A suspect may waive the safeguards if the choice is knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. A clear request for counsel or invocation of silence restricts further questioning under the applicable rules. Miranda chiefly governs whether an unwarned statement may be used in the prosecution's case; actual coercion can violate due process independently, even when officers recited the warnings. The doctrine also contains defined limits, including a public-safety exception for urgent questions reasonably directed at an immediate danger. Place Miranda during investigation and interrogation, before the Sixth Amendment right to counsel necessarily attaches. Do not assume that warnings are required whenever police arrest someone or ask any question. Arrest without interrogation does not trigger Miranda questioning rules, and questioning a person who is free to leave does not by itself create custody. Both conditions must be present.

Video lesson: Due Process of Law: Crash Course Government and Politics #28