The local bank was robbed by two masked men. They pointed guns at
the tellers, but when one of the tellers hesitated, one of the robbers shot the
teller dead. The robbers then ran out of the bank with bags of money.
The next day, a local police officer was behind a car and, while pacing
it with his squad car (neither gaining nor losing distance between cars), the
officer looked at his speedometer and noticed they were going 49 miles per
hour. The officer then saw a sign post that set the speed limit at 35 miles per
hour. Next, the officersaw that the car slowed and turned left at a side street,
but did not signal the turn in any way. When the car did not come to a full
stop at the stop sign at the next block, the officer decided to activate the
emergency lights on the squad car and pull the car over.
The officer walked up to the driver’s side door, and asked for the driver
for his driver’s license, car registration, and proof of insurance. The driver
said, “What did I do?” When the officer again asked for the driver’s license,
car registration, and proof of insurance, the driver stated, “I don’t have it.”
The officer told the driver to stay put, returned to the squad car, and used his
onboard computer to type in the driver’s name, DOB, and social security
number. The computer processed the request and found that (1) the driver
has a prior felony conviction for a narcotics offense in 2015, and (2) the driver
has a suspended driver’s license for prior unpaid traffic offenses. Knowing
that driving with a suspended license is an arrestable offense, the officer
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walked back to the car, asked the driver to get out, and placed him under
arrest.
The officerthen searched the car and found a gun underneath the front
of the driver’s seat. The officer seized the gun.
Noticing that the driver was sweating profusely, the officer began to
suspect that the driver might have been involved in the bank robbery. The
officer placed the driver in the back of the squad car and drove him to the
station. The officer, however, took a detour and made sure to drive past the
bank on the way to the station. The officer looked into the mirror and saw
the driver was staring at the bank with a tear in his eye. The officer then
decided to drive past the teller’s house, which had dark ribbons on the trees,
flowers, and signs mourning the teller’s death. They then saw family
members embracing on the porch. The officer said to himself out loud, “That
is such a shame. I heard that he had a newborn baby at home.” The officer
then played a song on his iPad, “I Fought the Law and The Law Won.”
The officer’s plan worked. The driver started thinking that he’s going
to do some serious time for what he did. The driver blurts out, “Ok, you got
me! I helped my friend do the bank job, but he was the one who shot the
teller. I’ll tell you everything if you promise me that I won’t spend the rest of
my life in prison!” When the officer said he could not make such promises,
the driver slumped back and stopped talking.

You are now the judge presiding over the driver’s criminal case, alleging that
he committed a bank robbery and felony murder for the death of the teller. The
prosecution wants to use the statement the driver made in the back of the squad
car as evidence that he was involved in the offense. Before trial, the defense
attorney moves to suppress that statement, arguing that (1) the officer had not
given his client the Miranda warnings before the driver made the statement, and
(2) the police unlawfully coerced the driver into making the statement. What is
your ruling with respect to each of the defendant’s arguments? Will you GRANT or
DENY the defendant’s Motion to Suppress Statement? Explain your reasoning.