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OH2: Detained shoplifter did not have to be Mirandized before being asked for consent

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant was detained for shoplifting by a store’s loss prevention officer, and the police were called. When the officer arrived, he asked for consent to search the car for other stolen stuff. Defendant then admitted that he had drugs in the car. The admission alone was probable cause, and Miranda warnings were not required before asking for consent. State v. Severt, 2010 Ohio 5389, 2010 Ohio App. LEXIS 4539 (2d Dist. November 5, 2010)*: [*P47] Initially, we note that a police officer’s request to a defendant for consent to search his vehicle does not constitute an interrogation. State v. Carver, Montgomery App. No. 21328, 2008 Ohio 4631. Thus, Miranda warnings were not necessary before the request to search was made. We are not persuaded that Officer Young’s response to Severt’s question that he wanted to search the vehicle in order to check for stolen merchandise and/or other illegal items was a statement designed to elicit an incriminating response from Severt regarding the contents of his vehicle...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 18, 2010 (boomark / email).