Opinion ID: 2195033
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Totality of the circumstances surrounding waiver

Text: Even though we conclude that Burrell's Miranda warning was adequate, in this situation we must make a subjective factual inquiry as to whether the district court erred by concluding that the state has proven that Burrell's waiver was valid. Camacho, 561 N.W.2d at 168-69. For a Miranda waiver to be valid, all suspects regardless of their age must fully understand their rights, including the right against self-incrimination that is guaranteed by both the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 7 of the Minnesota Constitution. [3] See id. Miranda's due process protections generally apply to juveniles, even those prosecuted in juvenile court. See In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 13, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967). When a juvenile's Miranda waiver is at issue, we examine the totality of the circumstances to determine whether the suspect understood his rights and the consequences that may arise if he waives them. Ouk, 516 N.W.2d at 184-85. The Supreme Court endorsed this approach in Fare v. Michael C., saying: The totality approach permits  indeed, it mandates  inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding the interrogation. This includes evaluation of the juvenile's age, experience, education, background, and intelligence, and into whether he has the capacity to understand the warnings given him, the nature of his Fifth Amendment rights, and the consequences of waiving those rights. 442 U.S. 707, 725, 99 S.Ct. 2560, 61 L.Ed.2d 197 (1979). In Fare, the Supreme Court refused a juvenile suspect's attempt to equate his request for a probation officer with a request for an attorney. The Court reasoned that a probation officer is not poised to offer legal assistance, and is not necessary, in the way an attorney is, for the protection of the legal rights of the accused[.] Id. at 722, 99 S.Ct. 2560. The Court noted, arguably in dicta, that under the totality of the circumstances approach, a juvenile's requests for a parent's presence could lead to a different result: Where the age and experience of a juvenile indicate that his request for his probation officer or his parents is, in fact, an invocation of his right to remain silent, the totality approach will allow the court the necessary flexibility to take this into account in making a waiver determination. Id. at 725, 99 S.Ct. 2560 (emphasis added). Six years before Fare, in State v. Hogan, we had also rejected a per se rule requiring parental presence during a juvenile's interrogation, and instead adopted a totality of the circumstances test. 297 Minn. 430, 440, 212 N.W.2d 664, 671 (1973). The 15-year-old defendant, who was suspected of committing two downtown Saint Paul bombings, spoke voluntarily with police while in the hospital and after receiving his Miranda rights. Id. at 432-33, 441, 212 N.W.2d at 666-67, 671. He claimed he was a victim, but then declined to proceed without an attorney. Id. at 432, 212 N.W.2d at 666. However, after being told that he was under arrest, the juvenile made an inculpatory remark that was not in response to a police officer's question, which was admitted at trial. Id. at 441, 212 N.W.2d at 671. In that case, there was no indication that the juvenile had asked to speak with a parent before volunteering the inculpatory remark. See id. at 432-33, 212 N.W.2d at 666-67. We upheld the admission of the statement noting that the juvenile's complete willingness, indeed determination, to establish his largely exculpatory story about being a victim of the bombing demonstrates that, considering the entire circumstances of his statements, he voluntarily told the story. Id. at 441, 212 N.W.2d at 671. Hogan is relevant to our present analysis not only because we rejected a per se rule requiring parental presence, but also because of how this case fits into ongoing efforts in Minnesota and nationwide to determine when juveniles should have a parent present when waiving Miranda rights. [4] Hogan was decided at a time when all Minnesota counties except Hennepin and Ramsey had a Rule of Juvenile-Probate Procedure forbidding children from being interrogated without a parent being present. Minn. R. Juv.-Probate P. 2-2(1), Foreword at 615 (West deskbook 1982). [5] If this rule was violated in a delinquency action or traffic offense, any evidence from the interrogation was inadmissible. Id., Rule 2-2(2). At that time, the Rules of Juvenile-Probate Procedure were adopted by county probate judges who had jurisdiction over juvenile proceedings; thus, these rules did not apply in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties where the district court had jurisdiction over juvenile proceedings. Id., Foreword at 615; 13 Robert Scott & John O. Sonsteng, Minnesota Practice  Juvenile Law & Practice IX (3d ed.2002). In Hogan, we rejected the juvenile's argument that he was denied constitutional equal protection because the per se rule did not apply in Ramsey County. 297 Minn. at 439-40, 212 N.W.2d at 670. The uniform Rules of Procedure for Juvenile Court, which took effect statewide after court consolidation in 1983, contained no required parental presence provision, but did require a child subject to interrogation to be advised of his constitutional rights. Minn. R. Juv. P. 6.01, subd. 1 (West deskbook Supp.1983). Rule 6.01, subdivision 2, specified that the totality of the circumstances surrounding any waiver of the right to remain silent or the right to an attorney includes the presence and competence of the child's parent(s) or guardian   . Id., subd. 2. The present rules, renamed the Rules of Juvenile Delinquency Procedure in 2004, contain no specific provision addressing a juvenile's rights when the juvenile is interrogated. The Rules, however, require that a court holding a detention hearing must advise the juvenile of the right to remain silent. Minn. R. Juv. Delinq. P. 5.07, subd. 3(E) (West deskbook 2004). In addition, Minnesota Statutes require that a parent, guardian, or custodian of a child taken into custody be notified as soon as possible of the detention. Minn.Stat. § 260B.176, subd. 1 (2004). Juveniles such as Burrell, who are 16 years old or older when accused of committing a felony while using a firearm, presumptively are certified for adult court prosecution. Minn.Stat. § 260B.125, subd. 3 (2004). But even then, courts must closely examine under the totality of the circumstances whether the juvenile is able to make a valid Miranda waiver without a parent's presence. In State v. Jones , we applied the test that we adopted in Hogan and held that a juvenile's request to speak with a parent after an interrogation had ceased did not trigger the right to counsel or the right to remain silent in two subsequent interrogations. 566 N.W.2d 317, 320-21, 324-25 (Minn.1997). In Williams, we held that a 16-year-old's Miranda waiver was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary even though he was not advised that he could have a parent or guardian present during questioning. 535 N.W.2d at 282, 288. We noted that after the warning was administered, the juvenile had told the investigators that his mother had kicked him out of the house, that he did not know her phone number, that he had been staying with friends, and that he had not seen his father for a long time. Id. at 280. In addition, at no time during two hours of questioning did the juvenile request to speak with a parent or guardian. Id. at 282. The circumstances of Burrell's purported Miranda waiver can be distinguished from Jones and Williams and again show why a district court must scrutinize the totality of the circumstances closely. [6] In this situation, the district court made findings of fact as to how Burrell's request for a parent affected the admissibility of the statement, but did not make specific findings as to how the request may have rendered his Miranda waiver ineffective. Accordingly, we make a subjective factual inquiry. See Camacho, 561 N.W.2d at 168 (if there is other evidence indicating that the waiver was not knowing, voluntary, and intelligent, the district court must make a subjective factual inquiry to determine whether, under the totality of the circumstances, the waiver was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent). Unlike in Jones, the first words that Burrell uttered during the videotaped interrogation were: Sir, can I call my mom now please? He asked for his mother two more times before receiving his Miranda warning, and asked for her ten more times after receiving the Miranda advisory. Unlike the defendant in Williams, Burrell was not estranged from his mother. The record indicates that while Burrell had grown up in Minneapolis, his mother moved with him to Bemidji so that he would be shielded from gang-related influences. Burrell appeared to have had a close relationship with his mother, evidenced by the compliments that he paid to her during his interrogation. The police officers should have realized that by making repeated requests for a trusted and respected parent, Burrell desired his mother's counsel before waiving his Miranda rights, as well as afterward. [7] Burrell's request for a parent is just one circumstance surrounding his purported Miranda waiver. Other factors include the juvenile's age, maturity, intelligence, education, physical deprivations, prior criminal experience, length and legality of detention, lack of or adequacy of warnings, and the nature of the interrogation. [8] Williams, 535 N.W.2d at 287; Ouk, 516 N.W.2d at 184-85. The nature of the interrogation includes whether the police used deception or trickery in an attempt to secure a waiver and eventual confession. State v. Thaggard, 527 N.W.2d 804, 810 (Minn.1995). In Miranda, the Supreme Court criticized police use of trickery, threats, and cajolement to persuade a suspect to waive his Fifth Amendment rights. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 476, 86 S.Ct. 1602. In Thaggard, we observed that while there is no per se rule that bans use of deceit during interrogation, police officers proceed on thin ice and at their own risk when they use deception to secure a confession. 527 N.W.2d at 810. Burrell argues that the police officers who interrogated him lied when they stated that codefendants Tyson and Williams both had implicated him in the shooting. The state stops short of conceding that a lie occurred, but acknowledges that the interrogators mischaracterized some evidence that they had against Burrell at that time, e.g., that Williams did not identify Burrell as the third person involved in the crime. Yet before Burrell was given his Miranda warning, the lead investigator told Burrell that the investigators had talked with Hans and Ike, that  they're putting you in the middle of some stuff, that they're hooking you into this stuff, and that Burrell needed to let the investigators know if those guys are full of baloney or    if they hooked you into something you didn't want to be in. (Emphasis added.) A transcript of Williams' guilty-plea hearing, which Burrell has made part of the record on appeal, shows that Williams had testified under oath to not knowing the identity of the third person involved in the shooting. Also, at Burrell's pretrial hearing, it was suggested that Williams had told his attorney that Burrell was not involved in the shooting  a suggestion that Williams was required to recant as part of his guilty plea a month after Burrell's trial. These circumstances strongly suggest that some mischaracterizations occurred before Burrell received his Miranda warning. Accordingly, we distinguish this situation from that in Jones where, in addition to no request for a parent until after the interrogation, it was undisputed that the denied access to a parent was the only factor supporting the argument that the juvenile's Miranda waiver was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. Jones, 566 N.W.2d at 325. The state, which bears the burden of proving that Burrell's Miranda waiver was effective, maintains that it was reasonable to restrict Burrell's access to his mother and that any mischaracterizations made during interrogation were insufficient to invalidate Burrell's Miranda waiver. The state asserts that the waiver was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary because Burrell was experienced in the criminal justice system and sophisticated enough to ask police whether, as a juvenile, he had a `right' to contact his mother. However, the fact that Burrell asked for his mother three times before receiving a Miranda warning (and ten times afterward) suggests a lack of sophistication regarding his rights in general and the Miranda waiver in particular. Had Burrell received access to his mother, she might have advised him whether he should talk to an attorney before waiving his Miranda rights or to have an attorney present during questioning. [9] As we have said, we subjectively analyze the totality of the circumstances to determine whether the district court committed clear error by ruling that the state has proven by a preponderance of the evidence that Burrell's Miranda waiver was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. See Ray, 659 N.W.2d at 742; Hannon 636 N.W.2d at 806; Camacho, 561 N.W.2d at 168-69. Although we reiterate that there is no per se rule requiring a parent's presence before a juvenile waives his Miranda rights, the circumstances of this case suggest that Burrell's repeated requests for a parent were enough to render his Miranda waiver ineffective. When the requests are coupled with the pre- Miranda mischaracterization as to Williams implicating Burrell, we conclude that the police crossed the line when securing a waiver from this juvenile suspect, and that the state has not met its burden of proving that Burrell was unaffected by the denied access to his mother and the use of some mischaracterizations. Accordingly, we hold that the district court committed error by ruling that Burrell's Miranda waiver was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. [10]