United States v. Randal A. Hanson, Also Known as Randy Hanson

237 F.3d 961, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 1156, 2001 WL 66401
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 29, 2001
Docket00-1323
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 237 F.3d 961 (United States v. Randal A. Hanson, Also Known as Randy Hanson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Randal A. Hanson, Also Known as Randy Hanson, 237 F.3d 961, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 1156, 2001 WL 66401 (8th Cir. 2001).

Opinions

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

On April 4, 1998, appellant Randal Hanson broke into the Fargo Women’s Health Organization and attempted to start a fire in the clinic with the use of kerosene. Hanson was later convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 844(i) (1998), attempted arson of a property used in interstate commerce. He has been in federal prison since October 5, 1999. The issues before us are whether Hanson was in custody when he was interrogated by federal agents about the attempted arson, and whether the trial judge erred in failing to instruct the jury on a lesser included offense. We hold that Hanson was in custody, and reverse his [963]*963conviction because his confession is inadmissible against him. For that reason we need not reach the second issue.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 10, 1998, the Fargo Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms received an anonymous letter stating that Hanson had been seen cleaning blood off the sidewalk near the clinic on the morning of April 5, 1998. On January 15, 1999, federal agents Erickson and Rutter went to Hanson’s residence. The agents explained that they were investigating recent vandalism at the abortion clinic and wanted to show Hanson photos of the clinic. The agents did not tell Hanson that he was the prime suspect in their investigation of the arson attempt that had occurred eight months earlier.1 Hanson agreed to accompany them to the field office, apparently out of curiosity.2 He rode in the locked back seat of the agents’ government vehicle3 to the federal building, and into the underground parking garage. They walked through an interior stairwell to an isolated room measuring six feet by eight feet,4 where the agents questioned Hanson for approximately two hours. He was with the agents for at least three hours in total.5 There is no video or audio record of their conversation.

Hanson argues that he was entitled to Miranda warnings when the agents questioned him in the field station because he was in custody at that time. The United States argues that Hanson was not in custody and that his statements to the agents are admissible.

II. DISCUSSION

We review the district court’s conclusions concerning custody under the “clearly erroneous” standard. United States v. McKinney, 88 F.3d 551, 553 (8th Cir.1996) (citing United States v. Griffin, 922 F.2d 1343, 1347 (8th Cir.1990)). We must affirm unless the district court’s opinion is unsupported by substantial evidence, is an erroneous interpretation of applicable law, or the court is left with “a firm and definite conviction that a mistake has been made.” United States v. Jorgensen, 871 F.2d 725, 728 (8th Cir.1989).

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444-45, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) established that a person “must be advised of the right to be free from compulsory self-incrimination, and the right to the assistance of an attorney, any time that a person is taken into custody for questioning.” Griffin, 922 F.2d at 1347. Custody occurs not only upon formal arrest, but also under any other circumstances where the suspect is deprived of his freedom of movement. California v. Beheler, 463 U.S. 1121, 1125, 103 S.Ct. 3517, 77 L.Ed.2d 1275 (1983); McKinney, 88 F.3d at 554 (citation omitted). In determining whether a suspect is in custody we must consider the “totality of the circumstances,” United States v. Helmel, 769 F.2d 1306, 1320 (8th Cir.1985), and “how a reasonable man in the suspect’s position would have understood his situation.” Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 442, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984). Ultimately, however, the determination of custody “depends on the objective circumstances of the interrogation, not on the subjective views harbored by either the interrogating officers or the person being questioned.” Stansbury v. California, 511 U.S. 318, 323, 114 S.Ct. 1526, 128 L.Ed.2d 293 (1994).

[964]*964We will consider the following relevant factors in determining whether Hanson was in custody while he was interrogated: the length of the interrogation, the suspect’s freedom to leave the scene, and the place and purpose of the interrogation. McKinney, 88 F.3d at 554. Griffin also identifies factors that are “indicia of custody:”

(1) whether the suspect was informed at the time of questioning that the questioning was voluntary, that the suspect was free to leave or request the officers to do so, or that the suspect was not considered under arrest; (2) whether the suspect possessed unrestrained freedom of movement during questioning; (3) whether the suspect initiated contact with authorities or voluntarily acquiesced to official requests to respond to questions; (4) whether strong arm tactics or deceptive strategems were employed during questioning; (5) whether the atmosphere of questioning was police dominated; or, (6) whether the suspect was placed under arrest at the termination of questioning.

Griffin, 922 F.2d at 1349.

In this case, Hanson agreed to go with the agents away from the familiarity of his home to the field station to look at photos of “recent vandalism” at the clinic; he did not know at the time of his consent that the agents were going to question him about the arson attempt, and therefore did not “voluntarily acquiesce” to the subsequent interrogation. The United States asserts that this was merely “subtle subterfuge.” We find that it was “deceptive strategem,” and the first of a series of the agents’ coercive tactics that indicate that Hanson was in custody.

Once in the interrogation room, a six foot by eight foot space shut off from the rest of the office by two closed doors,6 agent Erickson sat across from Hanson at a desk, and agent Rutter stood in the corner,7 creating a police-dominated, intimidating environment. The agents informed Hanson that he was a suspect in the attempted arson investigation, that he was not under arrest, and that he was free to leave. The agents then explained that they would drive him home if he so wished. According to the appellant, Agent Erickson added, “[l]et’s not make this adversarial tit for tat. If you don’t cooperate I guarantee you’ll do federal time in prison.... We have enough to arrest you but we’re not. We know you did it. What we want to know is why.” The agent denied making the statement.8

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Bluebook (online)
237 F.3d 961, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 1156, 2001 WL 66401, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-randal-a-hanson-also-known-as-randy-hanson-ca8-2001.