Brief of respondent for Florida v. Powell, 08-1175 - Oyez

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Of the over 900 forms in the studies discussed
above and the federal forms cited by the Solicitor
General, only five advise of a right to talk to a lawyer
or to have the lawyer present “before questioning”
without also articulating the right to counsel during
interrogation. Rogers & Shuman, supra, at 42, 43, 48,
52; SG Br. 12 n.3. Of those five, only one warning
form, like the form read to Powell, neglects even to
mention the right to have a lawyer “present.” Rogers
& Shuman, supra, at 48. As explained above,
moreover, the warning given Powell is an outlier even
within Florida, where it appears that most law
enforcement agencies use Miranda warnings that
advise suspects of the right to have an attorney
present during questioning. See supra, at pp. 7-8.
The fact that these law enforcement agencies
have administered the core Miranda warning of the
right to have counsel present during interrogation in
hundreds of different ways demonstrates that no
“magic words” are required. Some jurisdictions inform
suspects of the right to counsel “before and
during” interrogation, while others advise of the right
to counsel “while you are being questioned”; “before
and during any questioning”; “prior to and during any
questioning”; “while . . . making a statement”; “during
the interview”; “during the entire time you are being
questioned”; “at the time of the interview”; “before
and while answering any questions”; “prior to and
during any interview”; “before, during, and after
questioning”; or “while we talk to you.” Rogers &