On June 17, 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that if you remain silent before the police read your Miranda rights, that silence can and will be held against you. You must tell the authorities that you're invoking your Fifth Amendment right if you do not want the silence to be used as evidence in the court of law.

In the Salinas case, Genovevo Salinas was convicted of a 1992 murder. At the time of the investigation, Salinas voluntarily went into a police station for questioning. Because he was free to leave at any time, the police did not read him his Miranda rights. When asked if the shell casings found at the scene of the crime would match his shotgun, Salinas did not answer. At his trial, his silence was used as evidence of guilt.