Opinion ID: 1172278
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: voluntariness of loosli's admissions

Text: Appellant also urges this Court to find that his statements were rendered inadmissible by the police officers' conduct, which included threats, promises, and elements of spiritual counseling. Statements relied upon by Loosli were the officers' assertions that he would not be forgiven by God if he did not tell the truth; that the officers would call his daughters and tell them dad says you're a liar; that such a declaration to appellant's daughters might cause them, at some point in time, to consider suicide. Appellant interpreted these statements to be threats and felt that as a result thereof he felt so pressured that he began to cry and admit the sexual contact with his daughters. The issue of voluntariness of admissions in a non-custodial situation was addressed by this Court in State v. Troy, 124 Idaho 211, 858 P.2d 750 (1993). In Troy, this Court adopted the test of examining the totality of the circumstances of the questioning and then determining whether the defendant's will was overborne. Troy, 124 Idaho at 214, 858 P.2d at 753. In the present case, although no Miranda Warnings were given, Loosli came voluntarily to the police station; the questioning by the officers was of a relatively short length; Loosli was a mature adult, whose education level is not disclosed by the record; the questioning was of a persistent nature but of a short duration. Thus, examining the characteristics of the accused and the details of the interrogation as we are directed by Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973), and the totality of the circumstances as set forth in Troy, we find that the officers' questioning was not of a nature to have overborne the will of Loosli to make the admissions he did.