Facts
Joe, a 14 year old, was at a party. At 12:30 a.m., he was sitting on the steps to the apartment where the party was occurring when he saw two police cars arrive. He yelled to the party-goers, “5-0.” Joe remained sitting outside as the police approached. An officer took Joe to a police car and sat him in the back seat. The offer asked Joe his name, date of birth, address, and his parents’ names and phone number. The officer cited Joe for the curfew violation.
Rule of Law
A person subject to a custodial interrogation must be given Miranda rights before the questioning begins. “Custody” is defined as a reasonable person’s liberty is retrained to the extent they believe they
are not free to leave. “Interrogation” is defined as being asked any questions that would likely lead to an answer that would incriminate oneself. The curfew law states a person under the age of 15 who is
outside their residence past 11:00 p.m. without the presence of a parent, guardian, or supervising adult, is a delinquent youth.
Assignment
The researcher’s assignment is to determine if the officer should have read Joe the Miranda warning before questioning him.