Opinion ID: 156520
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: The United States brings this interlocutory appeal challenging a suppression order entered by the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. The district court suppressed all inculpatory statements made by E.L., a thirteen-year-old Navajo juvenile, in response to questioning by law enforcement officers. The district court suppressed the statements on two grounds: (1) the officers elicited the statements in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966); and (2) E.L.’s statements were not voluntarily made. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3731, this court concludes that a reasonable thirteen-year-old in E.L.’s position would not have believed he was in custody and that the actions of the officers were not coercive so as to render E.L.’s confession involuntary. Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s order of suppression and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.