Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
State v. Parlier, ___ N.C. App. ___, 797 S.E.2d 340 (Mar. 7, 2017)
In this child sexual assault case, the court rejected the defendant’s argument that his confession was obtained in violation of Miranda. During an interview at the sheriff’s department, the defendant admitted that he had sex with the victim. The transcript and videotape of the interview was admitted at trial. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that a custodial interrogation occurred. The defendant contacted a detective investigating the case and voluntarily traveled to the sheriff’s department. After the detective invited the defendant to speak with her, the defendant followed her to an interview room. The defendant was not handcuffed or restrained and the interview room door and hallway doors were unlocked. The defendant neither asked to leave nor expressed any reservations about speaking with the detective. A reasonable person in the defendant’s position would not have understood this to be a custodial interrogation.