Opinion ID: 2219627
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: ford's statements

Text: On November 16, 1992, Ford was arrested and charged with Officer Haaf's murder. Ford made his first court appearance and was appointed a public defender on the morning of November 17, 1992. After the hearing, on the way back to jail, Ford told a deputy that he needed to speak with a Minneapolis homicide detective right away about a matter of urgency and a life and death situation. Late in the morning of November 17, 1992, two Minneapolis homicide detectives interviewed Ford without notifying either the prosecuting attorney or Ford's appointed attorney. Ford was informed of his constitutional rights and indicated he would answer the detective's questions without his attorney being present. Ford then articulated his story of the events leading up to and after Officer Haaf's murder. On November 25, 1992, Ford gave a request slip to a deputy that said I would like to talk to Homicide at Homicide. The same two homicide detectives again interviewed Ford without notifying his attorney or consulting the county attorney. After being informed of his constitutional rights, Ford again indicated he would talk without his attorney being present. During this interview, Ford restated his recollection of the meeting at Sharif's house and his understanding of what McKenzie and Bowles were going to do. Ford contends the trial court should have suppressed the statements he made on November 17 and November 25, 1992, because (a) the statements were not electronically recorded in violation of State v. Scales, 518 N.W.2d 587, 592 (Minn.1994), reh'g denied (Minn. Aug. 22, 1994), and (b) because the statements were taken in violation of the holding in State v. Lefthand, 488 N.W.2d 799 (Minn.1992). First, in Scales we indicated the requirement to electronically record statements of persons who are in custody was prospective, not retrospective. See Scales, 518 N.W.2d at 593. The police took Ford's statements in 1992; thus there was no requirement of recording the interview pursuant to Scales. Therefore, the trial court's admission of Ford's statements did not violate our holding in Scales. Second, Ford contends that because his appointed lawyer was neither present nor notified when he made the statements to the police, the trial court should have suppressed his statements pursuant to State v. Lefthand, 488 N.W.2d 799 (Minn.1992). In Lefthand, after the defendant had refused to leave his cell and his bed to talk to his appointed counsel, his counsel moved to suspend the criminal proceedings pending the outcome of a competency evaluation. Id. at 800. Prior to that evaluation occurring, the police took a statement from the defendant without notifying the defendant's counsel and, after they had contacted the prosecuting attorney who had advised they could go ahead and do it. Id. Although the opinion does not indicate who initiated the interview, a review of the briefs filed in that case reveals the defendant initiated contact with the police. Similarly, the opinion does not indicate if the defendant was advised of or waived his constitutional rights; however, the briefs indicate both occurred. Minn. R. Prof. Conduct (MRPC) 4.2 provides in relevant part: In representing a client, a lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of the representation with a party the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter, unless the lawyer has the consent of the other lawyer or is authorized by law to do so. In Lefthand we noted that prosecutors are subject to Rule 4.2, MRPC. 488 N.W.2d at 801 n. 6. Based on this determination, we stated: It is incomprehensible that the attorney-client relationship in the context of a criminal proceeding would be so cavalierly disregarded.    [I]n the exercise of our supervisory power to insure the fair administration of justice in this and future cases, we decide that in-custody interrogation of a formally accused person who is represented by counsel should not proceed prior to notification of counsel or the presence of counsel. Statements obtained without notice to or the presence of counsel are subject to exclusion at trial. We are mindful this requirement may cause some delay in the interrogation process; but the importance of the attorney-client relationship makes it necessary. 488 N.W.2d at 801-02 (footnote omitted). Finally, noting that the prosecution allowed the in-custody interrogation of [the defendant] without notice to or the presence of [the defendant's] court-appointed counsel and with full knowledge that a competency examination had been ordered, we concluded that the statements obtained from the defendant in Lefthand should have been excluded at trial. Id. at 802. Ford contends that pursuant to Lefthand the trial court should have suppressed his statements. We disagree. Contrary to Ford's contention, our decision in Lefthand did not create an automatic exclusionary rule for a violation of Rule 4.2, MRPC, by a prosecutor. Driving our decision in Lefthand, was our belief that the fair administration of justice had been compromised. Our determination that the material should be excluded in that case and future similar cases was not based solely on the violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct, but rather was based on the egregiousness of the government's action in total. The evidence was not excluded to insure compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct. Rather, the evidence was excluded pursuant to our supervisory powers to insure the fair administration of justice in that case. As we stated in Lefthand, statements taken in violation of Rule 4.2, MRPC, are subject to exclusion  exclusion is not required. 488 N.W.2d at 802. The facts in Lefthand were egregious. Less egregious violations do not require so severe a remedy. See Marc A. Schwartz, Prosecutorial Investigations and DR 7-104(A)(1), 89 Colum. L.Rev. 940, 943-46 (1989) (discussing various courts' approaches to violations of analogous ethical rule, none of which have suppressed evidence for a violation of the ethical rule); Roger C. Cramton & Lisa K. Udell, State Ethics Rules and Federal Prosecutors: The Controversies Over the Anti Contact And Subpoena Rules, 53 U.Pitt. L.Rev. 291, 327-28 (1992) (same). The facts in the present case do not consist of similarly egregious conduct by the government to that found in Lefthand, therefore we conclude that the trial court appropriately admitted Ford's statements.