blog as a credible source.

I read this article, and found it to answer the original question pretty well, however it's slightly biased by being written by (who I am assuming) is a defense lawyer.

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/lazarus/20050526.html

But that's exactly my point. Here's the quote from your article.

History has shown that this designation has no discernable legal meaning or significance, but for obvious reasons carries the power to destroy people's lives.

The label makes no substantive difference. That was my point. This thread was started on the incorrect idea that these labels do carry meaning; that a person is afforded other rights, or that the rights of LE are somehow narrowed or restricted based on these labels.

 

[JBean]

If LE wants to talk to someone who was spotted at the scene of a crime and LE has reason to believe this person had something to do with the crime, they are a Person of Interest which is also a "Suspect".

PattyG once you are an official suspect you must be mirandized.

 

[JBean]

But that's exactly my point. Here's the quote from your article.


The label makes no substantive difference. That was my point. This thread was started on the incorrect idea that these labels do carry meaning; that a person is afforded other rights, or that the rights of LE are somehow narrowed or restricted based on these labels.

<sigh> I am going to ride my bike up in the hills

 

[pizmex]

Suspect Law & Legal Definition

Once a person is determined to be a prime suspect (the person believed most likely to have committed the crime), the police must be careful to give the "Miranda warnings,"...

This is incorrect because Miranda Rights are not about being a suspect. If the suspect is placed in a physical context that is deemed custodial (is in custody) or is placed under arrest, then the person is entitled to Miranda Rights. It is the custody, the restriction of movement that triggers these rights. Not the idea that the person is a suspect, without any custody attaching.

 

[Patty G]

PattyG once you are an official suspect you must be mirandized.

Now there is "official" suspect, what happened to just suspect?

I have heard time and time again even on Greta and NG they stopped using "suspect" and now use "person of interest." Heck they even use it on the First 48 Hours".

I will back out of this one until I can talk to an Law Enforcement official to get the right answer.

 

[pizmex]

PattyG once you are an official suspect you must be mirandized.

This is so incorrect. Where are you getting this from? It's incorrect because otherwise, LE could circumvent the Miranda Rights by mislabeling a person as a non-suspect. This is not about labels that could be peeled on and off as easy as a band-aid. You don't have to have a cut to put a band-aid on your body.

Miranda Rights are about custody.

 

[JBean]

Now there is "official" suspect, what happened to just suspect?

I have heard time and time again even on Greta and NG they stopped using "suspect" and now use "person of interest." Heck they even use it on the First 48 Hours".

I will back out of this one until I can talk to an Law Enforcement official to get the right answer.

I am talking about being named a suspect by LE. This goes back to Richard Jewell.
I am not referring to what terms media uses but rather how these word apply in a legal capacity.

 

[JBean]

This is so incorrect. Where are you getting this from? It's incorrect because otherwise, LE could circumvent the Miranda Rights by mislabeling a person as a non-suspect. This is not about labels that could be peeled on and off as easy as a band-aid. You don't have to have a cut to put a band-aid on your body.

Miranda Rights are about custody.

did you read my legal definitions link?

Suspect Law & Legal Definition

Once a person is determined to be a prime suspect (the person believed most likely to have committed the crime), the police must be careful to give the "Miranda warnings," or or else any statements or admissions by the suspect may be excluded from evidence in trial. Once a suspect under arrest tell a law enforcement officer that he wants an attorney, all interrogation must cease, subject to certain exceptions

 

[elitenls]

Dude I just copied and pasted from an online law library dictionary ... :/ Same one that JB posted from ...

 

[pizmex]

did you read my legal definitions link?

Suspect Law & Legal Definition

Once a person is determined to be a prime suspect (the person believed most likely to have committed the crime), the police must be careful to give the "Miranda warnings," or or else any statements or admissions by the suspect may be excluded from evidence in trial. Once a suspect under arrest tell a law enforcement officer that he wants an attorney, all interrogation must cease, subject to certain exceptions

I read it. If the article is claiming that a suspect not in custody must be Mirandized, the article is wrong, even though it's published on somebody's web site.

Here's the relevant Wiki entry. I realize that Wikipedia does not hold itself out to be a legal dictionary, but I can assure you that the Wiki entry is accurate. Yours is not.

In the United States, the Miranda warning is a warning given by police to criminal suspects in police custody, or in a custodial situation, before they are asked questions relating to the commission of a crime. A custodial situation is where the suspect's freedom of movement is restrained although he or she is not under arrest.

 

[suspicious mind]

I don't think you can call them a suspect til they have been charged.

 

[MiraclesHappen]

This is incorrect because Miranda Rights are not about being a suspect. If the suspect is placed in a physical context that is deemed custodial (is in custody) or is placed under arrest, then the person is entitled to Miranda Rights. It is the custody, the restriction of movement that triggers these rights. Not the idea that the person is a suspect, without any custody attaching.

Agree.
Yes, if you read the actual Miranda case, you can see the actual crux of Miranda boils down to one question:

Is the suspect, poi, pb& j, in custody??? Until then, no Miranda.

These labels we call people are no determining factor in the Miranda case itself.


I also checked those legal links about suspects but I see as well that they are incorrect and they have not backed up their info with judicial or legislative links. Oh, and also they have overruled the Miranda case which comes from our US Supreme Ct.


just my newb opinion