You arrest a defendant for statutory rape. Prior to questioning, you ask the defendant to tell you his date of birth. You have not secured a Miranda waiver prior to obtaining the birth date information. At the trial for statutory rape, the defendant's statement to you concerning the birth date will be:

• A. Admissible
• B. Admissible if the attorney is present
• C. Inadmissible
• D. Admissible only if the judge approves

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that statements obtained from a person in custody must be preceded by Miranda warnings and a valid waiver before they can be admitted at trial. Asking for the defendant’s date of birth before giving any Miranda warning is an interrogation step taken without warnings. Without a proper Miranda waiver, that birth-date statement cannot be used at trial. The only way it could be admissible would be if the question fell within a recognized exception (for example, routine booking questions) or if a valid waiver was obtained, but those conditions are not present here. Therefore, the birth-date statement is inadmissible.