Opinion ID: 1895037
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: defendant's right to silence incriminating statements made on june 28

Text: The final right to silence issue deals with the admissibility of the statements made by the defendant on June 28. The trial court held that defendant's right to silence had been violated, based on its determination that not all of the Mosley right to silence factors were satisfied in this case. Because the Mosley factors were not satisfied, the court stated that a waiver of the constitutional right to remain silent could not be found, and, therefore, the statements obtained in violation of that right could not be admitted into evidence. The court of appeals held that the reinterrogation of defendant on June 28 also constituted a failure by police to scrupulously honor defendant's right to silence. It reached this holding by utilizing the five-factor test of Mosley, 423 U.S. 96, and determined that the reinterrogation was constitutionally defective because it was conducted by the same officer who questioned defendant on June 27, it concerned the same subject matters as the initial interrogation, and the existence of additional relevant factors (such as Turner's segregated detention in the county jail combined with restrictions placed on his ability to contact third parties while he was detained) made the time interval between the original interrogation and the reinterrogation as coercive as if a shorter time interval existed. Finally, the first Mosley factor, requiring that the original interrogation be promptly terminated, was not satisfied because the request for consent to search (already determined by the appeals court to constitute interrogation) followed almost immediately from defendant's invocation of his right to silence. Because it believed that four of the five Mosley factors were not satisfied, the appeals court concluded that defendant's right to silence had not been scrupulously honored and, therefore, affirmed the trial court order suppressing the statements made by the defendant on June 28. It reached this holding despite the statement in its opinion that the Mosley factors are not exclusively controlling and should not be woodenly applied. The parties disagree on the flexibility of the Mosley analysis. The state objects to the appeals court decision on this issue because it believes that the court incorrectly drew its own conclusions of fact and incorrectly ignored its own directive that the five Mosley factors are not to be woodenly applied. We address the state's arguments in turn. But before we do, we note that it is undisputed that the third Mosley factor was satisfied and that the fourth and fifth factors were not. See, infra at 345-346. First, the state argues that the appeals court improperly concluded that the police failed to promptly terminate interrogation of the defendant when they asked for his consent to search. But because we have today concluded that no fifth amendment principles are implicated when police merely request a consent to search or when a defendant merely accedes to that request, we must agree with the state that the appeals court improperly held that the first Mosley factor was violated. The first Mosley factor was not violated because there was no immediate reinterrogation. Requesting consent to search is not interrogation. Accordingly, we reverse the court of appeals on this issue. Second, the state argues that Mosley's second factor, requiring that interrogation be resumed only after a significant period of time, has also been satisfied. The state asserts that the twenty-four-hour time period between interrogations was not so long as to create pressure on defendant nor so short as to violate the Mosley rule. It cites two eighth circuit cases where the court has held that periods of twenty and twenty-four hours have been significant time spans for Mosley purposes. Jackson v. Wyrick, 730 F.2d 1177, 1180 (8th Cir. 1984), cert. denied 496 U.S. 849, 105 S. Ct. 167 (1984); United States v. Finch, 557 F.2d 1234, 1236 (8th Cir. 1977). Finally, the state asserts that the correct application of the Mosley test which should be applied in this case is neither that applied by the trial court nor that applied by the court of appeals. Rather, it argues that an analysis which uses the five-point test as a guide, rather than as a strict standard that must be satisfied in each case, is proper. This proposed analysis merely asks if the police persisted in efforts two wear down a defendant's resistance in order to make him talk. It is clear from our examination of the cases that courts are moving toward a more flexible analysis under Mosley. It seems apparent that a wide range of time gaps between interrogations may satisfy Mosley, see, Jackson, 730 F.2d at 1180; Finch 557 F.2d at 1236; and Mosley, 423 U.S. at 106. An illustrative case is State v. Hartwig, 123 Wis. 2d 278. Hartwig found that the second Mosley factor was not satisfied. It made this finding based on the fact that defendant was subjected to further interrogation only one-half hour after he invoked his right to silence. The court also considered it significant that when the initial interrogation ceased, the questioning officer placed a tape recorder in front of defendant, turned it on, and told him that any of his statements would be recorded. The court stated that, When this fact is combined with [the investigator's] resuming the interrogation little more than one-half hour later, it is apparent that little was done by means of interrupting the interrogation to assure the defendant that his invoked right to silence would be scrupulously honored. On the contrary, placing the tape recorder in front of the defendant and continuing the questioning after only a brief interruption would tend to have the coercive effect of letting the defendant know that it was expected he would make a statement. 123 Wis. 2d at 286. Thus, the combination of these factors could have made it clear to defendant, despite the invocation of his rights and despite police recitations of his Miranda rights, that the police were not prepared to honor his rights. When these infirmities were combined with the fact that the same officer resumed questioning regarding the same subject, the court stated that a finding of a violation of defendant's right to remain silent was compelled. Id. at 287. Utilizing the Hartwig analysis, we find that the significant period of time factor has been satisfied and that it is not dispositive that the same officer conducted the reinterrogation regarding the same crime. (Courts have held that the failure to satisfy each Mosley factor is not fatal. See, Jackson, 730 F.2d at 1177; Finch, 557 F.2d at 1236.) The facts here involved a twenty-four-hour time gap, far more substantial than the time gap in Hartwig. In addition, unlike the facts in Hartwig, there is nothing here to support a finding that little was done to assure defendant that his right to silence would not be scrupulously honored or that other improper tactics were used that could have arguably coerced defendant into talking. Here, police promptly terminated questioning when defendant invoked his right to silence. They told him several times on the 27th that he need not respond to police questioning without the presence of an attorney. He was given Miranda warnings on the second day of interrogation, in which he was once again informed that he had the right to remain silent. He signed standard waiver forms at that time and gave no indication to police that he did not wish to answer their questions. In short, there is no evidence on the record that the officers made any attempt to induce defendant not to invoke his right to silence on June 28 or any attempt to coerce him to talk. Jackson, 730 F.2d at 1180. Our conclusion is strengthened by an examination of the record, which establishes that the delay in interrogation was caused by an attempt to follow up on defendant's alibi and also to question witnesses. Absent improper persuasive tactics by the police, we decline to hold that defendant's right to silence was violated when police questioned him on June 28. It is not determinative, absent other evidence of police overbearing or coercive tactics, that all of the Mosley factors were not satisfied. Therefore, because we find that defendant's right to silence was not violated, we reverse the determination of the appeals court that the right to silence was not scrupulously honored.