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Thomas, J., dissenting
related situations"; case-by-case elaboration when a constitutional right is implicated may more accurately be described as law declaration than as law application).
* * *
Applying § 2254(d)'s presumption of correctness to the Alaska court's "in custody" determination, both the District Court and the Court of Appeals ruled that Thompson was not "in custody" and thus not entitled to Miranda warnings. Because we conclude that state-court "in custody" determinations warrant independent review by a federal habeas court, the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
Justice Thomas, with whom The Chief Justice joins, dissenting.
Carl Thompson murdered his ex-wife, stabbing her 29 times. He then wrapped her body in chains and a bedspread and tossed the corpse into a water-filled gravel pit. As part of their investigation, police officers in Fairbanks, Alaska, questioned Thompson about his role in the murder, and Thompson confessed. Thompson was repeatedly told that he could leave the interview and was, in fact, permitted to leave at the close of questioning. I believe that the Alaska trial judge—who first decided this question almost a decade ago—was in a far better position than a federal habeas court to determine whether Thompson was "in custody" for purposes of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966). So long as that judgment finds fair support in the record, I would presume that it is correct. I dissent.
To determine whether a person is "in custody" under Miranda, "a court must examine all of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation, but 'the ultimate inquiry is simply whether there [was] a "formal arrest or restraint on
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