United States Fourth Circuit

Order suppressing defendant's hospital admission to police that he shot himself, which had supported a charge for possession of a firearm by a felon, is reversed where defendant's freedom to terminate the police interview was curtailed primarily by circumstances resulting from his injury and hospital admittance rather than by police restraint and, thus, he was not in custody at the time of his questioning and Miranda warnings were not required.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/04/2007
• Published 12/04/2007

Judges

• Before NIEMEYER and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and T.S. ELLIS, III, Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Lori Ann Leonovicz, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant.  Paresh S. Patel, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  Rod J. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, Steven H. Levin, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant.  James Wyda, Federal Public Defender, Baltimore, Maryland, Joseph Balter, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee.