''Arguido'' (; if male) or ''arguida'' (; if female), normally translated "named

suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U. ...

" or "formal suspect", is a status in Portuguese type

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s, including those of

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and

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. It is given to a person whom the authorities suspect may have committed an offence. This designation does not exist in certain other jurisdictions.e.g. "...there is no direct equivalent in UK law..." In a criminal investigation a person has to be declared an ''arguido'' prior to being arrested. Portuguese law makes a distinction between ''arguido ''and suspect.

The rights of an ''arguido''

If a person becomes an ''arguido'', they automatically gain certain rights that a witness or suspect would not have. An ''arguido'' has the right to be accompanied by a lawyer when questioned. The investigating police may ask the ''arguido'' more direct accusatory questions (the answers to which would not be admissible in court if possibly self-incriminatory and asked of a non-''arguido'') but the ''arguido'' must be presented with whatever evidence is held against them, and unlike a witness has the right to remain silent, not to answer any question that may incriminate the person, and does not face legal action for lying.

Witness In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

es in criminal investigations are legally bound to co-operate with the police and do not have the right to silence and face legal actions if they lie. Because of the legal advantages, some individuals apply for ''arguido'' status to be given to themselves, e.g. when it would appear that the police suspect them but are trying to use their witness status to extract as much information as possible. A person who has ''arguido'' status has not been formally accused of a crime, arrested or charged, and not all ''arguidos'' are subsequently charged. The police may ask a court to restrict an ''arguidos movement and oblige them to not leave the country. ''Arguidos'' cannot change their place of residence without permission from a court. There is no time limit on the status.

Comparison with common-law administrations

The status is very similar to that of being "questioned under caution" under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act in the United Kingdom or being questioned after being read one's " Miranda Rights" in the United States, specifically the right to legal representation, the liberty to refuse to answer questions, and the admissibility in court of statements taken whilst in those statuses.

Etymology

''Arguido'' derives from the Latin ''arguire'' or ''arguere''. The English words ''argue'' and ''argument'' have the same etymology.

References

{{Criminal procedure Portuguese criminal law Criminal law legal terminology Criminals by status Civil law legal terminology no:Siktelse