United States v. Beard
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
119 Fed.Appx. 462 (2005)
Responding to a domestic disturbance, police learned Beard (defendant) had threatened his sister with an illegal sawed-off shotgun; an officer confronted Beard in his bedroom holding the shotgun, gave some version of Miranda warnings, and Beard confessed to being a felon possessing the gun before being arrested. The district court suppressed the confession, finding Beard was in custody and that Miranda compliance was unproven, and the government appealed.
Whether, in determining if a suspect is in "custody" for Fifth Amendment purposes, a reviewing court examines the totality of the circumstances as the suspect perceived them and what a reasonable person in the suspect's position would have understood.