 " Although the right of silence , in contrast to the right to counsel , can be exercised passively ( by not speaking ) , a suspect ’ s initial reticence does not inherently convey to a reasonable police officer that the suspect wishes to exercise a right to silence and terminate the interview . A suspect may want to listen to a recitation of the evidence against him or learn about the benefits of cooperation before deciding whether to exercise his rights . Or a suspect may be formulating an explanation of events that lessens his culpability , planning an alibi , or thinking through his options . Or he may be willing to talk about some topics but not others ... Simply presuming an invocation after some initial period of silence ... would override the wishes of those suspects who wanted to listen and deliberate further , rather than to end questioning ... Once a suspect has been provided with the requisite warnings and has had an opportunity to invoke his rights , the primary purposes of Miranda are fulfilled . This Court has described " a person 's right to cut off questioning " as " [ t ] he critical safeguard " provided by the Miranda warnings . " 
