Derrick Lee Sledge v. Ben Curry

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** Pursuant to Rule 43(c)(2) of the Federal Rules of Appellate
Procedure, Ben Curry is substituted for L.R. Blanks as Warden.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
DERRICK LEE SLEDGE,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
BEN CURRY** ,
Respondent - Appellee.
No. 07-55581
D.C. No. CV-03-01190-CAS
MEMORANDUM *
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Christina A. Snyder, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted January 15, 2010
Pasadena, California
Before: GOODWIN, SCHROEDER and FISHER, Circuit Judges.
Derrick Sledge, a California state prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial
of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He argues the state
court improperly denied his motion to suppress statements he made to police
FILED
JAN 27 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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without first being advised of his Miranda rights. See Miranda v. Arizona, 384
U.S. 436, 444-45 (1966). The state court determined that Miranda warnings were
not necessary because Sledge was not “in custody” when two police officers
temporarily detained and briefly questioned him in the lobby of a bank before they
arrested him. See Stansbury v. California, 511 U.S. 318, 322 (1994). The state
court’s decision was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly
established federal law, nor was it based on an unreasonable determination of the
facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceedings. 28 U.S.C.
§ 2254(d); cf. Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 442 (1984); United States v.
Woods, 720 F.2d 1022, 1029-30 (9th Cir. 1983). Therefore, the district court
properly denied relief.
AFFIRMED.

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