United States v. Juvenile Male
United States v. Juvenile Male
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Sixteen-year-old Juvenile Male entered a conditional plea of guilty to one count of aggravated sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 5031-37; 1153, 2241(c); and 2246(2)(D).
In making the ultimate “in custody” determination, the following factors are among those likely to be relevant: “(1) the language used to summon the individual; (2) the extent to which the defendant is confronted with evidence of guilt; (3) the physical surroundings of the interrogation; (4) the duration of the detention; and (5) the degree of pressure applied to detain the individual.” United States v. Beraun-Panez, 812 F.2d 578, 580 (9th Cir.), modified by 830 F.2d 127 (9th Cir. 1987). This list of factors is illustrative and not exhaustive. See United States v. Kim, 292 F.3d 969, 974 (9th Cir. 2002).
Considering the totality of the circumstances, we conclude that a juvenile who is summoned from his home, placed in a government vehicle, told that agents would like to speak with his mother first, informed that his presence with the agents is necessary to assist them in locating and identifying his mother, informed that he will be allowed to leave after the agents have conducted their interrogation, and is then during the ensuing interrogation, which is conducted by two agents in the government vehicle with its doors locked, made aware that he is the only suspect in a crime, confronted with evidence of his guilt that the agents certify as true, informed that “help” was available if he submitted to the “court process,” and not advised of any of his constitutional rights, would likely harbor a reasonable belief that he was “in custody,” despite the fact that the agents told him that he would not be arrested that same day. We hold that Juvenile Male’s belief that he was “in custody” was reasonable, given all the circumstances. See Kim, 292 F.3d at 969.
Because Juvenile Male was not made aware of his Miranda rights prior to making the inculpatory statements at issue, the statements made by him during the course of the “in custody” interrogation should have been suppressed. Juvenile Male’s conviction is
REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS DISPOSITION.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. Because the parties are acquainted with the facts and procedural history of this case, we repeat only an abbreviated summary here.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I do not think that the district court clearly erred
True it is that, after JM had twice said that he was willing to talk to the officers, they told him “he was not under arrest, nor would he be arrested, [and] after we were done talking he would be free to leave.” I cannot say that as a matter of law that amounts to a statement that JM was prohibited from leaving until the talk was over. Rather, the district court could decide, as it effectively did, that the statement was a natural way of saying that JM was free to go. And, of course, at any time that JM chose to stop talking, they would be finished talking, and he would be free to leave because the whole encounter hinged on his willingness to speak with the officers. Moreover, it is not as if JM was locked away in a dark room and put upon. He was sitting in a car out in front of his own house in broad daylight for less than an hour—indeed it is probable that the whole encounter from start to finish took around 30 minutes.
In short, as I see it, the district court did not clearly err as to the facts, and based upon those facts the district court did not err in reaching its legal conclusion.
Thus, I respectfully dissent.
. See United States v. Kim, 292 F.3d 969, 973-74 (9th Cir. 2002).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.