United States v. Schulz

486 F. App'x 838
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 14, 2012
DocketNos. 11-15134, 11-15135
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 486 F. App'x 838 (United States v. Schulz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 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. Schulz, 486 F. App'x 838 (11th Cir. 2012).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Appellants Eric Schulz and Kelly Schulz (“the Schulzes”) appeal their convictions for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute more than 100 marijuana plants, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), 841(b)(l)(B)(vii). On appeal, the Schulzes argue that the district court erred in denying their motions to suppress statements made before and during the search of their property; that the district court erred in denying their motions to suppress evidence seized from their house; and that the district court erred in denying their motions to suppress evidence seized from their barn.

I.

The Schulzes argue that the district court erred in refusing to suppress their statements made before and during the search of their property.

We review the denial of a motion to suppress under a mixed standard of review, reviewing the district court’s factual findings for clear error, and its application of law to those facts de novo. United States v. Bautista-Silva, 567 F.3d 1266, 1271 (11th Cir.2009). All facts are construed in the light most favorable to the prevailing party below. See id.

The Fifth Amendment provides that “[n]o person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” U.S. Const, amend. V. In Miranda,1 [840]*840the Supreme Court “established that custodial interrogation cannot occur before a suspect is warned of his or her rights against self-incrimination.” United States v. Newsome, 475 F.3d 1221, 1224 (11th Cir.2007). Accordingly, the right to Miranda warnings attaches at the start of custodial interrogation. United States v. Lunar-Encinas, 603 F.3d 876, 880 (11th Cir.2010). Pre-custodial questioning, in contrast, does not require Miranda warnings. United States v. Street, 472 F.3d 1298, 1309 (11th Cir.2006). Statements obtained in violation of Miranda are not admissible to prove the government’s case at trial. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444-45, 86 S.Ct. at 1612.

For the purposes of Miranda, a defendant is in custody when there has been a formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement of the degree associated with a formal arrest. United States v. Brown, 441 F.3d 1330, 1347 (11th Cir.2006). The test is whether, under the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable person in the defendant’s position would understand his freedom of action to be curtailed to a degree associated with a formal arrest. Luna-Encinas, 603 F.3d at 881. This is an objective test that does not consider the actual, subjective beliefs of the defendant or interviewing officer as to whether the defendant was free to leave. Street, 472 F.3d at 1309. We consider several factors in applying this test, “including whether the officers brandished weapons, touched the suspect, or used language or a tone that indicated that compliance with the officers could be compelled.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). See also Brown, 441 F.3d at 1348-49 (holding that defendant was not in custody in part because he was in a familiar setting, his girlfriend’s house, and because, “[ajlthough an officer accompanied him throughout the house for safety reasons, he was free to eat, smoke, use the phone, and move about as he wished”).

Interrogation occurs “whenever a person in custody is subjected to either express questioning or its functional equivalent,” which refers to words or actions “that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.” Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300-01, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 1689, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1980). This excludes, however, words or actions normally attendant to arrest and custody. Id. Additionally, a defendant’s volunteered statements do not implicate Miranda. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 478, 86 S.Ct. at 1630; see also United States v. Castro, 723 F.2d 1527, 1530-32 (11th Cir.1984) (explaining that voluntary, unresponsive statements are outside the protection of Miranda).

Here, we conclude from the record that the district court did not err in refusing to suppress the Schulzes’ statements. As to their pre-Miranda statements, the Schulzes were not in custody or subjected to interrogation at the time, such that the right to Miranda warnings had not attached. See Street, 472 F.3d at 1309. Moreover, some of their statements were volunteered and not responsive to any question by the agents. See Miranda, 384 U.S. at 478, 86 S.Ct. at 1630; see also Castro, 723 F.2d at 1530-32. In regard to Eric Schulz’s post-Miranda statements, the district court properly refused to suppress them because they were knowingly and voluntarily made by E. Schulz after waiver of his Miranda rights. See Oregon v. Elstad, 470 U.S. 298, 309,105 S.Ct. 1285, 1293, 84 L.Ed.2d 222 (1985). Finally, given that the Schulzes were never interrogated, their argument regarding a two-step interrogation process is without merit.

II.

The Schulzes next argue that the district court erred in denying their motions to [841]*841suppress as to the evidence seized from their house.

We may affirm the denial of a motion to suppress on any ground supported by the record. United States v. Caraballo, 595 F.3d 1214, 1222 (11th Cir.2010).

The Fourth Amendment protects the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const, amend. IV. However, the Fourth Amendment is not implicated when police officers enter private land to knock on a citizen’s door for legitimate police purposes unconnected with a search of the premises. United States v. Taylor, 458 F.3d 1201, 1204 (11th Cir.2006). The officers are permitted “to knock on a residence’s door or otherwise approach the residence seeking to speak to the inhabitants just [as] any private citizen may,” and are permitted some movement away from the front door depending on the circumstances. Id. at 1204-05 (internal quotation marks omitted). Where the Fourth Amendment is violated, the question, in considering whether evidence is fruit of the poisonous tree that must be suppressed, is “whether, granting establishment of the primary illegality, the evidence to which instant objection is made has been come at by exploitation of that illegality or instead by means sufficiently distinguishable to be purged of the primary taint.” Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 487-88, 83 S.Ct. 407, 417, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963) (internal quotation marks omitted).

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