Order Denying Suppression -- Grand Jury Target or Subject and Miranda Issues (10/22/16)

In United  States v. Cason, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142434 (D WV 2016), here, the Court denied Cason's motion to suppress evidence of Cason's statements in an interview of Cason by IRS agents serving a search warrant.  Cason denied that he was testified that he was a subject of the grand jury investigation and that he was given the appropriate Miranda warnings.  The Agents testified differently, and their contemporaneous memorandum of the interview to that effect was entered.  The Magistrate conducting the hearing on the motion had made the key findings:

• After knocking on Cason's front door, the agents waited on his porch for three to four minutes while Cason's daughters left for school, hardly indicating custody or restriction;
• The agents tone did not change once they entered the home;
• The agents twice informed Cason that he was the subject of an investigation, that he was free to consult with an attorney, and that he was free to end the interview at any time n4;

   n4 Agent Gandee recounted this fact in his memorandum of interview, which he gave Cason the opportunity to review a few weeks later. The memorandum clearly indicated that Cason had been "informed he [was] the subject of a criminal investigation, that he had the right to legal counsel, and that he did not have to answer any of [their] questions." After reviewing the memorandum together with his legal counsel, Cason noted that there were no "major" inaccuracies.
   In his objections to the R&R, Cason argues that he "should have testified as to the nature and completeness of his review of the Memorandum, as should have [his attorney]," and that "[n]onetheless, [his] brief review of the Memorandum weeks later does not change any of the facts recited above." (Dkt. No. 39 at 9). Yet, Cason fails to explain how a memorandum wrongfully indicating that he had been informed of such highly pertinent facts and rights, of which both he and his attorney were fully aware, somehow contained no "major" inaccuracies.

• The agents did not restrict Cason's freedom of movement;
• When the agents requested that Cason ride with them to his office, he willingly agreed;
• While at his office, Cason was free to take phone calls and to leave the room, which he did multiple times, indicating that he freely ended his conversation with the agents at multiple points;
• While at his office, Cason was free to consult with counsel, and to end the interview, which he ultimately did; and
• Nothing in the record indicated that Cason was threatened or coerced.

In the opinion linked above, the district court affirmed those findings which controlled the disposition of the motion to suppress.

I write to address two issues -- the grand jury "subject" issue and the Miranda warnings issue.

Grand Jury Subject Issue

More on Credit Suisse and Its Enablers (3/1/11)

I have previously blogged the recent indictment of 4 Credit Suisse enablers for offshore account skullduggery.  (See "More Enablers Indicted", FTCB (2/23/11).)  According to a Reuters Legal report here:

1. Mr. Agostini, one of the defendants, shifts the focus to Credit Suisse:

"I always acted in the name of the bank and according to their instructions," Agustoni told Reuters via telephone.

"It's not the case that I did anything independently, the bank was always informed and my actions were checked by my bosses," Agustoni said.