CA8: Despite an ongoing search of his house for CP, defendant wasn’t in custody when he made statements

The district court erred in concluding defendant was “in custody” for Miranda purposes. He showed up at his house as a search warrant was being executed and was talked to on the couch. He was told he was not in custody. Of course the situation was dominated by the police because minutes earlier they broke down the door and there were 7-8 inside, but that alone is not enough. On the totality, statements made here during the execution of a search warrant, after he was told he wasn’t in custody, are admissible. He also consented to producing a laptop from his car. United States v. Williams, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14159, (8th Cir. July 25, 2014):*

In concluding that Williams was in custody, the district court relied heavily on the “police-dominated” environment resulting from execution of the search warrant, during which entry was forced and seven armed agents occupied the home. The district court gave too much weight to this factor: “Any warrant search is inherently police dominated; there is nothing untoward about that circumstance.” Perrin, 659 F.3d at 721. Searching investigators typically come armed and in groups of sufficient number to ensure officer safety. Force is used to enter when no resident is present or the occupants refuse to answer after a knock and announcement. To accept Williams’s contention here would come close to mandating that Miranda warnings accompany any questioning conducted during execution of a search warrant. But Miranda applies only when the circumstances approximate a formal arrest, and execution of a search warrant is not an arrest. Police inevitably “dominate” the atmosphere in some sense while they are conducting a search. But a reasonable resident who is unrestrained near the front door in the living room of his home, and who is advised that there is no arrest and that participation in any interview is voluntary, should know that he is free to leave or to terminate questioning. Under the totality of the circumstances, Williams was not in custody.