Yarborough v. Alvarado

In Yarborough v. Alvarado (2004) 541 U.S. 652, the 17-year-old defendant was brought to the police station by his parents, at law enforcement's request. During the two-hour interview, in which defendant was not told he was free to leave, the officer questioned defendant's honesty in answering questions by confronting him with what witnesses had said. When defendant slowly began to change his story, the officer encouraged him to discuss what happened appealing to his sense of honesty. Defendant ultimately made several incriminating admissions. After the interview concluded, defendant was allowed to leave with his parents. (Id. at pp. 656-658.) The Yarborough court noted some facts indicated defendant was not in custody: police did not take him to the police station, he was not threatened or told he would be placed under arrest, his parents waited for him in the lobby, he was not pressured with the threat of prosecution or arrest, he was offered breaks during the interview, and was not arrested after the interview. (Yarborough, supra, 541 U.S. at p. 664.) But other facts suggested defendant was in custody: The interview lasted two hours, the officer did not tell defendant he was free to leave, and defendant was brought to the police station by his parents, rather than arriving on his own accord. (Id. at p. 665.) But weighing the totality of the circumstances, the United States Supreme Court held the interview was not custodial.