United States v. James Michael Donald Kennedy

Kennedy appeals from his conviction for transporting and receiving firearms in interstate commerce. 18 U.S.C. §§ 922 (g) and (h) and 924(a).

He moved unsuccessfully to suppress a firearm found in his residence by FBI agents executing a search warrant. He argues that the questioning which yielded the information establishing probable cause for the warrant was an overbroad investigatory stop or, alternatively, a custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings. We conclude that the district court erred in denying the motion to suppress, and reverse the convictions.

I.

FACTS

On February 28, 1977, the San Diego County Health Department Bureau of Records notified FBI Special Agent Durr that a 16-year old male had requested the birth certificates of four deceased persons. Because such information often led to detection and prosecution of state and federal offenses, Durr arranged surveillance.

Durr followed the young man from the Bureau of Records to a parking lot, where Kennedy and another juvenile met him in Kennedy’s pickup truck. FBI agents in three vehicles followed them through downtown San Diego. A license check indicated that the plates affixed to the pickup had been issued…