Questions and Answers: Do I have to have a private lawyer? No. If you financially qualify, you can secure the services of a public defender. Or, if the public defender has a conflict of interest in representing you, the court might appoint a lawyer from the local bar to represent you. The police did not read Miranda rights to me. How might that effect my case, my defense? It depends. Generally, if you are in custody and the police interrogate you which produces a incriminating statement the prosecution seeks to introduce against you at trial, the state must establish a basis for your statement to have been voluntarily given. Nothing can be more incriminating that a confession. Our founding fathers recognized this. No such confession may be admitted against a person unless it was voluntarily given. No person must incriminate him or herself. Statements  that are inherently involuntary and therefore are constitutionally INADMISSIBLE against a person are those obtained through threats, physical abuse, coercion and other forceful means. Miranda. The Miranda case simply provides a basis for the state to make a fundamental showing that the statement they seek to introduce against a person was voluntarily obtained. The state, in a hearing outside the presence of a jury, lays a foundation for voluntariness by having a state witness who took the statement from the person testify to certain events prior to the questioning or interrogation. Elements of Miranda. If the state establishes that the person was told, prior to questioning, that he had the right to remain silent, that anything he said could be used against him, that he had the right to a lawyer or an appointed lawyer if indigent, and that he had a right to terminate questioning at any time, a prima facie case of voluntariness is established. However, the person retains the right, through whatever admissible evidence he may present, including his own testimony, to show that despite the state's showing of compliance with the requirements of Miranda, his statement was not voluntarily given and should therefore, not be admitted in evidence against him. In short, if you were not in custody at the time, and were not read your rights, and the state does NOT seek to offer into evidence any incriminating statements you may have made, the failure to read Miranda rights to you may be meaningless. What was the basis for the bonding judge to set the amount of my bond so that I could be released from jail after arrest? The law provides that a person charged with a non-capital offense with some exceptions, has the right to be released on his own recognizance. That means he has the right to be released simply by signing a promise to pay the state or county a certain amount of money should he fail to appear at any court proceeding or violate and condition of bond. Unless, that is, the state or the police at the bond hearing present evidence to the court that there is reason to believe that you are a flight risk and/or a danger to the community. In practice however, bond amounts are set unfortunately with, in my opinion, insufficient information before the court. Respectfully and with deference to the court, I submit that insufficient resources are available to state courts to provide a full background and financial picture of a person whose bond must be set. In short, if a man is wealthy, a $100,000 bond may be of little worry to him. He might pay a bondman a tenth of that amount as a fee to guarantee his appearance, or he might be allowed to post up to ten percent with the clerk of court which will be refunded to him at the conclusion of his case, providing he abides by all terms and conditions of his release. Or he might simply deposit $100,000 with the clerk of court to be released. This ability to pay is, in my opinion critical. If the court sets a high bond to ensure the future appearance of the person at court, and to “protect” the community, these concerns mean little to the wealthy man if the intent to meet these ends, is to keep him in jail. On the other hand, if a man if poor, a lesser bond amount of say $1,000 may constitute the equivalent of NO bond for him. Despite no findings of flight or danger to the community, this man may sit in jail for days, weeks or months, presumed innocent UNLESS proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt or until his case otherwise concludes.