How have courts interpreted the Miranda warning in the context of a conversation between a defendant and his sister?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Leon, G049329 (Cal. App. 2016):
By comparison, in People v. Medina (1990) 51 Cal.3d 870, the defendant's sister visited him in jail shortly after he was arrested and asked, "'why did you have to shoot those three poor boys?' Defendant did not respond initially and "later indicated he did not wish to talk about the matter." (Id. at p. 889.) The "record fail[ed] to show that defendant was given Miranda warnings" before his conversation. (Id. at p. 890.) Medina held that "in the context of the present case, where defendant was engaged in conversation with his own sister, it was not unreasonable to permit the jury to draw an adverse inference from his silence in response to her inquiry as to why he shot the victims. [] The record does not suggest that defendant believed his conversation with
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his sister was being monitored, or that his silence was intended as an invocation of any constitutional right." (Ibid.)
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