Opinion ID: 2639110
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Did the Trial Court Err in Failing to Suppress Evidence of Mays' Statement to Police Because Mays Was Incompetent to Waive His Miranda Rights?

Text: Mays filed a pretrial motion to suppress his statement to police, arguing that he lacked the capacity to waive his Miranda rights. Mays requested and the trial court appointed a psychiatrist, Dr. William Logan, to evaluate Mays' mental capacity and conduct an intelligence quotient (IQ) test. In the brief filed by appellate counsel, Mays primarily relies upon Dr. Logan's evaluation and argues that his borderline intellectual functioning, his diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and his intoxication on phencyclidine (PCP) rendered him incompetent to waive his Miranda rights and his statement to police should therefore have been suppressed. In his pro se brief, Mays makes a similar argument but focuses upon his allegations that the police interrogated him for several hours without giving him a bathroom break or allowing him to eat, smoke a cigarette, or talk to his mother. He also alleges that the police threatened to kill him if he did not tell them what they wanted to hear. Finally, Mays alleges that he was under the influence of PCP ( i.e., wet) and thus was very susceptible to coercion. The State counters by arguing there was substantial competent evidence to support the trial court's determination that the waiver of Miranda rights was freely, voluntarily, and intelligently made. The State argues that resolution of the issue is dependent upon the credibility of the witnesses, a determination to be made by the trial court. In reviewing a trial court's decision regarding suppression, this court reviews the factual underpinnings of the decision by a substantial competent evidence standard and the ultimate legal conclusion by a de novo standard with independent judgment. State v. Sanders, 272 Kan. 445, 452, 33 P.3d 596 (2001), cert. denied 536 U.S. 963 (2002). This court does not reweigh evidence, pass on the credibility of witnesses, or resolve conflicts in the evidence. State v. Washington, 275 Kan. 644, 669, 68 P.3d 134 (2003). A defendant's waiver of his or her Miranda rights must be knowing, voluntary, and intelligent under the totality of the circumstances. State v. Makthepharak, 276 Kan. 563, 567, 78 P.3d 412 (2003). In determining whether a defendant's confession is voluntary, a court looks at the totality of the circumstances. The State bears the burden of proving that a defendant's confession is voluntary and therefore admissible by a preponderance of the evidence. The essential inquiry is whether the statement was the product of the free and independent will of the accused. [Citation omitted.] State v. Groschang, 272 Kan. 652, 662, 36 P.3d 231 (2001). Where, as here, the accused is a juvenile, this court exercises the greatest care in assessing the validity of the juvenile's confession. State v. Bell, 276 Kan. 785, Syl. ¶ 7, 80 P.3d 367 (2003). In determining whether a juvenile's confession is voluntary, the district court should consider the following factors on the record: (1) the age of the minor, (2) the length of the questioning, (3) the minor's education, (4) the minor's prior experience with the police, and (5) the minor's mental state. 276 Kan. 785, Syl. ¶ 7. The evidence regarding the first four factors was undisputed. Mays was 16 years of age at the time he was questioned, although he turned age 17 a few days later. As to the length of questioning, Detective Howard first made contact with Mays at 2:30 p.m. At 3 p.m., Mays agreed to give a statement. After an interview lasting an hour and a half, detectives recorded Mays' formal statement. The questioning was not prolonged, and Mays does not argue that the length of questioning impacted the voluntariness of his statement. As to the third factor, Mays had a 10th grade education. Regarding the fourth factor, there was no evidence that Mays had any prior experience with police, and Mays testified that he had never seen an Advice of Rights form before. Mays' evidence at the hearing on the motion to suppress and his arguments on appeal focus on the final factor, mental state. Mays testified that he was under the influence of PCP and marijuana during his interview with police. He also testified that he did not read the Advice of Rights form and did not understand its implications. Dr. Logan testified that he met with Mays to evaluate his mental state at the time of the shootings as well as his capacity to waive his Miranda rights. As to Mays' mental state, Dr. Logan testified that the traumatic death of Mays' 10-year-old cousin when Mays was 15 years old had a profound effect on Mays. Mays had recurring nightmares and believed he could sometimes see or hear his cousin's spirit. He became socially withdrawn, stopped associating with friends, stopped playing basketball, and had difficulty sleeping and concentrating. According to Dr. Logan, Mays suffered additional stress from being called as a witness in the murder trial and had experienced some harassment and threats. Mays' school work deteriorated, and he eventually dropped out of school. Also, after his cousin's death, Mays' use of alcohol, marijuana, and PCP increased dramatically. Dr. Logan characterized Mays as showing evidence of PTSD, although he questioned the relevance of that diagnosis as to Mays' comprehension ability. Dr. Logan also evaluated Mays' IQ. He determined that Mays had an overall IQ of 80; however, his verbal IQ, which relates to his understanding of written and verbal material, was only 77, a score which falls in the borderline intellectual functioning range (formerly referred to as borderline retarded). Dr. Logan also determined that Mays reads at an early second grade level and has a very limited ability to read. Dr. Logan testified, Certainly our testing indicated that he probably wouldn't be diagnoseable [ sic ] mentally retarded. But in terms of intellectual skills that were needed to understand Miranda rights and utilize that information to make a decision, [Mays] would function in the retarded range. . . . Regarding Mays' interview with police, Dr. Logan testified Mays told him he was under the influence of PCP which made him drowsy and made him want to tell the police whatever they wanted so they would leave him alone. Mays also told him that the police threatened him with the death penalty. Mays also said he did not understand his Miranda rights when he was interviewed by detectives, although by the time of the hearing, after 9 months of a jailhouse education, Dr. Logan believed Mays had a good layman's understanding of those rights. When asked on cross-examination whether Mays would have been able to understand and knowingly waive his Miranda rights, Dr. Logan responded: Based on his overall reading level, I think he would have had difficulty comprehending the information he was presented. If he is accurate in the fact that he recently ingested PCP, and I can't tell whether that's true or not . . . and that he was intimidated and scared and didn't really tend [ sic ] to the rights presented to him and didn't really understand very much about what was presented to him, if all that is accurate as he presents, then I would say probably he did not understand his Miranda rights. Mays' arguments are based upon this opinion. However, the State notes that Dr. Logan's opinion was based upon the assumption that Mays was under the influence of PCP, was coerced, and did not have his Miranda rights fully explained. As the State points out, when these assumptions are changed, Dr. Logan's opinion supports a finding that Mays was capable of understanding his rights. When asked about the importance of these assumptions to his opinion, Dr. Logan testified: I still think he would have had difficulty understanding certain words such as waiving rights, being coerced, and he may  he still would have had a hard time weighing what he did know about deciding on the advisability of talking to police detectives. But in terms of his understanding, yes, he could have potentially if some of the things he told me were not accurate, if he wasn't that scared, if he wasn't threatened, if he hadn't taken PCP and if the officers had taken some time to explain those rights to him, he may have understood. The State argues that conflicting evidence was presented regarding whether Mays had taken PCP, had been threatened, and had his rights explained. The State points to the testimony of Detective Howard, who interviewed Mays at the detective bureau shortly after Mays' arrest on January 27, 2000. Howard presented Mays with an Advice of Rights form, and they went over it together. Howard asked Mays to read the first line out loud, but Mays wanted to read the rest of the form to himself. Howard asked Mays if he understood what he had read, and Mays indicated he did. When Howard told Mays he would have to sign the form if he wanted to waive his rights and talk to police, Mays said he wanted to think about it. At that point, Howard left the room for half an hour to eat lunch. He offered food to Mays who declined. After lunch, Howard asked Mays if he had decided whether he wanted to give a statement, and Mays signed the waiver form in front of Howard and another detective. The detectives then interviewed Mays for about an hour and a half before taking a formal, taped statement. At the beginning of the recorded portion of the interview, Howard went over the Advice of Rights form with Mays a second time, reading his Miranda rights aloud and confirming that Mays understood those rights and agreed to waive them. Mays then gave a recorded statement. Detectives Howard and Lawson conducted the first half of the formal interview, and Detectives Zeigler and Golubski conducted the second half. The first pair of detectives were investigating the January 26 shooting, while the second pair were investigating the January 24 shooting. Howard testified that law enforcement officers made no promises or threats to Mays and that no physical contact took place. Howard observed that Mays was alert but seemed a little drowsy, so he asked if Mays had used any drugs. Mays indicated he had smoked some marijuana earlier in the day but said nothing about PCP. Mays showed no sign of the effects of PCP. Howard knew Mays was 16 years old and had a 10th grade education. Howard listened as Mays read the first line of the Advice of Rights form and noticed no difficulty. Thus, the evidence relevant to many of Mays' arguments and Dr. Logan's opinion was conflicting. Application of many of the Bell factors and the overall determination of the totality of the circumstances came down to an issue of credibility which is left to the trial court to determine. See Bell, 276 Kan. 785, Syl. ¶¶ 6, 7, and 8. Moreover, while a defendant's low intellect and mental condition are factors to be considered in determining the voluntariness of a statement, a defendant's mental condition, by itself and apart from its relation to official coercion, should never dispose of the inquiry into constitutional voluntariness. State v. Lane, 262 Kan. 373, 386, 940 P.2d 422 (1997) (citing Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 164-65, 93 L.Ed.2d 473, 107 S.Ct. 515 [1986]). Mental state is only one consideration when assessing the totality of the circumstances surrounding the waiver of Miranda rights. Further, there must be a link between coercive activity of the State and the confession. [Citation omitted.] Lane, 262 Kan. at 386. Mays does not allege that the police took advantage of his low intellect or poor reading ability to coerce a confession. To the contrary, detectives went over his Miranda rights a second time before taking a recorded statement, and Mays indicated he understood and wished to waive those rights. Thus, there was substantial competent evidence to support the district court's decision to deny Mays' motion to suppress his statement to police. Under the totality of the circumstances it was not error to determine that May's waiver of his Miranda rights was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.