WI: Def’s confession alone wasn’t enough to turn voluntary questioning into detention

Defendant argued that his confession to murder transformed his status from a voluntary appearer at the police station to a person in custody. No; it’s but a factor in custody. “We therefore conclude that although an admission of guilt to a serious crime is a factor to consider in a custody analysis, Bartelt’s admission to attacking M.R. was not enough to transform his status to that of ‘in custody’ given the totality of the circumstances. Because Bartelt was not in custody when he asked about counsel, his Fifth Amendment right to counsel did not attach.” State v. Bartelt, 2018 WI 16, 2018 Wisc. LEXIS 72 (Feb. 20, 2018).