California Court of Appeal

A minor may invoke a Fifth Amendment privileges by a request to speak with a parent under the totality of the circumstances test. However, in a case where a minor-defendant was convicted of second-degree murder after the trial court denied a motion to suppress his pretrial admissions made during two custodial interviews, judgment is affirmed nonetheless where: 1) the minor's request to speak with his father was mere circumstantial evidence of his intent to notify his father about an arrest and not an invocation of his Miranda rights; and 2) at no time did the minor refused to answer any questions, request an attorney, or say he would not answer any questions until after he talked to his father.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/08/2008
• Published 04/08/2008

Judges

• HUFFMAN, Acting P.J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Elisa A. Brandes, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant., Edmund G. Brown Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Ronald Jakob and Jennifer A. Jadovitz, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.