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VT: Custody does not make consent invalid

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

While defendant was in custody, it was not custodial. "Defendant's encounter with the trooper was, by comparison, a much less coercive situation. Although in custody for purposes of Miranda during the trooper's explanation of consent, defendant was unrestrained. Always polite, the trooper applied no force or threat whatsoever, aside from outlining the necessity and delay of towing the car and obtaining a warrant." State v. Sole, 2009 VT 24, 2009 Vt. LEXIS 22 (February 27, 2009).* Seizure of keys to a car were proper as evidence of a crime, although the search of the car did not occur until cause developed. United States v. Stewart, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 4240, 2009 FED App. 0175N (6th Cir. March 4, 2009) (unpublished).* In a suit under the Stored Communications Act, a person accidentally leaving his e-mail password available was not consent to accessing his e-mail account...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 05, 2009 (boomark / email).