Opinion ID: 2166698
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 22

Heading: faust's statement it's my doing

Text: Faust contends that she was entitled to a hearing under Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368, 84 S.Ct. 1774, 12 L.Ed.2d 908 (1964), to determine whether her statement it's my doing was voluntarily made. The State contends that the issue was waived because Faust failed to move to suppress the statement. In the alternative, the State contends that a hearing was not required because the statement was not made to law enforcement officers and was properly used on rebuttal to impeach Faust's assertion that she did not commit the crimes. Before trial, the court held a Jackson v. Denno hearing about various statements Faust made to Bergman when he first went to Faust's residence. The court determined that the statements could be used at trial because Faust was not in custody at the time she made the statements and the statements were voluntarily made. At trial, Bergman testified that while he was at Faust's residence, Faust voluntarily provided information about what she had done on April 25, 2000. She told him that she had taken a bicycle ride and that Shannon had picked her up. A deputy with the Otoe County Sheriff's Department testified about a statement he overheard Faust make at her home during the early morning hours of April 26, 2000. He testified that he was in the kitchen with Faust and Borden and heard Faust say, It's not your fault, it's my doing. On cross-examination, he testified that right before Faust's statement, Borden said, This is my fault, I shouldn't have talked you out of moving. Faust's attorney objected to the testimony, stating that his understanding was that only Bergman was going to testify about statements volunteered by Faust and that the statement the deputy overheard was subject to a Jackson v. Denno hearing. The State responded that it told Faust's attorney that the statement might be used in rebuttal and argued that a Jackson v. Denno hearing was not needed for rebuttal evidence. The court overruled the objection without explaining its reasoning. Admission of an involuntary confession is precluded by the Due Process Clause of U.S. Const. amend. XIV and the due process clause of Neb. Const. art. I, § 3. State v. Harris, 263 Neb. 331, 640 N.W.2d 24 (2002). To be admissible, a statement or confession of an accused must have been freely and voluntarily made. Id. A defendant who objects to the voluntariness of a statement is entitled to a hearing in which both the underlying factual issues and the voluntariness of the statement are actually and reliably determined. See, Jackson, supra; Harris, supra . An accused may move for suppression of a statement that he or she claims is involuntary. Harris, supra . An objection to such a statement is waived if it is not raised by motion before trial, with the exception that a court may entertain motions to suppress after the commencement of trial when the defendant is surprised by the statements introduced by the State. Id.; Neb.Rev.Stat. § 29-115 (Cum. Supp.2002). We review the determination whether to entertain a motion to suppress made after the commencement of trial for an abuse of discretion. Harris, supra . A Jackson v. Denno hearing may be appropriate even when the allegedly involuntary statement is made during rebuttal. Loftin v. State, 180 Ga.App. 613, 349 S.E.2d 777 (1986). A Jackson v. Denno hearing is not required for a statement that is being introduced solely for impeachment purposes, but the defendant may be entitled to a determination of voluntariness by the trial court, although not necessarily in the context of a Jackson v. Denno hearing. Id. Under § 29-115, a court may entertain a motion to suppress after the commencement of trial when the defendant is surprised or was previously unaware of the grounds for the motion. The decision to entertain the motion, however, is at the trial court's discretion. Harris, supra . Here, we are unable to determine from the record whether the court denied Faust's request for a hearing because it erroneously believed that a Jackson v. Denno hearing was never required for rebuttal evidence or because it had decided in its discretion to deny the motion despite Faust's contentions of surprise about the testimony. Nor is it clear from the record that the statement was introduced solely for impeachment purposes. Because we are unable to make these determinations, we do not consider the issue to be waived, and we address Faust's arguments. We have held that an accused's statement, whether an admission or a confession, made to private citizens, as well as to law enforcement personnel, must be voluntary as determined by a court for admissibility and as a fact ascertained by the jury. State v. Kula, 260 Neb. 183, 616 N.W.2d 313 (2000). That Faust made the statement to Borden does not preclude the need for a hearing. Had Faust raised the issue before trial in a motion to suppress, she would have been entitled to a hearing. But because she waited to raise the issue, the court could entertain or deny the motion at its discretion. But we are unable to tell from the record whether the trial court properly considered Faust's claim of surprise when it chose to deny the motion. We note that the court would not have abused its discretion by denying the hearing. Faust does not contend that her statement was involuntary. Instead, she sought a hearing without ever alleging any specific instances of coercion. In addition, other statements made by Faust around the same time and under the same circumstances were found to be voluntary. Further, when taken in the context of the entire conversation between Faust and Borden, it would have been reasonable for the court to question whether the statement was an admission at all. Finally, the trial court could have questioned whether Faust was actually surprised by the testimony about her statement. While Faust claimed to be surprised by the introduction of the statement, the State alleged that it had informed the defense that the statement might be used on rebuttal. Thus, it would have been reasonable for the court to deny the hearing. We conclude that on retrial, issues regarding the voluntariness of Faust's statement should be addressed before trial. If Faust fails to raise the issue before trial, the court should either hold a hearing if one is later requested or explain its reasons if a hearing is denied.