Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Minor & Parental Rights when arrested

I assume that the "house arrest" situation that you mentioned did not involve the police: only the store officials, right? That may be important, because most "constitutional violations" have to be committed by the government (like the police or their agents), and store security or store managers are not government agents. They can do things that cops can't. For example, they don't have to advise people of Miranda rights.

That said, if your daughter's statement to the store was coerced or involuntary, it might be a basis for the statement to be suppressed by the judge. Important issues to be looked into are how she was detained, whether she was threatened or assaulted, how long she was detained, whether she was deprived of food or water or other needs, whether the interview was audio/video taped (which may paint an entirely different picture of the allegedly coercive environment), etc.

The second interview by the police raises additional issues for the judge to look at before the statement can be deemed "involuntary". Miranda rights only have to read if the person is in "custody" (not necessarily "arrested", but at least not free to leave). Many times, police will advise people that they are NOT under arrest, and ARE free to leave at any time; therefore, they are not "in custody" and Miranda rights don't apply. Other voluntariness issues re: police interviews of minors (persons under 17) include whether a parent or guardian or custodian was advised that the police wanted to question the youth, whether that adult consented to the interview, or whether the adult was present. The fact that you may not have been contacted, and were not present, is ONE factor among several re: voluntariness. Sometimes there are exigencies that make it impossible/impractical to contact the parent.

I don't know all the facts, so I can't say whether anything improper happened that may cause her statement to be thrown out. I recommend that you and your daughter consult an attorney who handles juvenile delinquency cases, who will look into the facts and these issues. That does not have to happen before your first court hearing (in juvenile court, it's called a preliminary inquiry, but it's similar to an arraignment where she's told what the charge is). The hearing officer may talk to you about whether you intend to hire an attorney or if you want a court-aointed attorney. That's your choice.

Before you and your daughter talk to the lawyer, make sure that you or the attorney has the police report (you can get a copy either from the court, the prosecutor or the police department) so you can all go over the facts that caused the charge to be issued. I assume that the only things you know about are what your daughter told you; in my experience as a prosecutor, the parent is not generally told ALL the facts, or 100% accurate facts, by their kids. The reports may fill in some important missing pieces.