California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Moore, No. S081479, No. SS980646 (Cal. 2011):
The detectives' questions about defendant's prior arrests, drug use, need for money, and carrying of a knife and other weapons on the day of the crimes conveyed their suspicion of defendant's possible involvement. But Miranda warnings are not required "simply because the questioning takes place in the station house, or because the questioned person is one whom the police suspect." (Oregon v. Mathiason (1977) 429 U.S. 492, 495, italics added.) While the nature of the police questioning is relevant to the custody question, police expressions of suspicion, with no other evidence of a restraint on the person's freedom of movement, are not necessarily sufficient to convert voluntary presence at an interview into custody. (See id. at pp. 493-495 [no custody where defendant agreed to interview at police station, was told in interview that the police suspected him of a burglary and told (falsely) his fingerprints had been found at the scene, but was allowed to leave at conclusion of interview].) At least until defendant first asked to be taken home and his request was not granted, a reasonable person in defendant's circumstances would have believed, despite indications of police skepticism, that he was not under arrest and was free to terminate the interview and leave if he chose to do so.
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