Assignment task:
While Loki was getting into his parked vehicle, Tempe Police Officer Frank Castle noticed that the registration on the car's front windshield had expired. Officer Castle immediately pulled over Loki and arrested him for driving with an expired registration sticker.
(Assume under Arizona law that driving with an expired registration sticker is punishable by at most a $100 fine, and a jail term may not be imposed for it. Ordinarily, a driver would not be arrested for this offense, but merely given a citation; however, Arizona law did permit an arrest in this situation). Because Officer Castle was known as an especially tough "law and order" type, he took Loki back to the police station, where he was booked and held him for several hours pending arraignment. During this time, Tempe Police ran Loki's name and discovered he was wanted by Mesa Police, a separate jurisdiction, for burglary. Officer Castle then approached Loki and said, "Did you break into a Mesa home three weeks ago?" Loki responded, "Hey, officer, I didn't go into the house, I just drove the getaway car on that one."
At no time during or prior to the exchange did any police officer give Loki his Miranda warnings. Loki was subsequently charged by the Mesa Police as being an accomplice to the Mesa home burglary. His statement to Officer Castle was introduced against him. Loki argued that the statement was made in violation of the Miranda rules. The prosecutor argued in rebuttal that Miranda warnings did not have to be given because Loki was in custody at the time for a misdemeanor offense and was facing no jail time. True or False: Loki's confession will be excluded from evidence against him?
Group of answer choices
- True, because there is no minor crime exception to the Miranda requirement, the warnings must be given regardless of whether no prison sentence may be imposed
- False, Officer Castle's single question did not amount to an interrogation and even if it did Loki's statement was voluntarily made