Cite as: 507 U. S. 680 (1993)
Opinion of O'Connor, J.
soned of criminals will do. Miranda, 384 U. S., at 468 ("[W]e will not pause to inquire in individual cases whether the defendant was aware of his rights without a warning being given"). Given the Court's unqualified trust in the willingness of police officers to satisfy Miranda's requirements, ante, at 695, its suggestion that their every failure to do so involves coercion seems to me ironic. If the police have truly grown in "constitutional . . . sophistication," ibid., then certainly it is reasonable to suppose that most technical errors in the administration of Miranda's warnings are just that.
In any event, I see no need to resort to supposition. The published decisions of the lower federal courts show that what the Court assumes to be true demonstrably is not. In case after case, the courts are asked on habeas to decide purely technical Miranda questions that contain not even a hint of police overreaching. And in case after case, no voluntariness issue is raised, primarily because none exists. Whether the suspect was in "custody," 1 whether or not there
1 See, e. g., Schiro v. Clark, 963 F. 2d 962, 974-975 (CA7 1992) (defendant approached officer in halfway house and asked to speak to him; not in custody); Tart v. Massachusetts, 949 F. 2d 490, 504 (CA1 1991) (fisherman asked to produce document on board his own, docked boat; no custody); Williams v. Chrans, 945 F. 2d 926, 950-952 (CA7 1991) (voluntary appearance for presentence report interview; not in custody), cert. denied, 505 U. S. 1208 (1992); Carlson v. State, 945 F. 2d 1026, 1028-1029 (CA8 1991) (suspect questioned at his home; no custody); Davis v. Kemp, 829 F. 2d 1522, 1535 (CA11 1987) (defendant voluntarily went to police station in absence of evidence that there was probable cause for arrest; not in custody), cert. denied, 485 U. S. 929 (1988); Cobb v. Perini, 832 F. 2d 342, 345-347 (CA6 1987) (investigatory Terry-stop; not in custody), cert. denied, 486 U. S. 1024 (1988); Leviston v. Black, 843 F. 2d 302, 304 (CA8) (in-jail interview initiated by incarcerated defendant; no custody), cert. denied, 488 U. S. 865 (1988); Cordoba v. Hanrahan, 910 F. 2d 691, 693-694 (CA10) (drunk driver questioned at accident scene before arrest; not in custody), cert. denied, 498 U. S. 1014 (1990).
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