Title: Com. v. Johnson
Citation: 399 A.2d 111, 484 Pa. 349
Docket Number: N/A
State: Pennsylvania
Issuer: Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Date: March 16, 1979

484 Pa. 349 (1979) 399 A.2d 111 COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Robert JOHNSON, Appellant. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Submitted January 11, 1979. Decided March 16, 1979. *350 Harris S. Pasline, Asst. Public Defender, Easton, for appellant. Allan B. Goodman, Asst. Dist. Atty., Easton, for appellee. Before EAGEN, C.J., and O'BRIEN, ROBERTS, NIX, MANDERINO and LARSEN, JJ. MANDERINO, Justice: On May 2, 1975, appellant, Robert Johnson, was convicted by a jury of robbery, criminal conspiracy, possession of a prohibited offense weapon, and recklessly endangering another person. Prior to trial, suppression motions were denied. Post-verdict motions were also denied, and appellant was sentenced from seven and one-half to fifteen years in prison. In an appeal to the Superior Court, appellant raised various issues which were decided adversely to him. As to *351 one issue involving the effectiveness of counsel, the Superior Court remanded the matter to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing. Commonwealth v. Johnson, 247 Pa.Super. 208, 372 A.2d 11 (1977). An evidentiary hearing has since been held and the transcript forwarded to this Court. Appellant filed a petition for allowance of appeal which this Court granted. Appellant contends that all statements which he gave to the police should have been suppressed because he was not properly advised of his constitutional rights. We agree and therefore reverse the judgment of sentence and grant appellant a new trial. When the prosecution contends that an accused has waived a constitutional right, the prosecution has a heavy burden of proving that an accused has exercised a knowing and intelligent waiver of that right. Commonwealth v. Romberger, 464 Pa. 488, 347 A.2d 460 (1975), Commonwealth v. Goodwin, 460 Pa. 516, 333 A.2d 892 (1975), Commonwealth v. Fogan, 449 Pa. 552, 296 A.2d 755 (1972). After reviewing the record, we conclude that appellant did not knowingly and intelligently waive his constitutional rights. Appellant and his co-defendant were arrested for the robbery of a restaurant. They were taken to police headquarters where they were read a version of their Miranda rights and then given a written copy of that statement to read. Appellant later signed the same version of his Miranda rights. Subsequently, appellant gave oral statements to the police. He refused to make any written statements without an attorney present. Appellant was informed of his Miranda rights by the following statements: The above underlined portion of the statement read to appellant was inadequate to fully inform appellant of his constitutional rights. While we have said that there is no one formula to be applied in determining whether a version of the Miranda warnings is constitutionally defective, the test set forth by this Court is whether the: Commonwealth v. Singleton, 439 Pa. 185, 190, 266 A.2d 753, 755 (1970). At best, the warnings given appellant when judged by this standard are equivocal. They suggest on the one hand that one's constitutional right to the assistance of counsel is triggered "if and when" the accused is taken to court. On the other hand, they state that one accused of a crime has a right to an attorney during police interrogation. Such internally inconsistent warnings can not be said to be "more likely to give a suspect a better understanding of his constitutional rights and a heightened awareness of the seriousness of his situation." Commonwealth v. Singleton, supra. The adequacy of the Miranda warnings used in this case has been considered by at least four federal circuit courts, which have split in their views. A review and analysis of these decisions is contained in the dissenting opinion of Judge Spaeth in the Superior Court, portions of which follow: We agree with the analysis and reasoning quoted above. The majority opinion in the Superior Court also suggests that appellant's purported waiver was effective because after the police read their version of the Miranda warnings, appellant did not show that he misunderstood these warnings. 247 Pa.Super. 214, 372 A.2d 14 (1977). This analysis is misplaced. Not only were the Miranda warnings defective, but once questioning continues without the presence of an attorney, the burden is on the prosecution not the defendant to demonstrate that "the defendant knowingly and intelligently waived [the] privilege against self-incrimination and [the] right to retained or appointed counsel." Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. at 475, 86 S. Ct. at 1628, 16 L. Ed. 2d at 724. Because the appellant was not properly advised concerning his constitutional rights, appellant's statements made to the police should have been suppressed. Appellant raises three other issues which involve the illegality of the search of his porch and apartment and the seizure of physical evidence, the excessiveness of the sentence of seven and one-half to fifteen years in prison, and the ineffectiveness of trial counsel for not raising and preserving certain issues during and after trial. In view of our disposition of this case, there is no need to consider these issues. The order of the Superior Court is vacated, judgment of sentence is reversed, and appellant is granted a new trial. LARSEN, J., filed a dissenting opinion. LARSEN, Justice, dissenting. I dissent and adopt the Superior Court decision (opinion by Judge Van Der Voort) in this matter found at 247 Pa.Super. 208, 372 A.2d 11 (1977) and quote in part therefrom: *358 A Miranda statement in this form was sustained as sufficient in Wright v. North Carolina, 483 F.2d 405, 406-7 (4th Cir. 1973) certiorari denied 415 U.S. 936, 94 S. Ct. 1452, 39 L. Ed. 2d 494 (1974). A similar position has been taken by the 2nd and 5th Circuits, but a contrary conclusion was reached in the 7th and 9th Circuits, all reviewed in Wright. In our view, the statement read to appellant was adequate. In any event, it was not misunderstood by appellant. While the statement is capable of the construction that appellant would not be assigned a lawyer until his trial began, it is demonstrable that appellant knew he had a right to counsel before making any statement to the police. We know this because upon his first confrontation with the police following the Miranda statement he refused to put his verbal comments into written form without the presence of a lawyer. The record also shows that he was represented by counsel at his preliminary hearing and, of course, at the trial. The ruling of the trial court that his verbal statements to the police might be admitted in evidence was correct, the Commonwealth having proved that appellant received his Miranda warnings, and there being no showing that he misunderstood the warnings given to him.