Kidnapping – Suppression

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Kristen Lauren Smith

Case No.: 14-3442

Officials: POSNER, EASTERBROOK, and SYKES, Circuit Judges

Focus: Kidnapping – Suppression

Statements of appellant properly admitted into court, appellant did not retain any parental permission to take child. No coercion occurred in obtaining evidence from appellant.

“Smith places special emphasis on her pre-polygraph colloquy with Agent Riessen—specifically, her affirmative response to the agent’s question whether anyone was forcing her to take a polygraph test. (Recall that when she gave this answer, Agent Riessen assured her that she didn’t have to take the polygraph. She then signed the consent form and the examination proceeded.) At the evidentiary hearing on the suppression motion, Smith testified that before the polygraph examination began, Agent McMillan approached her in the hallway and told her that she had to take the polygraph. Agent McMillan denied saying this or anything like it. The magistrate judge credited the agent’s testimony over Smith’s. The district judge accepted this credibility determination, and Smith doesn’t challenge that ruling on appeal. Without more, the pre-polygraph exchange with Agent Riessen is not evidence of coercion”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.