United States v. Gary Lee Hilliker

Gary Lee Hilliker appeals from a conviction after a jury trial for violation of the Dyer Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2312 . The' sole issue on this appeal is whether, measured by the standards of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 , 86 S.Ct. 1602 , 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the trial court erred in admitting in evidence statements made by Hilliker to law enforcement officials on the day of the arrest.

The parties are in substantial agreement as to the facts. An Arizona state highway patrolman, Gary J. Zimmerman, arrested Hilliker after receiving a radio report that the automobile in which Hilliker and several other persons were travelling had been stolen in California. At the scene of the arrest, the officer informed the defendant orally of his constitutional rights to remain silent and to have the aid of an attorney. Shortly after these warnings, he admitted that he had taken the car.

A short time later at the police station, the arresting officer again advised Hilliker of his Miranda rights and again he admitted taking the automobile. Later the same afternoon two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewed defendant regarding the interstate transportation of the automobile.…