Defendant's Miranda -based theory is twofold. Otherwise stated, defendant asserts she lacked capacity to waive her Miranda protections. Next, defendant argues Miranda warnings should have been given at each stage of the interrogation process, not just at the initial period of questioning. Because repeated warnings were not given, defendant asserts the original Miranda warnings became stale at the point the tape-recorded statement was made. Appellate courts reviewing the voluntariness of a confession must apply a totality of the circumstances test.
Conclusions of law flowing from the trial court's findings are a proper matter for review.
In the instant case, the trial judge's order denying defendant's motion to suppress is replete with findings supported by competent evidence. Those findings justify a legal conclusion that defendant's inculpatory statements were voluntary. Defendant's arguments that she lacked capacity are belied by her actions indicative of rationality. Defendant's claim of incapacity, based on PTSD or an allergic reaction to drugs, is simply not borne out by the trial court's findings or the record. Defendant's signed waiver of her rights was therefore in accord with Miranda .