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THE MAJORITY CONCLUDED THE QUESTIONING OF DEFENDANT IN HIS BACKYARD AND AT THE HOSPITAL WAS INVESTIGATORY AND DID NOT REQUIRE THE MIRANDA WARNINGS; THERE WAS A DETAILED, FACT-SPECIFIC DISSENT (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, affirming defendant’s conviction, determined the questioning of defendant in his backyard and at the hospital constituted “a noncustodial investigatory inquiry” for which the Miranda warnings were not required. A comprehensive and detailed dissent argued the questioning was in fact “custodial” and the need for the Miranda warnings was triggered:

It is well settled that Miranda warnings must be given when a defendant is subject to custodial interrogation … . “In determining whether suppression is required, the court ‘should consider: (1) the amount of time the defendant spent with the police, (2) whether [defendant’s] freedom of action was restricted in any significant manner, (3) the location and atmosphere in which the defendant was questioned, (4) the degree of cooperation exhibited by the defendant, (5) whether [the defendant] was apprised of [their] constitutional rights, and (6) whether the questioning was investigatory or accusatory in nature’ ” … . Although no Miranda warnings were given to defendant while in his backyard or at the hospital, we conclude upon our review of the relevant factors that, under the circumstances here, the questioning by the police officers in each instance “constituted a noncustodial investigatory inquiry for which Miranda warnings were not required” … .

From the dissent:

In my view, each and every factor in determining whether defendant was in custody for Miranda purposes weighs in defendant’s favor. First, defendant was with the police in his backyard for almost an hour … . Second, defendant’s freedom of action, notwithstanding his leg injury, was restricted in a significant manner from the inception of the encounter. The encounter started with police officers yelling at defendant not to move, to get on the ground, and to let the officers see his hands at all times … . Moreover, defendant was informed multiple times that nothing would happen until the officers found the gun … . Next, the atmosphere in which defendant was questioned was highly intrusive because his backyard was full of officers searching for a gun … . It is apparent from the body camera footage that defendant did not cooperate with the officers because he never told them where the gun was, despite repeated accusatory questioning on the topic … . Despite the above, defendant was not advised of his Miranda warnings, and the officers’ questions to defendant were not merely investigatory in nature … . People v Casiano, 2025 NY Slip Op 04316, Fourth Dept 7-25-25

Practice Point: Consult the dissent for some insight into when questioning by the police crosses the line from an investigatory inquiry to a custodial interrogation.

 

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