Wass v. Commonwealth

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• concluding that the defendant was in custody for purposes of Miranda in part because he was confronted by twelve armed officers, four of whom arrived by helicopter
• stating that “the extent to which [a defendant] is confronted with evidence of guilt” is a factor to consider in determining custody
• stating that the presence of twelve police officers and a helicopter, threatening to kill the suspect’s dog, or barricading the suspect’s house amounted to “custodial interrogation”
• noting that twelve armed police officers arrived in trucks and a helicopter to execute a search warrant, surrounded Wass's house, and threatened to kill one of Wass's dogs if he did not control it
• finding interview taken in custodial context where the law enforcement presence resembled a military operation and no reasonable person would have felt free to resist any demand made on him
• finding interview taken in custodial context where the law enforcement presence resembled a military operation and no reasonable person would have felt free to resist any demand made on him

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).