Opinion ID: 41875
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence at Motion to Suppress Hearing

Text: After her indictment on the above charges, Louis filed a motion to suppress statements that she made to immigration officers during her secondary inspection. Louis’s motion alleged that the statements were given without Miranda warnings and were involuntary and the product of coercion. The government responded that because Louis had not been in custody when she made the statements, Miranda warnings were not required. At the hearing on Louis’s motion to suppress, the district court heard the following evidence from Customs Officer Jannes Lewis, who was the only witness at the hearing. Louis did not testify. 2 On October 2, 2004, Louis arrived into the Ft. Lauderdale airport on a flight from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Initially, Louis went to primary inspection where Inspector Rudy Paredes interviewed her. Paredes suspected that Louis had a tampered visa or passport, and Paredes sent Louis to secondary inspection. Paredes then asked Louis to tell him her true name, but Louis became uncooperative and unresponsive. Louis indicated that she was uncomfortable with Inspector Paredes. At that point, Officer Lewis took over the interview. Officer Lewis explained to Louis that Officer Lewis was authorized to take sworn statements regarding Louis’s entry into the United States, and that it had been determined that Louis possibly was inadmissible. Officer Lewis further explained that if Louis was fearful of returning to Haiti, she would be given an opportunity to speak with an asylum officer regarding her fears, and that Louis should indicate whether she had such fears because she might not get another opportunity. Louis responded that she understood, and agreed to give true and complete answers. Louis, however, told Officer Lewis that her name was Giannie Tarah Ladouceur. After Officer Lewis told her that the inspectors had contacted her aunt in the United States, Louis admitted that her real name was Roselande Louis. Louis then explained that she had given two photographs of herself to her aunt in 3 Haiti, and that an unidentified male had provided her the travel documents presented to Inspector Paredes. Louis did not express any fears about returning to Haiti. Louis admitted that she knew that the documents had been altered. Officer Lewis further explained that because Louis was at the border, she could not leave the inspection area and enter the airport proper until she was admitted into the United States. Further, whenever persons undergoing immigration examination had to leave the inspection area to use the restroom, they were escorted by inspectors to prevent them from entering the airport. The district court denied Louis’s motion to suppress, determining that Louis’s interrogation was routine, not custodial, and thus did not require Miranda warnings. Further, the district court found that Louis’s statements were freely and voluntarily given. Prior to trial, the government learned that Louis may have been placed in a holding cell during the secondary inspection, and thus, she may have been in custody. Based on this information, the government decided to use Louis’s statements only for the purpose of impeachment.