Opinion ID: 783829
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Trial Court Denied Harris's Motion To Suppress

Text: 42 On December 4, 1984, the trial court denied Harris's motion to suppress statements he made to law enforcement officials. In support of its ruling, the court made a number of findings and observations with respect to Harris's mental capacity at the time he initially spoke to the police. Id. at 437, 440-42. 43 First, the court found, as a matter of fact, that Harris's intelligence was in the low normal range. Id. at 437. Next, the court concluded that Harris failed, as a matter of law, to demonstrate through the testimony of Dr. Feldman that it was impossible, due to [Harris's] reduced level of intelligence, for [Harris] to comprehend the full meaning of the rights afforded to him .... Id. at 441. In support of this conclusion, the court primarily relied upon the evidence that Harris had been arrested on prior occasions and was familiar with his Miranda rights, and that Harris was informed of his rights on several different occasions in the instant case. Id. The court also appears to have accepted, at least to some degree, the government's argument that Harris was malingering. See id. at 442 (Finally, it is interesting to note, that the defendant did not raise to [Dr.] Feldman his confusion concerning his right to counsel until the second interview, at which point he had been studying this area of the law.). 44