Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Arrested and never read Miranda Rights

[confused24]

I will begin by apologizing because I am sure you guys read a million requests on here for possible Miranda violations and I tried to find a situation similar to mine, but could not, so here it goes:

Myself, along with five friends, were arrested for Criminal trespassing, a class A misdemeanor in the State of Oregon. We walked through what appeared to be an abandoned train tunnel in the middle of the night, and on our way back to our car, we were stopped by deputies. Yeah, looking back, we are dumb. Very dumb. Anyways, the reason I am posting, is to get some information about the series of events that followed.

the deputy stopped us on the side of the road. It was around 3:30am, and we were walking on the side of country road. Again, stupid. Apparently, the tunnel we walked through is a popular place, as the rail company has installed cameras to monitor it's interior, and called the police when they saw us. They have issues with vagrants and teenagers going in there and lighting off fireworks and destroying the tunnel. not wanting to lie, we said we had been. At this point, he began to check all of our ids and question us each one at a time. We were all over 21, with clean records. After he had finished and more deputies had arrived on scene, he "regretfully" informed us that he was going to arrest all of us because the rail company had a letter on file stating they wanted to prosecute anyone caught in the tunnel. This is where my question comes into play. 3 of our party were immediatly pulled to the back of two of the cruisers, while myself and two friends stayed in the front of the 1st deputy's car. When the arresting officer came forward to take me to her car, she searched me, put me and hand cuffs, and put me in the back of her car. the same thing happened to my other two friends. No rights were ever given.

This doesn't seem right to me, but I am very uneducated when it comes to legal rights and procedures. Do we have grounds for a dismissal or was i misinformed?

Also, this may not be the right place for this question, or you guys may not even be able to answer this, but I, along with two of my friends, have a lot to lose as far as my chosen career path if I have a misdemeanor on my record. as a first time offender with no record, what am I looking at for possible outcomes here. We simply walked through, which they would have on camera (if they actually have them in there) and didn't have anything on our persons when arrested, is there any way I can write a letter to the DA's office or the plantiff (through a lawyer of course) to explain our situation. Obviously, we shouldn't have done any of this in the first place, then we wouldn't have to worry about this, but we didn't know what we were doing was illegal and didn't see any of the no trespassing signs.

Any of the advice/ input you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

 

[jacksgal]

Miranda appplies to any questioning after the custodial arrest. Based on your post there is no miranda violation

 

[CdwJava]

I will begin by apologizing because I am sure you guys read a million requests on here for possible Miranda violations and I tried to find a situation similar to mine, but could not

Nine out of ten arrests will not require Miranda. Miranda is only required when you have both an arrest and an interrogation. An interview without an arrest (or the equivalent force) does not invoke Miranda any more than an arrest without an interview requires one.

We walked through what appeared to be an abandoned train tunnel in the middle of the night, and on our way back to our car, we were stopped by deputies. Yeah, looking back, we are dumb. Very dumb.

Just based on that, the deputies would not NEED your statements. They caught you trespassing. The elements of the offense would appear to have been met by your presence so they wouldn't need an interview.

Interviews prior to arrest (asking if you had been in the tunnel and such) are not covered under Miranda, thus not needed. But, if you pay an attorney I am sure he will file a 'hail Mary' motion to suppress any convictions. But, even if it did see the light of day and the DA failed to wake up in time for the suppression hearing and lost, they still have you coming out of the tunnel and thus have the elements of the crime even without your statement.

No rights were ever given.

This doesn't seem right to me, but I am very uneducated when it comes to legal rights and procedures. Do we have grounds for a dismissal or was i misinformed?

You were misinformed.

Also, this may not be the right place for this question, or you guys may not even be able to answer this, but I, along with two of my friends, have a lot to lose as far as my chosen career path if I have a misdemeanor on my record.

An attorney might be able to advise you of any possibilities for diversion or expungement (assuming your state allows the ability to expunge this from your record a couple years down the road).

as a first time offender with no record, what am I looking at for possible outcomes here.

Here is the offense (I assume):

164.255 Criminal trespass in the first degree. (1) A person commits the crime of criminal trespass in the first degree if the person:

(a) Enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling;

(b) Having been denied future entry to a building pursuant to a merchant's notice of trespass, reenters the building during hours when the building is open to the public with the intent to commit theft therein;

(c) Enters or remains unlawfully upon railroad yards, tracks, bridges or rights of way; or

(d) Enters or remains unlawfully in or upon premises that have been determined to be not fit for use under ORS 453.855 to 453.912.

(2) Subsection (1)(d) of this section does not apply to the owner of record of the premises if:

(a) The owner notifies the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the premises that the owner intends to enter the premises;

(b) The owner enters or remains on the premises for the purpose of inspecting or decontaminating the premises or lawfully removing items from the premises; and

(c) The owner has not been arrested for, charged with or convicted of a criminal offense that contributed to the determination that the premises are not fit for use.

(3) Criminal trespass in the first degree is a Class A misdemeanor. [1971 c.743 §140; 1993 c.680 §23; 1999 c.837 §1; 2001 c.386 §1; 2003 c.527 §1]
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A lawyer may be able to find that the property was not properly posted as required by law (assuming that posting IS required .. I know it is down here in most these situations).

The ORS is kind of a pain to search, but I read on one site that a class A misdemeanor holds a penalty of up to one year in jail and up to a $5,0000 fine ... an attorney can tell you what the realistic penalty is in your case (likely a small fine, probation, and maybe community service if convicted).

Consult local counsel.

- Carl