Koistinen Trial This Week – With New Miranda Ruling
With Jeffrey Koistinen’s federal jury trial currently scheduled to begin September 22 in Arizona, a magistrate judge has issued another Report and Recommendation addressing statements Koistinen made following his 2022 arrest.
In a September 15 filing, Magistrate Judge Eric J. Markovich recommended that the District Court grant Koistinen’s motion to suppress his post-arrest statements and prohibit the government from using those statements in its case-in-chief. The recommendation also states that the government should be permitted to use the statements for impeachment purposes if Koistinen elects to testify.
The issue arose from an August 17, 2022 traffic stop involving Koistinen’s Tesla. Before his arrest, Koistinen told an officer that he and his wife had been instructed by their attorney not to speak with investigators. After Koistinen was arrested, handcuffed and placed in a patrol vehicle, an officer asked where his phone was. The officer acknowledged that Koistinen had not been advised of his Miranda rights before that question.
The magistrate judge concluded that the statements could not be used in the government’s case-in-chief because Koistinen had invoked his Miranda rights and was questioned while in custody without receiving the required warning. However, the court separately found the statements were voluntarily made and recommended that they remain available for impeachment if Koistinen testifies.
The government had already represented that it would not use Koistinen’s statements in its case-in-chief, while reserving the right to use them for impeachment.
The September 15 document is a Report and Recommendation, not the final ruling of the District Court. The filing gives the parties 14 days after service to file objections.
With the trial currently scheduled for September 22, the timing leaves another procedural question hanging over a case that has already experienced multiple delays and pretrial evidentiary disputes.
For now, the recommendation is just that — a recommendation. The final decision rests with the District Court.
