United States v. Giovanni

Robert L. Hinkle, United States District Judge

This case presents a recurring question: is a person in custody for purposes of Miranda v. Arizona , 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), when the person's liberty is substantially curtailed within the person's home while multiple officers execute a search warrant. The answer: sometimes yes, sometimes no. Here the answer is no.

I. Background

A 23-count indictment charges the defendant Amanda Giovanni and two others with offenses arising in part from Ms. Giovanni's fraudulent claims about her authority to sell arms to the Kurds. Ms.…