GOSHEN —
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a Goshen man who claims his rights were violated by Goshen police.
The decision in favor of Jose Castillo-Aguilar was handed down Friday. It reverses a ruling issued in Elkhart Superior Court II, where the Castillo-Aguilar case is set for a status conference Jan. 30.
Castillo-Aguilar is represented by Elkhart attorney Bridgette Greene.
Castillo-Aguilar was charged with Class C felony forgery for allegedly providing a false name to gain employment. Police obtained the name of Castillo-Aguilar’s employer from an “information sheet” he was given at the Goshen Police Department after he was arrested on a charge of driving without a license.
“Castillo-Aguilar alleges he should have received a Miranda warning prior to filling out that information sheet and, therefore, all evidence collected based on his answers should be suppressed,” according to appellate court documents.
The trial court denied that motion, and the Court of Appeals reversed that decision.
Put simply, Miranda warnings are issued by law enforcement officials to inform criminal suspects of their constitutional rights.
During a traffic stop, Castillo-Aguilar told police he had neither driver’s license nor insurance. When asked for identification cards, Castillo-Aguilar reportedly provided cards that contained two different names. Police arrested Castillo-Aguilar on a charge of driving without ever receiving a license and transported him to the police station to determine his identity.
“At the station, the officer gave Castillo-Aguilar an ‘information sheet’ to fill out,” appellate court documents read. “The sheet requested, in Spanish with English translation, the following information: full name, nicknames, complete address, telephone number, Social Security number, age, birthday, birth location, nationality, time living in Goshen, the name of his car insurance company, and the name and location of his employer. ... No one gave Castillo-Aguilar a Miranda warning before he filled out this form.”
The arresting officer gave the information sheet to a detective for investigation into whether Castillo-Aguilar was using a false name for employment purposes.
“The detective contacted the employer Castillo-Aguilar listed, and the employer identified Castillo-Aguilar as an employee named Gilberto Beltran,” according to court documents.
Castillo-Aguilar was subsequently charged with forgery.
“Castillo-Aguilar argues he should have been given Miranda warnings prior to filling out the information sheet, because the questions thereon, specifically where he worked, were used to elicit an incriminating response that was later the basis for the charges against him,” appellate court documents read.
“As Castillo-Aguilar was subjected to interrogation by the questions on the information sheet, he should have been given Miranda warnings,” the Court of Appeals ruled. “As he was not, the answers he provided on the information sheet, and evidence collected as a result of those answers, should be suppressed.”
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Jose Castillo-Aguilar
Court rules Goshen police violated man's Miranda right
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