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AFTER BREAKING UP A FIGHT BETWEEN TWO MEN ON THE STREET AND HANDCUFFING THEM, THE POLICE QUESTIONED DEFENDANT WITHOUT GIVING THE MIRANDA WARNINGS; DEFENDANT’S ADMISSION HE HAD PUNCHED THE VICTIM SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED; THE ERROR WAS HARMLESS HOWEVER (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Cannataro, determined defendant was subjected to custodial interrogation when he was questioned on the street after he was handcuffed. Because the Miranda warnings were not given, defendant’s admission to punching the victim should have been suppressed. However the error was harmless in light of the other evidence, including a video. The police approached defendant and the victim, who were fighting, on the street. Both men were handcuffed and then questioned:

… [I]t is not dispositive that defendant was questioned in the immediate aftermath of the altercation, while the officers were still determining whether a crime had occurred—circumstances Supreme Court seemingly relied on in deeming the encounter a “classic case of investigatory questioning” that did not require Miranda warnings. Our case law draws no categorical distinction between interrogation and so-called investigatory questioning. Interrogation is almost definitionally investigatory in nature. And while we have recognized a “distinction between coercive interrogation and permissible street inquiry” … , the most salient difference between these categories is not when the questioning takes place, but the presence or absence of custody … . As we have explained, “routine police investigation of suspicious conduct on the street generally does not entail a significant deprivation of freedom which would require Miranda warnings” … . Absent “both the elements of police ‘custody’ and police ‘interrogation,’ ” there is no “constitutional requirement that the police recite interrogation warnings when they direct questions or comments at members of the public or solicit information and assistance” … . But where, as here, investigatory questions are directed to a person who is in custody, under circumstances police should know are likely to yield an incriminating response, Miranda warnings are required. People v Robinson, 2025 NY Slip Op 05871, CtApp 10-23-25

Practice Point: Here the police broke up a street fight, handcuffed both men, and then questioned them. Even though the police were still investigating what happened when defendant was questioned, defendant was “in custody” and was being “interrogated,” mandating the Miranda warnings.

 

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