- Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
- Area(s) of Law: Criminal Procedure
- Date Filed: 02-12-2025
- Case #: A177427
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Mooney, S. J.
- Full Text Opinion
Defendant appeals her conviction of crimes related to first-degree sodomy, rape, and using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct. Defendant’s former husband repeatedly abused her and forced her to participate in the abuse of her children. When police visited and entered her home, they questioned her about her husband. After 40 minutes, the interrogation turned to questions about her conduct, during which she made several incriminating statements. The assignment of error was whether the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion to suppress statements to police without Miranda warnings during compelling circumstances. Under Article I, section 12, Miranda warnings are required when a person is in custody or subjected to compelling circumstances equivalent to custody; factors to decide this are, by the location and length of the encounter, the level of pressure on the defendant, and the defendant’s ability to end the encounter. While in her home, the police advised that she was not required to speak until around two hours. The topic, length, and questions exerted pressure on the defendant, and she was not advised that she could end the interrogation until it was nearly over. This shows a compelling circumstance. Reversed and remanded.