Opinion ID: 1444067
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Use of Defendant's Custodial Statement

Text: Next, defendant argues that the magistrate erred in denying his motion to suppress a custodial statement that he gave to the Cumberland police. He contends that he provided that statement involuntarily as a result of police coercion. The defendant maintains that the hearing magistrate should have convened a separate evidentiary hearing to determine whether he gave the statement knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently without threats or coercion. The defendant cites Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966); Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478, 84 S.Ct. 1758, 12 L.Ed.2d 977 (1964); and Johnson v. Nei, Jersey, 384 U.S. 719, 86 S.Ct. 1772, 16 L.Ed.2d 882 (1966) to support his contention. Although these cases prevent illegally obtained statements from being introduced as evidence at a criminal trial, a probation-revocation hearing is not a criminal trial. Barber, 767 A.2d at 80. Assuming, arguendo, that the police illegally obtained defendant's statement, the law is well settled that the exclusionary rule does not apply to probation-violation hearings. See, e.g., State v. Spratt, 120 R.I. 192, 194, 386 A.2d 1094, 1095-96 (1978) (collecting cases). [2] This Court has clearly stated that a violation hearing is civil in nature. Barber, 767 A.2d at 80. Consequently, the defendant is not entitled to the full panoply of rights inherent in a criminal trial. State v. Mendez, 788 A.2d 1145, 1147-1148 (R.I.2002) (per curiam) (quoting Bourdeau, 448 A.2d at 1248). In any event, defendant presented no evidence that the police coerced his statement. On the contrary, he testified that he provided the statement to the police because he wanted to help. He signed a rights form that contained not only his full signature but also his initials after each individual statement of his rights, thereby acknowledging that he was advised of these rights and that he understood them. Also, the actual statement contained defendant's initials at the bottom of each page. His signature further acknowledged that the police informed defendant of all rights to which he was entitled. Nevertheless, to help, defendant chose to provide his written statement to the police admitting his involvement in the robbery of the general store. Probation is intended to serve a rehabilitative function by allowing a defendant the opportunity to show by his conduct that incarceration is no longer necessary. See Spratt, 120 R.I. at 194, 386 A.2d at 1095. Extending the exclusionary rule to probation-revocation hearings and requiring the hearing justice to hold a separate hearing on whether to suppress evidence alleged to be illegally obtained would result, at least in some cases, in excluding evidence of the probationer's misconduct, thereby undermining this rehabilitative purpose. Id. It is possible that a convicted offender could remain at large even though his or her continued bad behavior demonstrated a lack of rehabilitation or an inability to integrate into lawabiding society. Id. Therefore, whether the evidence in question arose from an alleged unreasonable search and seizure or an asserted involuntary confession, the hearing magistrate was not required to convene a separate hearing to decide whether to exclude such evidence because the exclusionary rule does not apply to inculpatory evidence presented at a probation-revocation hearing. Moreover, the court can address any challenges to the admissibility or weight of any such proffered evidence at the violation hearing itself.