Interrogating Minors and Beheler Admonishments

• Miranda; Questioning Minors
• Interviews of Minors and the Issue of Custody
• The Effectiveness of a Beheler Admonishment

Absent a determination that a criminal suspect is in custody, a Miranda advisal and wavier is not legally required in order to question him.  However, telling a suspect that he is not under arrest and not in trouble does not necessarily, depending upon the circumstances, render the suspect not in custody for purposes of Miranda.  The fact that a suspect is known by a police interrogator to be a minor is a factor to consider in determining whether he is in custody.

17-year-old defendant Matthew W.—all 5’ 6” and 130 pounds of him—was sitting in his car on Main Street in the City of Napa during the early morning hours (i.e., between 12:45 and 1:00 a.m.) of January 21, 2020, waiting for his friend, 17-year-old Andrew G., to sneak out of his house so the two of them could hang out together.  Although later testimony from defendant, ....