Title: Dorbolo v. State

State: delaware

Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court

Document:

405 A.2d 106 (1979)
Jay DORBOLO, Defendant Below, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Delaware, Plaintiff Below, Appellee.

Supreme Court of Delaware.
Submitted June 22, 1979.
Decided July 18, 1979.
Richard E. Fairbanks, Jr., Asst. Public Defender, Wilmington, for defendant below, appellant.
James A. Natalie, Jr., Deputy Atty. Gen., Wilmington, for plaintiff below, appellee.
Before McNEILLY, QUILLEN and HORSEY, JJ.
*107 McNEILLY, Justice:
Defendant, Jay Dorbolo, appeals his Superior Court jury convictions of two charges of felony theft and one charge of conspiracy, contending that the Trial Court erred in admitting inculpatory oral statements made by defendant without a sufficient showing of a knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to remain silent and his right to the assistance of counsel during interrogation.
Prior to trial defendant moved to suppress the inculpatory oral statements made by him after informing the interrogating officers that he wished to remain silent and to have the Public Defender present during questioning. Following an evidentiary suppression hearing held outside the presence of the jury, the Trial Judge, announcing his ruling from the bench, denied the motion with the following observations:
The threshold question in this appeal is whether defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to remain silent and his right to counsel. The Trial Judge found the defendant had made a knowing and voluntary waiver, and thereafter he submitted the issue to the jury. See State v. Rooks, Del.Supr., 401 A.2d 943 (1979).
Under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966) the requirements of warnings and waiver of rights became a fundamental mandate of the Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination. The giving and understanding of the Miranda warnings is not in dispute.[*]
The sole issue before this Court is that of waiver:
In the recent opinion of North Carolina v. Butler, ___ U.S. ___, 99 S. Ct. 1755, 60 L. Ed. 2d 286 (1979), the Court held that an explicit statement of waiver is not invariably necessary to support a finding that a defendant has waived his Miranda rights.
Defendant places great emphasis upon that portion of the Trial Judge's ruling from the bench which states:
Taken out of context that statement does raise a red flag requiring this Court to carefully scrutinize the suppression record to find either support or the absence of support for the Trial Judge's ultimate conclusion and denial of defendant's motion to suppress. We are satisfied from our review of the record that there was substantial evidence before the Trial Judge sufficient to bear the State's heavy burden of establishing a knowing waiver.
The defendant was informed, inter alia, by his Miranda warnings that "[a]nything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of law." He denies that any of his statements were incriminating because he was merely playing games with the police to lead them on when they confronted him with names and addresses pertaining to multiple burglaries in New Castle County. When asked why he continued to talk to the police in spite of his desire to remain silent and to have counsel present during any interrogation, he stated that he was stalling for time until a public defender could be present to counsel him. He also stated that he was following the pattern of someone he knew who, charged with multiple burglaries, had done the same thing successfully. The record clearly indicates that what defendant said was volunteered. The record is equally as clear in revealing that what defendant said was intended as a stall to lead the officers on without incriminating himself. The pitfall in his attempted subterfuge was that he talked too much.
Defendant is not the ordinary eighteen year old innocent youth unaware of or unlearned in the field of criminal law. As a juvenile, defendant had been incarcerated as an incorrigible in the Delaware Youth Center. He escaped but was apprehended and reincarcerated within eight hours. In addition, he had been arrested for shoplifting and burglary. Defendant's personality and demeanor expressed during the suppression hearing is clearly and accurately stated by the Trial Judge. Defendant's self-assurance is also expressed in his taking over the role of advocate from his defense attorney while extensively cross-examining Detective Moss.
Under the totality of the circumstances, including defendant's background, experience and conduct, we are satisfied that the State has met its heavy burden of establishing waiver under the rules of Miranda, supra, and Butler, supra.
AFFIRMED.
[*]  Detective Moss testified that defendant was advised under Miranda:

"You have a right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present with you while you are being questioned. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning, if you wish one. If at any time during this interview you wish to discontinue your statement, you have a right to do so. Do you understand these rights I have explained to you?"