Opinion ID: 2101328
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the oral statement

Text: Woods argues that his oral statement is inadmissible because it was obtained in violation of the fifth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, [2] and Art. I, sec. 8 of the Wisconsin Constitution. [3] He contends that he did not waive his right to counsel, and that even if he did, it was not a knowing and intelligent waiver. He also contends that his conduct constituted an assertion of his right to remain silent. Woods further argues that he did not waive his right to remain silent either expressly or through a course of conduct, and that even if a waiver of his right to remain silent could be inferred from his conduct, the waiver was not voluntarily made. Prior to addressing those issues, it is appropriate to discuss the applicable standard of review. In reviewing the issues that Woods raises, an appellate court examines two determinations made by the trial court, but applies a different standard of review to each. First, the trial court determines the evidentiary or historical facts relevant to the issue in this case, namely, the circumstances surrounding the giving of the oral statement. Second, the trial court then applies those facts to resolve the constitutional questions which, in this case, are whether Woods waived his rights, and whether the waivers were knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily made. See State v. Carter, 33 Wis. 2d 80, 88-91, 96, 146 N.W.2d 466 (1966); State v. Hoyt, 21 Wis. 2d 284, 305-06, 128 N.W. 2d 645 (1964) (Wilkie, J., concurring). [5] The standard of review by the appellate court of the trial court's findings of evidentiary or historical facts is that those findings will not be upset on appeal unless they are contrary to the great weight and clear preponderance of the evidence. State v. Mazur, 90 Wis. 2d 293, 309, 280 N.W.2d 194 (1979). This standard of review does not apply, however, to the trial court's determination of constitutional questions. Instead, the appellate court independently determines the questions of constitutional fact. See Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707 (1979); Mazur, 90 Wis. 2d at 309-10. These questions are not questions of evidentiary or historical fact, but are rather questions that require application of constitutional principles to the facts as found. . . . Mazur, 90 Wis.2d at 309, quoting Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S. 443, 507 (1953) (opinion of Frankfurter, J.). The rationale for the independent review of an ultimate question of constitutional fact has been explained as follows: . . . Whether the defendant voluntarily made the confession is a matter of fact. However, it is a question of `constitutional' fact which must be independently determined by this [appellate] court. A finding of voluntariness is a necessary condition of the use of a confession as evidence by the state, as a matter of federal constitutional law. The scope of constitutional protections, representing the basic value commitments of our society, cannot vary from trial court to trial court, or from jury to jury. Reasonable men can differ as to whether a given confession was voluntary. Whatever the ultimate substantive dimension of these rights might be, they must be uniform throughout the jurisdiction. This can be accomplished only if one decision maker has the final power of independent determination. It is the task of this court to determine the voluntariness of a confession by applying certain standards articulated by the United States supreme court to the facts of the given case. Hoyt, 21 Wis. 2d at 305-306 (Wilkie, J. concurring). In this case, therefore, the trial court's findings of evidentiary or historical facts surrounding the interrogation of Woods will not be overturned unless they are contrary to the great weight and clear preponderance of the evidence. However, we must independently determine whether Woods waived his rights to counsel and to remain silent, and if he did, whether under the totality of circumstances his waivers were knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily made. 3. Did Woods Waive His Right To Counsel? [6] The undisputed facts are that after Trombi read Woods his Miranda rights in the squad car, Trombi asked Woods if he understood his rights, to which Woods indicated by affirmative head gestures that he did. Trombi then asked Woods if the wished to consult an attorney, to which Woods shook his head no. Shortly after he was taken to the county jail, Woods was again asked by Gage if he wanted an attorney. Woods orally responded that he did not. The trial court concluded that Woods waived his right to counsel. We agree. Based on the trial court's findings and the undisputed facts, we conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Woods waived his right to counsel prior to making the oral statement. 4. Did Woods Assert His Right To Remain Silent By His Conduct? Woods contends that his conduct constituted an assertion of his right to remain silent, and therefore, the officers' continued questioning, which led to his statements, was in violation of his constitutional rights. We disagree. We conclude, based on the undisputed facts, that Woods did not assert his right to remain silent. Because Woods did not assert his right to remain silent, the officers were entitled to continue their questioning because a reasonable person under the totality of circumstances could have believed that Woods' conduct indicated a state of mind that was in the process of determining whether to waive his right to remain silent and to answer questions. Although courts have held that a defendant's silence after being advised of his right to remain silent is equivalent to an express assertion of that right, [4] that is not the case here. The undisputed facts indicate that Woods did not remain totally silent after he was advised of his rights. After Trombi read the Miranda rights to Woods in the squad car, he asked Woods if Woods understood each right, including the right to remain silent, to which Woods indicated by affirmative head gestures that he understod the Miranda rights. Thorpe also testified that he heard Woods say uh huh, meaning yes, after Trombi asked Woods if he understood his rights. Trombi asked Woods in the squad car if Woods wanted to consult an attorney, to which Woods indicated by shaking his head that he did not. After Gage asked Woods if he had been informed of his rights, he asked if Woods wished to consult an attorney. Woods did not stand mute, but stated that he did not wish to consult an attorney. When Ankenbrandt later asked Woods if he had been informed of his constitutional rights, Woods again spoke by responding yes. After Trombi read Woods his rights in the squad car and Woods indicated that he did not wish to consult an attorney, Trombi asked Woods if he wished to answer questions or make a statement. Woods did not respond at that point. Several times during their questioning of Woods at the station, Trombi and Thorpe asked Woods if he wanted to talk to them. Woods did not respond to those questions, although he had previously responded to other questions, such as when Trombi asked him in the squad car if he understood his rights. Woods also responded to a question Trombi asked concerning the Schwab murders. Trombi asked Woods why he went into the woods the day after the murders. Woods replied, I never went into the woods the next day. At no time prior to or during the questioning did Woods indicate that he wanted the questioning to stop. [5] Woods' conduct, therefore, was neither total silence nor total responsiveness. However, the following undisputed facts indicate that Woods did not assert his right to remain silent: (1) Woods clearly indicated on a number of occasions that he understood his right to remain silent. (2) He indicated that he was aware of his right to have the police stop questioning him at any time. (3) Woods never indicated he wanted the questioning to stop. (4) The questioning was of a relatively short duration. (5) The police frequently asked Woods whether he wished to talk to them. It was from these facts that the police had to decide whether Woods was making up his mind to talk to them, or whether he was in effect asserting his right to remain silent. The situation the police were confronted with was a difficult one: a suspect whose conduct and responses indicated neither the desire to remain silent nor the desire to answer. Woods' entire course of conduct could reasonably have been interpreted by the police to be a weighing by him of the decision to answer questions, not as an assertion of his right to remain silent. Given the serious implication of the questions propounded, Woods might well have wanted time to make up his mind. His decision may have hinged on a number of factors, including a desire on his part to know, to the extent the police questions might indicate, what evidence the police had implicating him. This is supported by the fact that at one point during questioning he denied being in the woods by the Schwab residence the day after the murders. [7] Given that Woods was aware of his right to remain silent, that he understood his right to stop the questioning at any time he desired, that he did not indicate by gestures or verbal responses that he wanted the questioning to stop, that he did make some oral responses, that the questioning was of relatively short duration, and that the police made frequent efforts to determine whether he wished to assert his right to remain silent, we conclude that Woods' conduct was not an assertion of his right to remain silent. 5. Did Woods Waive His Right To Remain Silent? Woods contends that even if his conduct did not constitute an assertion of his right to remain silent, the state did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that he waived that right. We disagree. [8] It is not constitutionally required that a defendant either orally or in writing expressly waive his rights to counsel or to remain silent. Silence coupled with an understanding of his rights and a course of conduct consistent with waiver may support the finding of a valid waiver. North Carolina v. Butler, 441 U.S. 369, 373 (1979); Jordan v. State, 93 Wis.2d 449, 465, 287 N.W.2d 509 (1980). As noted above, Woods' conduct up to the point when he began to give the incriminating oral statement was consistent with the conduct of a person going through the process of determining whether to answer questions. At the point that he began to answer the questions put to him, and thereby incriminate himself, he was clearly indicating that he had decided to waive his right to remain silent. As noted above, Woods did not remain totally silent during this period, but orally responded to some of the police questions. Additionally, Woods was informed on more than one occasion of those rights, and he indicated on two separate occasions that he understood them. His conduct during the questioning was such that it was reasonable to believe he was making a determination whether he would waive his right to remain silent. Thus, when he began to respond fully to the questions propounded, he was implicitly informing the police he had made a decision to waive his right to remain silent and to answer their questions. The trial court found that Woods waived his right to remain silent. We agree. Based on the trial court's findings and the undisputed facts, we conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Woods waived his right to remain silent. 6. Under The Totality Of Circumstances, Were Woods' Waivers Of His Right To Counsel And His Right To Remain Silent Knowingly, Intelligently And Voluntarily Made? The trial court made several findings of evidentiary facts, including: (1) At the time Woods was taken into custody, he was sixteen years old, had completed one-half of tenth grade of high school, had normal or above average intelligence, and could read English; (2) At the time Woods was taken into custody and during the questioning, he was not tired or exhausted, and he appeared to be under no strain; (3) During questioning, Woods was not in restraints; (4) Woods made no requests for food or drink. Based on these and other findings, the trial court found that Woods had the capacity to make a knowing and intelligent waiver of his rights. The court of appeals determined that the trial court's findings of evidentiary facts were not contrary to the great weight and clear preponderance of the evidence. We do not review that determination of the court of appeals. See Winkie, Inc. v. Heritage Bank, 99 Wis. 2d 616, 621, 299 N.W.2d 829 (1981). [10] We do, however, independently examine those facts to determine whether, as a matter of federal constitutional law, Woods' waivers were knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily made. A determination whether an accused knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived his rights depends on the totality of circumstances surrounding the interrogation. This totality of circumstances analysis applies even when the individual who was interrogated is a juvenile. See Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707, 725 (1979). Relevant factors to be considered include the juvenile's age, experience, education, background, intelligence, and the capacity to understand the warnings given, the nature of his fifth amendment rights, and the consequences of waiving those rights. Fare, 442 U.S. at 725. The state has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that an accused knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights. State v. Hernandez, 61 Wis. 2d 253, 258, 212 N.W.2d 118 (1973). [11] Woods argues that the waiver of his right to counsel was not a knowing and intelligent waiver, and he cites various reasons to support his assertion. He contends that he did not knowingly and intelligently waive his right to counsel because he was not told why he had been taken into custody until the questioning began, and he did not know the reason he was to be interrogated when he indicated to Thorpe and Trombi in the squad car, and later to Gage, that he did not wish to consult an attorney. There is no indication in the record that Trombi, Thorpe or Gage specifically informed Woods at the time he was taken into custody and prior to his waiver of counsel that he would be questioned about the Schwab murders. However, we conclude that there is no merit to Woods' assertion. Even if Woods did not know that he would be questioned about the murders at the time he waived his right to counsel, that does not render his oral statement inadmissible. See United States v. Anderson, 533 F.2d 1210, 1212 n. 3 (D.C. Cir. 1976). Woods also contends that his statement to Ankenbrandt and Harker to the effect that he could not afford an attorney which he made after he gave the oral statement but before he gave the written statement, reflects that he did not fully understand his right to counsel at the time he waived it. This contention is without merit. The fact that Woods indicated at a later point in time after he gave the oral statement that he could not afford an attorney in no way indicates that he lacked the capacity or knowledge to make a knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to counsel prior to the time he made the oral statement. The trial court determined that Woods knowingly and intelligently waived his right to counsel. We agree. We conclude, based on the trial court's findings and the undisputed facts in the record, that under the totality of circumstances, Woods knowingly and intelligently waived his right to counsel. Woods also cites various reasons why the waiver of his right to remain silent was not voluntarily made. We shall address each of the reasons he cites separately. a. Misrepresentations Made By The Police. Woods argues that the officers made certain misrepresentations during the questioning which resulted in an involuntary waiver of his right to remain silent. The issue raised is one this court has never squarely addressed: the effect of a misrepresentation made by officers to a suspect during interrogation on the voluntariness of a subsequent waiver of the right to remain silent. Prior to reaching the issue of the effect of misrepresentation on the waiver of a right to remain silent, we must first determine whether the officers' statements that Woods refers to were, in fact, misrepresentations. It is undisputed that during Thorpe's and Ankenbrandt's questioning of Woods, they made statements to the effect that they had more evidence against Woods linking him to the Schwab murders than they actually had. It is also undisputed that during Ankenbrandt's and Harker's questioning of Woods, Ankenbrandt showed him Henry Schwab's wallet and a fingerprint card with two circles drawn around the prints. Ankenbrandt tapped the fingerprint card and wallet and said to Woods something to the effect that this is what's going to pin you down. The first statements were clearly misrepresentations, because the officers later testified that they knew them to be false at the time they made the statements. In addition, the statements were of a type that could reasonably have created a misimpression in Woods' mind. The second alleged misrepresentation is of a somewhat different nature, in that the statement by the police was an indication that evidence existed which the police at that time did not positively know to be untrue. We conclude, however, that this was also a misrepresentation. The officers made the statement without regard to its truth, and it was also of a type likely to create a misimpression in the defendant's mind. We now consider the effect of these misrepresentations on the voluntariness of Woods' waiver of the right to remain silent. Woods argues that the voluntariness of any waiver of his Miranda rights and of his oral confession was vitiated by these misrepresentations. Woods cites the following language from Miranda to support his assertion: . . . any evidence that the accused was threatened, tricked, or cajoled into a waiver will, of course, show that the defendant did not voluntarily waive his privilege. 384 U.S. at 476. We do not agree, however, that this dictum established a per se rule that any misrepresentation that police make during questioning automatically renders a waiver of the right to remain silent involuntary, or a confession inadmissible. [12] In the four cases the Supreme Court decided in conjunction with its opinion in Miranda, the court was not confronted with factual situations involving the effect of alleged misrepresentations made during custodial interrogation on the voluntariness of a waiver of the right to remain silent, or on the admissibility of a subsequent confession. In Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731, 739 (1969), however, the court considered the effect of misrepresentations by police on the admissibility of a confession and held that the misrepresentations were insufficient to render an otherwise voluntary confession inadmissible. In Frazier, the misrepresentations were viewed in terms of their effect on the voluntariness of a confession and whether the confession would be admissible, given the totality of circumstances surrounding the confession. We conclude that this approach is applicable to a consideration of the effect of misrepresentation by police on the voluntariness of a waiver of a defendant's right to remain silent as well. Given the decision in Frazier, and the emphasis in Miranda on voluntariness, we do not believe that the court in Miranda adopted a per se rule that the existence of misrepresentations by police during custodial interrogation automatically renders a waiver of the right to remain silent involuntary or a confession given after a waiver of that right inadmissible. In Schilling v. State, 86 Wis. 2d 69, 271 N.W.2d 631 (1978), an interrogating officer referred to a murdered victim's wallet and suggested to the defendant that his fingerprints might be found on it. Because we concluded that there was no misrepresentation under the circumstances, we did not reach the issue of the effect of an actual misrepresentation by the police during interrogation on a waiver of the right to remain silent. We noted, however, that in Frazier, the United States Supreme Court held that even an actual misrepresentation by an interrogator does not ipso facto make a confession inadmissible. Id. In State v. Cooper, 217 N.W.2d 589, 597 (Iowa 1974), the Iowa Supreme Court discussed the effect of misrepresentation on the voluntariness of a waiver of rights and concluded: Deception of any nature by representatives of the state cannot be condoned. However, we conclude deception standing alone does not render a waiver of constitutional rights involuntary as a matter of law unless the deceiving acts amount to a deprivation of due process. Nevertheless, deception becomes a factor to be considered in reviewing the totality of the circumstances in making the determination as to the voluntariness of the waiver even though the act does not per se produce exclusion. The court also indicated that the test of voluntariness is whether the officers' behavior was such as to overbear the defendant's will and bring about a confession not freely self determined. 217 N.W.2d at 596. Other courts that have considered the effect of misrepresentation on the voluntariness of a waiver have addressed the test of voluntariness in terms of overbearing the defendant's will to resist, [6] or deprivation of due process. [7] These courts have generally held that misrepresentation is but one factor to consider under the totality of circumstances. [8] We agree. The effect of misrepresentation on the voluntariness of a waiver of the right to remain silent, like a determination of the effect of misrepresentation on the voluntariness of a confession, is dependent upon the totality of circumstances. [13] We hold that when police have made a misrepresentation during interrogation of a suspect prior to a waiver of the right to remain silent, and the suspect then waives that right, the state must establish beyond a reasonable doubt that under the totality of circumstances, the waiver was voluntarily made. The test of voluntariness is whether the individual or cumulative effect of the misrepresentations under the totality of circumstances created such pressure on the suspect as to overcome his free will. If the state fails to meet its burden, the waiver of the right to remain silent is involuntary, and any statement obtained must be suppressed. The totality of circumstances that must be considered include factors such as age, intelligence, education, whether the suspect was advised of his rights, duration of the interrogation, the conditions under which the interrogation was conducted, and the suspect's capacity to understand the nature of the rights given and the consequences of waiving those rights. An additional circumstance to be considered and weighed carefully when misrepresentation is involved is the nature of the misrepresentation itself, that is, whether the misrepresentation was of a type that would lead a defendant to believe that it might be necessary to waive the right to silence in order to benefit or protect himself or to protect someone he would have reason to want to protect. Whether the effect of the misrepresentation under the totality of circumstances created pressure sufficient to overcome a suspect's free will is a determination that must be made on a case by case basis. The court must decide whether the defendant's ability to make a free and reasoned choice was impaired. In Haynes v. Washington, 373 U.S. 503, 515 (1963), the Supreme Court indicated that a determination of voluntariness requires an assessment of the effect of the police practice on the mind and will of an accused. The pressures created may not be so great that the suspect's will may be considered to be overborne, or his capacity to make a rational choice impaired. See Miranda, 384 U.S. at 507, n. 4 (Harlan, J., dissenting). This holding is consistent with decisions by other courts that have addressed the issue of the effect of misrepresentation on the voluntariness of a confession. For example, in People v. Boerckel, 385 N.E.2d 815 (Ill. 1979), police misrepresented to the defendant that his fingerprints had been found at the scene of the crime. The defendant then confessed to the crime and subsequently argued that his confession was coerced and involuntary. The court indicated that the test of voluntariness of a confession is whether it was made freely and without compulsion. The court held that the misrepresentation did not render the confession involuntary. Similarly, in State v. Winters, 556 P.2d 809 (Ariz. App. 1976), police misrepresented to the defendant that his fingerprints matched those found at the scene of the crime. The defendant confessed to the crime, and argued that his confession was involuntary. The court stated that voluntariness must be viewed in relation to the totality of circumstances, and that a statement induced by fraud or trickery is not involuntary unless there is additional evidence that the defendant's will was overborne or that the confession is unreliable. The rationale for applying those principles to the issue before us is the same. [14] In this case, we conclude that under the totality of circumstances, the effect of the misrepresentations, individually or cumulatively, did not create such pressure on Woods as to overcome his free will or render his waiver involuntary. The misrepresentations were not of a type that would create pressure sufficient to overbear Woods' will, or to impair his ability to make a free and reasoned choice. There was nothing in the nature of the misrepresentations, implicit or in fact, to lead Woods to believe it might be necessary to waive his right to silence in order to benefit or protect himself or to protect another he would have reason to want to protect. In addition, when the misrepresenatations are viewed in conjunction with the other circumstances in this case, such as Woods' age and intelligence, his alert condition during the questioning, the short duration of the questioning, and the lack of threats or physical abuse, it is evident that Woods' ability to make a free and reasoned choice was not impaired by the fact that misrepresentations were made. b. Use Of Photographs Of Victims. Woods argues that Trombi and Thorpe's use of a photograph album containing pictures of the Schwabs taken after the murders rendered his waiver and confession involuntary. The album was lying open on a table in the room in which Woods was questioned, and was situated approximately one to two feet away from him. The trial court found that the officers used no force to compel Woods to look at the pictures, and concluded that the use of the photograph album did not render Woods' waiver involuntary. We have addressed the issue of the use of photographs of victims during questioning of suspects in the context of determining the voluntariness of a defendant's confession. In McKinley v. State, 37 Wis. 2d 26, 154 N.W.2d 344 (1967), and Bradley v. State, 36 Wis. 2d 345, 153 N.W.2d 38 (1967), we condemned the practice of taking a defendant to the morgue for a corpse indentification, and indicated that such a practice might render a confession involuntary. In State v. Wallace, 59 Wis. 2d 66, 207 N.W.2d 855 (1973), we cautioned against officers' use of gruesome photographs . . . as a substitute for morgue identification of victims of criminal acts. 59 Wis. 2d at 85. We held, however, that the use of photographs of a corpse during interrogation of the defendant did not render the defendant's confession involuntary. We do not sanction the use of gruesome photographs of victims during questioning of an accused. We conclude, however, that the use of such photographs is but one factor to consider in the totality of circumstances when determining the voluntariness of a waiver of Miranda rights and of a subsequent confession. As we recognized in Wallace, there is a difference in impact between morgue viewings and photographs. The sudden effect of viewing the actual corpse is much more dramatic than being seated near photographs of a murder victim. In addition, in both McKinley and Bradley, the morgue viewings were of victims who were either a relative or friend of the defendants, which presumably would create a more emotional impact than if the victim was unknown to the defendant. [15] In this case, the trial court found that Woods was never forced to look at the photographs. There is nothing in the record to indicate that Woods even looked at the pictures. The photographs also were of victims who were neither relatives nor friends of Woods. It is reasonable to assume that the use during questioning of pictures of victims who are friends or relatives of a defendant could create a more emotional atmosphere than if the pictures are of victims who have no personal connection with the defendant. We conclude that the use of the photograph album did not overbear Woods' will to resist, and did not render Woods' waiver and confession involuntary. c. Pretended Friendly Gesture. [16] Woods also asserts that Harker exploited his personal characteristics by putting a hand on his shoulder when Woods began to cry, and that this gesture was part of the alleged coercive techniques that prompted him to waive his rights and confess. During the suppression hearing, Harker indicated that he knew at the time he questioned Woods that a fatherly approach might be effective with Woods. The trial court concluded that this gesture did not render Woods' waiver involuntary. We agree. Harker's fleeting gesture, when viewed under the totality of circumstances, cannot be construed as having an effect on Woods' decision to waive his right to remain silent and give the oral statement. We conclude that it did not act to overbear Woods' will or render his waiver or confession involuntary. d. Alleged Promises And Threats. [17] Woods finally contends that the voluntariness of his waiver of rights and of his oral confession was negated by the officers' use of promises and threats during the questioning. Woods alleges that Trombi made comments to the effect that it would be better or easier for Woods if he talked. At the suppression hearing, Trombi's testimony, which is undisputed, indicated that he did not make any promises or threats to Woods. [9] The undisputed facts indicate that Trombi made no promise to Woods of leniency or of an improved position in the legal system if he confessed, which are the type of promises that may invalidate a subsequent confession. See, e.g., White, Police Trickery in Inducing Confessions, 127 U. Pa. L. Rev. 581, 621 (1979). Woods also refers to Ankenbrandt's statement when he showed Woods the wallet and fingerprint card to the effect that this is what's going to pin you down. This statement was not made in a threatening context. The statement was made as part of the fingerprint ploy that Ankenbrandt used to create the inference that Woods' fingerprints had been found on Schwab's wallet. This could not be considered a threat as that term is normally used to determine whether a waiver of rights and a confession were coerced by promises or threats. A threat for those purposes normally conveys a message that some harm or determine will occur to the defendant or his friends, or that the defendant's situation will worsen if he does not confess. Woods has cited no other alleged promises or threats that the officers may have made during the questioning, and the record reveals none. Based on the undisputed facts, we conclude that the statements alluded to by Woods did not render his waiver invalid or his confession involuntary. [10] 7. Did Woods Have Statutory And Constitutional Rights To Counsel? Besides the right to counsel referred to in the above sections, Woods contends that at the time he was taken into custody and questioned, he had statutory and constitutional rights to counsel, and that these rights were violated. Woods argues that his statutory right to counsel stems from sec. 48.23(1)(a), Stats. He also asserts that under Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682 (1972), he had a right to counsel under the sixth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution [11] because formal adversary judicial proceedings allegedly were initiated when Gage ordered his temporary detention. We conclude that the right to counsel under sec. 48.23 (1), Stats., did not attach during the detention and subsequent questioning of Woods. Section 48.23(1) provides, in pertinent part: Right to counsel. (1) RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO LEGAL REPRESENTATION. Children subject to proceedings under this chapter shall be afforded legal representation as follows: (a) Any child alleged to be delinquent under s. 48.12 or held in a secure detention facility shall be represented by counsel at all stages of the proceedings, but a child 15 years of age or older may waive counsel provided the court is satisfied such waiver is knowingly and voluntarily made and the court accepts the waiver. . . . Proceedings is not defined in ch. 48. Section 990.01(1) relating to general rules of statutory construction, provides that all words and phrases shall be construed according to common and approved usage, except that technical words and phrases and others having a peculiar meaning shall be construed according to that meaning. The common and approved usage of a word in a statute may be ascertained by reference to a recognized dictionary. Kollasch v. Adamany, 104 Wis. 2d 552, 563, 313 N.W.2d 47 (1981). Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1807 (1961) includes the following definition of proceedings: e (1) . . . the course of procedure in a judicial action or in a suit in litigation: legal action. Black's Law Dictionary 1368 (1968) defines proceeding as: . . . the form and manner of conducting juridical business before a court or judicial officer. . . . These definitions indicate that proceedings within sec. 48.23(1), Stats., are legal proceedings before the court. This interpretation is consistent with the language of sec. 48.23 (1), providing that a juvenile may waive counsel under that provision only if the court determines that the waiver was knowingly and voluntarily made, and accepts the waiver. We conclude that neither the temporary custody order that Gage signed, nor the custodial interrogation of Woods, were proceedings within the meaning of sec. 48.23(1)(a), Stats., for which counsel was required. When a juvenile alleged to have committed a delinquent act is taken into custody and not immediately released, he is referred to an intake worker who performs an intake inquiry. See secs. 48.20(3) and 48.24. The intake worker reviews the need to hold the juvenile in custody. Sec. 48.20(7)(b). If the intake worker does not release the juvenile, a judicial hearing is held pursuant to sec. 48.21 to determine if the juvenile court will order that the juvenile be held in custody. If at the time the juvenile is taken into custody he is alleged to have committed a delinquent act, the intake worker must also determine whether the juvenile should be referred to juvenile court for delinquency proceedings. Upon determining that such referral is necessary, the intake worker requests that the district attorney, corporation counsel, or other official specified in sec. 48.09, Stats., file a petition under sec. 48.25. That section provides, in relevant part: Petition: authorization to file. (1) A petition initiating proceedings under this chapter shall be signed by a person who has knowledge of the facts alleged. . . . (Emphasis added.) If the juvenile alleged to be delinquent is temporarily held in custody and entitled to a detention hearing under sec. 48.21, the delinquency petition under sec. 48.25 must be filed by the hearing date. Section 48.21(2) also discusses proceedings under ch. 48 and provides: PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING RUNAWAY OR DELINQUENT CHILDREN. Proceedings concerning a child who comes within the jurisdiction of the court under s. 48.12 . . . shall be conducted according to this subsection. (Emphasis added.) The above provisions indicate that the first proceeding at which Woods would have been entitled to counsel under sec. 48.23(1), Stats., was a court hearing under sec. 48.21 to determine whether to continue to hold him in custody. When a juvenile is brought into custody and ordered detained by an intake worker, there are no court proceedings until a hearing is held pursuant to sec. 48.21. If the intake worker requests that the district attorney file a delinquency petition, the court also becomes involved in the delinquency proceedings after the petition is filed and when formal hearings are held to determine the juvenile's status. There are no proceedings before the juvenile court under ch. 48, however, when a juvenile is ordered to be placed in temporary custody after he is taken into custody, and if the juvenile is questioned by police officers at that time. [19] We also conclude that because formal adversary judicial proceedings had not been initiated against Woods when he was taken into custody, he had no sixth or fourteenth amendment right to counsel at the time he was questioned. The sixth and fourteenth amendment right to counsel applies only to criminal prosecutions. In Kirby v. Illinois , the United States Supreme Court held that this right to counsel attaches only at or after the time that adversary judicial proceedings have been initiated against a defendent. 406 U.S. at 688. The court indicated that in its prior decisions involving the sixth and fourteenth amendment right to counsel, . . . all of those cases have involved points of time at or after the initiation of adversary judicial criminal proceedingswhether by way of formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information, or arraignment. 406 U.S. at 689. The court also noted that the initiation of judicial criminal proceedings is the starting point of our system of adversary criminal justice. It is only then that the government has committed itself to prosecute, and only then. . . that the adverse positions of government and defendant have solidified. Id. The court therefore declined to import into a routine police investigation a sixth and fourteenth amendment right to counsel, which it stated was historically applicable only after the onset of ... formal adversarial proceedings. Id. When Woods was taken into custody, the intake worker signed a temporary custody order. That did not mean, however, that adversary judicial criminal proceedings had been initiated against him at that point. Under ch. 48, Stats., the analog to the commitment to prosecute cited in Kirby is the filing of a delinquency petition under sec. 48.25. The filing of a petition in juvenile court constitutes a formal criminal charge against the juvenile, for it only at that point that the juvenile is charged with violating a state or federal criminal law. It is also at that point that the state commits itself to prosecuting the juvenile, and the adverse positions of the government and juvenile solidify. Until the petition is filed, the state has made no formal decision to commence delinquency proceedings against the juvenile. We hold that Woods did not become the subject of a criminal prosecution within the meaning of the sixth amendment until a formal petition was filed under sec. 48.25, Stats., which alleged him to be delinquent. Because he was not the subject of any procedure approximating a criminal prosecution at the time Gage signed the temporary detention order, any sixth and fourteenth amendment right to counsel he may have had did not attach when he gave the oral statement. The statement therefore was not obtained in violation of that constitutional right. By the Court. The decision of the court of appeals is affirmed. SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON, J. (dissenting). Burdette Woods was a juvenile16 years, 9 months of ageand inexperienced with criminal proceedings; he was suspected of murder; his arrest and detention on an unrelated theft charge were illegal or at least pretextual; no parents or other relatives were present during his questioning; law enforcement officers used misrepresentation, promises, threats, and gruesome photographs of the death scene in their questioning; Woods was in custody approximately three and one half hours before making a statement; Woods responded in the negative when asked if he wanted counsel, but he also said he could not afford counsel; Woods remained silent for about 50 minutes of questioning and allegedly waived his right to remain silent by giving a statement. The issue in this case is whether Burdette Woods voluntarily waived his right to counsel and his right to remain silent or the state overcame his mind and will by psychological domination and deprived him of the freedom to decide whether or not to assist the state in securing his conviction. In the absence of a valid waiver of rights, Woods's statements to the police must be suppressed. Woods's constitutionally protected interest at issue in this case is his right to decide, free from unfair pressure, whether he wants to speak and whether he wants an attorney. Schoeffler v. State, 3 Wis. 717 [], 735 [] (1854). The fundamental value at stake is that the suspect not be deprived before trial by unfair methods of interrogation of rights guaranteed to him at trial, e.g., his privilege not to testify, his right not to be compelled to be a witness against himself, his right to counsel. Thus in determining the question of voluntariness, the court evaluates whether the police practices impose an intolerable degree of pressure upon the will of the suspect and are contrary to standards of governmental fair play. This was a gruesome crime. The perpetrator should be punished. But the gravity of the crime does not obviate police responsibility to conduct an interrogation that conforms to constitutional standards. The law relating to police interrogation and the admissibility of confessions attempts to resolve the competing claims of crime detection and fairness to the suspect. Both victims of crime and victims of government excess must be protected by the courts. A suspect must be afforded the safeguards our jurisprudence has developed for the administration of criminal justice, safeguards which are at once protective of the individual and of society. The standard of review is twofold: the appellate court first reviews the trial court's findings of facts to determine if they are clearly erroneous. Then the appellate court, viewing the totality of the circumstances, makes its own determination of the constitutional issue of the validity of the waivers. It need not give weight to the conclusion of the trial court. A waiver is knowing, intelligent, and voluntary when the suspect appreciates the consequences of the decision to waive. [1] Courts must indulge every reasonable presumption against waiver of constitutional rights. Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464 (1938). I accept the trial court's findings of the historical facts. I set forth these findings in the margin at note 2. [2] They are not clearly erroneous. Indeed the historical facts are undisputed. Viewing the circumstances of this in-custody interrogation in their totality and using the beyond the reasonable doubt standard the majority sets forth, I am not persuaded that the waivers were the products of Woods's free and rational choice of whether to make a statement or otherwise cooperate. Greenwald v. Wisconsin, 390 U.S. 519, 521 (1968). The United States Supreme Court has said that [i]f counsel was not present for some permissible reason when an admission was obtained [from a juvenile], the greatest care must be taken to assure that the admission was voluntary in the sense not only that it was not coerced or suggested, but also that it was not the product of ignorance of rights or of adolescent fantasy, fright or despair. In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 55 (1967). See also Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707, 725 (1979); Haley v. Ohio, 332 U.S. 596, 599 (1948). The law enforcement officers did not exercise the greatest care in this case. There was no scrupulous adherence to Woods's rights. The record shows that the law enforcement officers deliberately used unacceptable tricks of interrogation in getting Woods to waive his right to remain silent. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 448-455 (1966). I therefore dissent. The totality of the circumstances standard requires a court to weigh the tactics and pressures to which the suspect was subjected to induce the waiver against the suspect's power to resist such pressures. That which would be overpowering to the young, the inexperienced, or the weak might not faze a mature, experienced criminal. Grennier v. State, 70 Wis. 2d 204, 210, 234 N.W.2d 316 (1975); State v. Wallace, 59 Wis. 2d 66, 81, 207 N.W.2d 855 (1973). The majority misapplies the totality of the circumstances test by isolating and analyzing in a vacuum each aspect of the interrogations in this case, thus failing to consider together, i.e., in the totality, all aspects of the interrogation and the personal characteristics of the suspect. The majority recognizes that several facets of the case signal the possibility of coercion. The majority does not, however, look at them together. Although no one facet of this case standing alone necessarily invalidates a waiver in this case, all the facts viewed together and that is what we mean by the totality of the circumstancescompel the conclusion that Woods's waivers were not made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. The circumstances of these in-custody interrogations to be considered in their totality are the following: 1: Personal characteristics. Woods was 16 years, 9 months of age at the time of his arrest; he was halfway through the tenth grade; according to his mother, he had normal or above average intelligence; he could speak and write English; he came from a broken home and resided in Shawano county with his grandparents. The interrogating officers testified that although Woods was controlled during interrogation, he also became quite emotional and cried at one point. Woods had no previous experience with the criminal justice system. The personal characteristics of the defendant are significant insofar as they render him vulnerable to the particular type of psychological pressure, inducement, or stratagem used in the interrogation. Woods's age and his inexperience with the criminal justice system made him more vulnerable to the strategems police used in this case to induce the waivers and increase the probability that the waivers were not made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. 2: Custody and interrogation. Woods was in custody approximately three and a half hours before making an oral or written statement. Law enforcement officers arrived at Woods's home between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. while he was sleeping. They arrested him for theft and took him to the police station, arriving at about 8:00 a.m. He was booked and made to change from street clothes into jail clothes. Woods apparently was not left alone at any time at the police station. He met with Gage, a juvenile intake worker, and then was questioned in an interrogation room, first by two local police officers and then by two state agents from the Department of Justice. Woods gave an oral statement just before 11:00 a.m. and a written statement sometime between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. Here the interrogations lasted a relatively short period, probably less than an hour, but in this time there were two interrogations, by two relays of officers, with two-on-one questioning in each relay. The use of two relays of two officers doing the questioning and the total length of custody indicate psychological domination when considered along with such factors as Woods's age, isolation from family and friends, the nature of the crime, and interrogation involving misrepresentation and gruesome photographs. 3: No parent present. Neither Woods's mother nor his grandparents were present at the time of interrogation. Without a parent or guardian or attorney present, the juvenile is, of course, more susceptible to inherently coercive pressures which undermine the will to resist and compel him to speak where he would not otherwise do so freely, Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 467 (1966). This court has said that although the presence of parent, guardian, or attorney is not an absolute requirement for a minor to waive his or her right to remain silent, the absence of adult advice does raise the possibility of coercion and should be considered in the totality of circumstances. Theriault v. State, 66 Wis. 2d 33, 41, 44, 223 N.W.2d 850 (1974). Commentators have urged that the absence of parental or other adult advice should weigh more heavily than other factors in the totality of the circumstances evaluation. [3] 4: Suspect not advised of the charge. Initially Woods shook his head no and orally said no when asked if he wanted an attorney. When Woods waived his right to counsel, he had not yet been told that he was suspected of murder and would be questioned about the murders. Since a suspect may be willing to be without counsel in questioning on one charge but not on another, more serious one, ignorance of the exact subject of the interrogation is significant in the court's evaluation of the total circumstances of whether the waiver of counsel was made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. Carter v. Garrison, 656 F2d 68 (4th Cir 1981). See also United States v. McCrary, 643 F.2d 328 (5th Cir 1981); Schenk v. Ellsworth, 293 F. Supp. 26, 29 (D. Mont. 1968). 5: Suspect asserts inability to afford counsel. When asked later in the interrogation if he wanted an attorney. Woods responded that he could not afford an attorney. The interrogation nevertheless continued and a written statement was taken from Woods. The trial court correctly suppressed this written statement because Woods's right to counsel had been violated. In view of Woods's youth and inexperience with the criminal justice system, I conclude, as I explained in point 4, that when he made the initial negative response to the question whether he wanted counsel, he may have thought that he was going to be questioned about theft of a chain saw, not murder. Thus his waiver cannot be said to have been made intelligently. I further conclude that Woods's later response that he could not afford counsel indicates, under all the circumstances described herein, that his initial waiver of his right to counsel was without understanding that he was entitled to counsel at public expense. 6: Suspect asserts right to remain silent by being silent. Woods never expressly stated he was waiving his right to remain silent. Indeed he made no statement to the interrogating officers for approximately 50 minutes of the interrogation other than one isolated response to a leading question. Despite Woods's silence and despite the Miranda warning which advises both the suspect and the law enforcement officers that the accused has a right to remain silent, the officers persisted in questioning him and encouraging him to talk. The majority concludes that Woods's conduct of neither total silence nor total responsiveness did not constitute an assertion of the right to remain silent but indicated that he was trying to make a decision about whether to speak or remain silent. The majority holds that Woods's confession after at least 50 to 60 minutes of interrogation constituted his waiver of the right to remain silent. Waiver of the rights protected by Miranda must be clear and explicit. Schilling v. State, 86 Wis. 2d 69, 85, 271 N.W.2d 631 (1978). I conclude that Woods's conduct until his confession was an exercise of his right to remain silent. See United States v. Hayes, 385 F.2d 375 (4th Cir. 1967). The majority fails to consider Woods's steadfast silence and this alleged waiver in light of the cumulative effect of all that occurred before the confession. Considered in light of Woods's personal characteristics and the techniques used in questioning, Woods's confession did not constitute a waiver of his right to remain silent; if it did, it was not the product of free will. 7: Pretended friendly gesture. One of the interrogators placed his hand on Woods's shoulder in a friendly gesture. An interrogator's taking on a nonadversary role is recognized as a very effective technique to induce suspects to forget they are in an adversary situation. See White, Police Trickery in Inducing Confessions, 127 U. Pa. L. Rev. 581, 614-17 (1979). In the totality of the circumstances, considering Woods's age and the fact that he was from a broken home and isolated from family and friends, he was especially likely to succumb to this strategy and cooperate. The significance of the gesture in this case is clearly set forth in the record. An officer testified he used this gesture because he had been told that Woods would be more likely to talk to a strong father figure. Woods gave his statement shortly after this gesture. 8: Police misrepresentations that guilt is known. Woods was subjected to what the majority concedes were police misrepresentations that the police had evidence establishing his guilt. The device of impressing the suspect with the interrogators' certainty of guilt is a very effective interrogation technique designed to make the suspect yield to the majority judgment. White, Police Trickery in Inducing Confessions, 127 U. Pa. L. Rev. 581, 624-25 (1979). Both the state and the majority opinion recognize that such misrepresentations are unacceptable police conduct. See Blaszke v. State, 69 Wis. 2d 81, 88-89, 230 N.W.2d 133 (1975); State v. Cooper, 217 N.W.2d 589, 597 (Iowa 1974). Woods's age and inexperience in the criminal justice system, along with the gruesome photographs, friendly gesture, promises and threats, and isolation from family, made Woods particularly vulnerable to this technique to induce a waiver of his right to remain silent. 9: Gruesome death scene photographs displayed. The police had many gruesome death scene photographs in an album on the table when they were questioning Woods. The trial court found as a matter of historical fact that the local law enforcement officers showed these photographs to the defendant. See trial court findings of fact at note 2. This court has cautioned law enforcement officers against the use of gruesome photographs of the crime scene because such photographs unfairly impair the suspect's capacity to make a rational choice. State v. Wallace, 59 Wis. 2d 66, 207 N.W.2d 855 (1973). I conclude that the photographsin combination with such other factors as Woods's youth, the absence of a family member, the friendly gesture, and the misrepresentations impaired his ability to make a rational choice whether to remain silent or speak. 10: Promises and threats used. Woods was told something to the effect that things would be better or easier for him if he confessed or talked to the police. Woods was also told, This is what is going to pin you down, or This is what's going to hang you, when he was shown fingerprints, supposedly his, taken at the scene of the murder. The effect of these words which imply threat or promise must be judged in light of their being directed to a juvenile who is being questioned about murders and led to believe that the state has conclusive evidence of guilt. This type of pressure is likely to exert substantial influence upon the suspect's will and cause the decision to waive rights to be the result of outside pressure rather than a consequence of rational decision. This court has warned against the use of such tactics and strategies. Blaszke v. State, 69 Wis. 2d 81, 88-89, 230 N.W.2d 133 (1975). 11: Arrest on theft charge pretextual. Regardless of whether there was probable cause to arrest for theft, [4] Woods's arrest for theft was a pretext. The majority and the state in effect concede that the authorities wanted Woods in custody to question him not about the theft but about the murders. The state's brief acknowledges that at the time of arrest the authorities had focused on Woods as the prime suspect in the murders but had no probable cause to arrest Woods on that charge. Whether or not the pretextual nature of the arrest for theft should invalidate the arrest or the statements, it does indicate the law enforcement officers' eagerness to get custody of the defendant and their willingness to use devious methods in order to question Woods about the murders and solve the case. The record clearly shows that the interrogators were prepared to use deception to deprive Woods of the opportunity to make a rational choice whether to speak to the police. 12: Juvenile detention order of questionable validity. Woods asserts that the juvenile intake worker, contrary to his obligations under chapter 48, was involved in the law enforcement officers' pretext to detain Woods on the theft charge but question him about the murders. The juvenile intake worker testified that he was not so involved; the law enforcement officers testified that he was. The circuit court made no finding. The state urges this court to review the record and make a finding. [5] The majority opinion is silent on this issue. I believe that this court cannot make a finding because the record contains contradictory testimony as to whether the juvenile intake worker was in league with the police and their subterfuge. For purposes of this review of the totality of circumstances, it is sufficient for me to note that, according to the record, the juvenile intake worker did not act as the legislature mandated in chapter 48. Chapter 48 provides that the person taking a child into custody shall make every effort to immediately release the child, sec. 48.20 (2), and that the juvenile intake worker must make a probable cause determination, sec. 48.205, Stats. 1981-82, as to release of the child. The juvenile intake worker here did not make any effort to release Woods immediately and did not make a probable cause determination of whether the child was within the jurisdiction of the court and, unless detained, would run away, as required by sec. 48.205, 1981-82. Furthermore, the intake worker is required to inform the child what allegations he is facing. Sec. 48.243(1)(a). The intake worker's knowing failure to tell Woods that he was being detained for questioning about the murders contributed to Woods's inability to make a knowing, intelligent waiver of his rights. Since it appears that the juvenile intake worker may have failed to comply with chapter 48, violation of the juvenile code is a factor to be considered in evaluating the strategem of the interrogators and the voluntariness of the waiver. When the circumstances are examined in their totality, I am not satisfied that the interrogation of this particular 16-year-old, in this particular situation, meets the constitutional standards. I conclude that the waivers, if any, were not voluntary. [6] I dissent.