Self Discrimination In Criminal Justice

John Doe is an individual that left his county in an effort to make a better life in the United States. After being recently arrested for shoplifting which was valued over $1,000, John voluntarily began to make incriminating statements to the arresting officers. Self-incrimination is the process of accusing oneself of a crime for which a person can then be prosecuted. Self-incrimination can occur in one of two ways: directly or indirectly. Direct self-incrimination is when a person incriminates themselves during an interrogation procedure. Indirect incrimination is when a person incriminates themselves voluntary and without pressure from another person ((Self-Incrimination, 2015). John had indirectly self-incriminated himself. The procedural steps that police are required to take once John began to incriminate himself were to advise him of his rights. The Miranda warning is a right to silence warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody before they are interrogated to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them. However, a voluntary statement made by the defendant without having received the Miranda warning are admissible even though the defendant is later advised of his or her rights and waives those rights.

Usually, the arraignment is a brief hearing although it may be combined with a hearing on bail if the crime is a serious felony (Roberson, 2013). When an indictment is returned, the John will be arraigned upon that accusatory pleading. At the arraignment, the he will be permitted to enter a plea to the charge set forth in that pleading. He will be given the opportunity to enter a plea in regards to the alleged complaint. There are six pleas that John may enter for himself: (1) guilty, (2) not guilty, (3) nolo contendere, (4) not guilty by reason of insanity, (5) former jeopardy, or (6) former judgment of acquittal or