State v. Schaefer
State v. Schaefer, 2025 UT App 4 (Orme, J.)
Criminal
The Utah Court of Appeals held:
- The district court erred in concluding Defendant was not in custody. Defendant unequivocally asserted his right to counsel.
- The denial of Defendant’s motion to suppress was harmful.
- Practice tip: If a reasonable person in the defendant’s shoes would not feel free to leave, and an interrogation presents the same inherently coercive pressures as in Miranda, the interrogation is custodial despite a statement by police that the defendant is free to leave.
- Practice tip: The question of whether Miranda violations involve the ordinary standard of harmlessness or the heightened federal constitutional standard of harmlessness beyond a reasonable doubt is still open.