State of Maine v. Brandon Glenn, 244 A.3d 1023

Maine State Police received an NCMEC tip linking the residence’s IP address to illicit internet activity; two officers in plain clothes went to the Lewiston home and were admitted after knocking.
Residents Deborah (homeowner’s girlfriend) and Joseph (son) identified other occupants and escorted officers to Brandon Glenn’s bedroom; officers asked to speak and Glenn agreed.
In his bedroom Glenn admitted downloading images of sexually explicit material depicting minors, told officers he has “the old Asperger’s,” initially declined additional searches but ultimately signed a consent-to-search form after being told his tablet would be seized and a warrant sought.
Glenn was not arrested at the scene, was told repeatedly he was not under arrest, and later received a summons; officers recovered approximately 1,600 images on his tablet.
At a suppression hearing defense expert Dr. Barter testified Glenn’s ASD impaired his capacity to consent; the court ordered a State evaluation (Dr. Douglass), who found Glenn had capacity and could voluntarily consent; the court credited Dr. Douglass and denied suppression.
Glenn entered a conditional guilty plea to 25 counts of possession of sexually explicit material depicting minors and appealed the denial of his suppression motion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of third-party consent to enter the home	State: Deborah and Joseph voluntarily let officers in; officers reasonably believed they had authority to admit them	Glenn: Deborah and Joseph lacked authority to consent to entry, so subsequent evidence must be suppressed	The officers reasonably believed the consenting residents had common authority; entry was valid, not per se unlawful
Requirement of Miranda warnings (custody)	Glenn: He was effectively in custody and interrogated without Miranda warnings, so statements should be suppressed	State: Glenn was not "in custody" under objective custody test; he was in familiar surroundings and told he was free to leave	Court found under the Michaud factors that a reasonable person in Glenn’s position would have felt free to terminate the encounter; Miranda not triggered
Voluntariness of statements and consent to search given ASD	Glenn: His Autism Spectrum Disorder rendered his statements and consent involuntary and not the product of free will	State: Totality of circumstances show Glenn understood and voluntarily waived rights and consented; expert evidence supported capacity	Court credited State’s expert, found no coercion, and held statements and consent were voluntary under Maine constitutional test

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (U.S. 1966) (establishes requirement for Miranda warnings when custodial interrogation occurs)
Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (U.S. 1973) (totality-of-the-circumstances test for voluntariness of consent to search)
Illinois v. Rodriguez, 497 U.S. 177 (U.S. 1990) (validates third-party consent where officers reasonably believe consenting party has authority)
Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157 (U.S. 1986) (police coercion required for confession to be involuntary under Fourteenth Amendment)
State v. Michaud, 724 A.2d 1222 (Me. 1998) (factors for determining custodial status for Miranda purposes)
State v. Nadeau, 1 A.3d 445 (Me. 2010) (applying Michaud factors in familiar-surroundings interview; not custodial)
State v. Rees, 748 A.2d 976 (Me. 2000) (Maine treats voluntariness under its constitution with factors beyond federal coercion standard)
State v. Boilard, 488 A.2d 1380 (Me. 1985) (warrantless home entries presumptively unreasonable; consent exception)