AI Summary
5 min readOn a summer day in 2024, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was pulled over on suspicion of DUI. When the officer asked him to take a breathalyzer test, Romo asked for a lawyer. He was denied. The same thing happened in a far more tragic case: a woman who killed a bride in a golf-cart crash while heavily intoxicated also asked for a lawyer before submitting to a breath test, and was refused. On TikTok and Twitter, armchair legal experts declared that the suspects' constitutional rights had been violated—that Miranda protections should have kicked in, and that any evidence gathered afterward would be thrown out. But as former prosecutors Alice and Brett explain in this episode of The Prosecutors Legal Briefs, that confident prediction is almost certainly wrong. The law around Miranda and DUI stops is far more nuanced than most people realize, and the key distinction turns on a single question: are you in custody, or are you merely detained?
The Miranda Trigger: Custody Plus Interrogation
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of The Prosecutors
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (02:44) **Introduction and the DUI Scenario** - Alice and Brett introduce the Legal Briefs topic: what happens when you’re pulled over for a DUI and ask for a lawyer.
- 2 (09:16) **The Common Misconception: Asking for a Lawyer at a DUI Stop** - The hosts explain why this popular belief often fails in court.
- 3 (10:25) **Miranda v. Arizona: The Basics** - A quick refresher on what Miranda actually protects.
- 4 (13:00) **Berkmer v. McCarty: The Key Case for DUI Stops** - The Supreme Court directly addressed this question in 1984.
- 5 (19:55) **Detention vs. Arrest: The Critical Distinction** - Why being “detained” is not the same as being “under arrest” for Miranda.
- 6 (21:05) **Practical Examples: When Does Custody Begin?** - The hosts walk through scenarios that clarify the line between detention and arrest.
- 7 (24:02) **The Officer’s Subjective Intent Doesn’t Matter** - Re-emphasizing the objective “reasonable person” standard.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Do you have Miranda rights when the police stop you for drunk driving? We take a break from murder and mayhem for some lighter fair.
Check out more about the cases we cover on The Prosecutors + at our Substack the True Crime Times
Check out our other show, The Prosecutors, for true crime cases and mysteries.
For early and ad-free access to episodes, as well as the opportunity to watch us record episodes live, join our Patreon
For early and ad-free episodes, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
Join our fan-run Facebook Group: the Gallery on Facebook for case discussions, hot legal topics, and more.
Follow us on X, or as we’ll always call it: Twitter @prosecutorspod
Find us on Instagram or Threads @prosecutorspod
Check out our website for case resources
Hang out with us on TikTok @prosecutorspod
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
More from this podcast
The Prosecutors →