Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

I received a phone call from the local police department and the officer told me that he was in my house with a search warrant and that he was looking for a handgun that a resident had had possession of. The officer also stated that they knew he had stopped here prior to him being stopped and they thought that he might have left the gun here when he stopped. I told the officer that he was not carrying anything in his hands, and he was only in the house a couple of minutes. He was in the family room, and then went upstairs to say hi to his mother. He never entered any other part of the house. The officer also said that they were going to �tear the house apart until they found the gun.�

I was asked by the officer if I could convince my son to tell me where the gun was. He also arranged for the jail to have a phone available to him to make the call to me.

My question, would this be a possible violation of the arrested party�s Miranda rights by the police having a third party acting as an agent for the police ask his son to reveal the location of the gun?


Asked on 10/19/11, 12:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Maury Beaulier612.240.8005 Minnesota Lawyers

First, the Court in Miranda v. Arizona defined custodial interrogation as "questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way." Being taken into custody has been interpreted as that point in time where a reasonable person no longer would feel free to leave.

There is significant question whether interrogation by a third party would constitute an interrogation by police. However, such questioning may be challenged if the circumstances surrounding the question indicates active police involvement.

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Answered on 10/20/11, 8:49 am


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