Opinion ID: 1200475
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to suppress appellant's videotaped statement.

Text: Appellant gave a statement to the police shortly after Cusson's death wherein he maintained that she killed herself after they had quarreled. The statement was videotaped by the police. Immediately prior to the start of the trial, defense counsel requested that the statement be excluded as involuntarily given. The trial court's rulings that the statement was voluntary, and the videotape admissible, were affirmed by this court on direct appeal. Appellant now alleges that defense counsel was ineffective in failing to recognize at an earlier stage in the pre-trial proceedings that suppression of the videotaped statement was supported by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Appellant also cites Sechrest v. State, 101 Nev. 360, 705 P.2d 626 (1985), wherein this court held that all police questioning must cease after any request for counsel. We believe the district court correctly determined that counsel was not ineffective in failing to have the videotaped statement suppressed. The statement was given after appellant voluntarily responded to a police request for a non-custodial interview. Appellant was given his Miranda warnings prior to the interview. Despite being advised of his rights, appellant told the police that he believed the victim had committed suicide. We have previously held that a criminal defendant's statements to the police are admissible absent any contradictory evidence that the accused's Miranda warnings were improperly given. Howard v. State, 102 Nev. 572, 576, 729 P.2d 1341, 1343-44 (1986). In this case, there was no evidence contradicting the validity of appellant's Miranda warnings. The record also indicates that appellant was eager to communicate his version of the victim's death. He did so without prompting or encouragement from the police. The statement contained in the videotape was exculpatory and conformed to the theory of defense appellant presented at trial. The prohibition in Sechrest against further questioning cited by appellant does not apply when the accused himself initiates further communication. 101 Nev. at 365, 705 P.2d at 629-30. We believe this to be the case in the present appeal. We believe the statement was clearly admissible and fail to see how counsel's failure to lodge an earlier objection would have made a difference in the outcome of appellant's trial. We therefore hold that this contention fails to meet the Strickland test for ineffective assistance of counsel.