Opinion ID: 1922618
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Statements Made at the Southwest Harbor Police Station

Text: [¶ 31] Lockhart contends that he was too emotionally hysterical and too physically upset that evening to be able to make statements of his own free will and rational intellect. However, application of the Sawyer factors to the statements Lockhart made before he was administered Miranda reveal the following: Lockhart initiated contact with the officers by coming voluntarily to the station; without any questioning, he repeatedly stated that he had killed or thought he had killed Andrea; the almost two-hour waiting period involved only four questions from officers, three of which were about Andrea's whereabouts; while there were three officers involved, no more than one was with Lockhart at a time; there have been no allegations or signs of any trickery, threats, promises, or inducements; Lockhart was thirty-four years old; and he was, at times, visibly hysterical and uncontrollably shaking. Although Lockhart was intermittently hysterical, the Superior Court did not err in concluding that his statements were voluntary because he demonstrated free will and rational thought by initiating the contact with the police, responding appropriately to the handful of questions asked of him, and waiting over a period in excess of two hours without major incident while the police sought to determine Andrea's whereabouts. [¶ 32] Application of the Sawyer factors to the statements Lockhart made after the administration of a Miranda warning reveal the following: throughout the custodial interrogation at the station, the detective spoke in a calm, unthreatening tone; the interrogation lasted about twenty minutes; the detective recited the Miranda warnings and Lockhart demonstrated his understanding by stating the rights in his own words; the one officer who was involved did not persist in asking questions that Lockhart did not want to answer and, instead, reassured him that it was okay when he did not want to answer questions; there are no allegations or signs of any police trickery, threats, promises, or inducements; and Lockhart rocked and sobbed and moaned during the interrogation. Although Lockhart was quite upset during this interrogation, he was responsive to some of the detective's questions and chose not to answer other questions, demonstrating the exercise of his own free will and rational intellect.