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THE POLICE ASKED FOR DEFENDANT’S NAME AND DATE OF BIRTH; HE PROVIDED A FALSE NAME; HE PROVIDED HIS REAL NAME ONLY AFTER HE WAS WARNED OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF PROVIDING A FALSE NAME AND DETAINED; THE POLICE QUESTIONING DID NOT TRIGGER THE NEED FOR THE MIRANDA WARNINGS BECAUSE THE POLICE WERE SEEKING ONLY “PEDIGREE” INFORMATION; THERE WAS A TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT (FOURTH DEPT).

he Fourth Department, affirming the conviction, determined there was no Miranda violation because the police asked only pedigree questions. The two dissenters disagreed:

… [T]he police officer, accompanied by two other members of the police department, responded to a residence after receiving a complaint that there were unwanted guests there. Upon their arrival, the complainant reported to the police that there were two unwanted guests in the residence: a female guest identified by name and a male guest supposedly named “Rodney.” The police identified the female guest by name and she agreed to leave without argument.

The police located the male guest—later identified as defendant—in the closet of a back bedroom underneath some clothes and other items. The police asked defendant to identify himself by name and date of birth. Defendant provided the police with the false name “Rodney Miller” and a purported date of birth. The police gave defendant multiple warnings that it was illegal to lie to them about his name, but defendant continued to provide the false name. The officer testified that defendant was not free to leave during the interaction until the police identified him. The officer explained, among other things, that the police did not provide defendant with Miranda warnings prior to asking for his name and date of birth because they were merely attempting to obtain defendant’s pedigree information as a routine matter for any such encounter. The officer further testified that the police then informed defendant that he was going to be detained and, upon being detained, defendant provided his real name. Thereafter, the police ultimately determined that there was an order of protection in place against defendant and in favor of the female guest. The police then arrested defendant for violating the order of protection and for providing false pedigree information. * * *

… [W]e conclude that the court properly determined that the pedigree exception applied and thus properly denied that part of defendant’s omnibus motion seeking to suppress his statements to the police. The officer testified at the suppression hearing that the purpose of asking pedigree questions of both the female guest and defendant was “[t]o identify who they were and advise them they were no longer welcome there,” and that requesting general information such as names and dates of birth was routine for any such encounter. The officer’s testimony thus established the administrative purpose for seeking pedigree information during an encounter of that nature: the police must know with whom they are speaking in a residence … . The People “thereby established the threshold basis for the pedigree exception to apply, i.e., the questions were reasonably related to the police’s administrative concerns” … . * * *

As the Court of Appeals has cautioned, “[a]lthough there may be some circumstances where asking a suspect for core identifying information such as name, date of birth, and address will not qualify for the pedigree exception to Miranda, those circumstances will be rare” (id. at 416). People v Milton, 2026 NY Slip Op 04584, Fourth Dept 7-24-26

Practice Point; The police may ask for a person’s name and date of birth without providing Miranda warnings, even when the police are aware the person has provided a false name.

 

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