Opinion ID: 1528698
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Witness's comment about invocation of Fifth Amendment Rights

Text: Dansby asserts that the trial court erred in failing to grant a mistrial after Lieutenant Mike Hill made an improper reference to Dansby's invocation of his right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Prior to the testimony in question, Lt. Hill stated that, after he verbally read Dansby his rights, Dansby gave a statement and allowed him to take samples from his hands for a gunshot residue kit. The exchange in question took place as follows: COUNSEL FOR STATE: Did he appear to understand his rights as you verbally advised ... WITNESS: Yes. COUNSEL FOR STATE: ... him of them? COUNSEL FOR STATE: And did you have a conversation with him about these events at all? WITNESS: Yes, after I informed him, of course, that he had the right to remain silent. Anything he said could be used against him in a court of law, and that, you know, if he wanted to have a lawyer present during questioning he could have one. And I asked him if he understood that at any time, you know, that he didn't wish to talk any longer he didn't have to. I said or I asked him it's very important that we find this gun. I said anyone could pick this gun up. What did you do with it? At this point he began to tell me that he left the scene with two guns, a .32 and a.38, both revolvers. And that he threw them away where we would never find `em and he wasn't worried about anyone finding 'em. After obtaining the gunshot residue kit, I sat down at my desk and again informed him of his rights. This time I read him his rights from the standard waiver form that we use which he again acknowledged that he understood and signed the form. COUNSEL FOR STATE: I'll show you what's been marked previously as State's Exhibit No. 2, and ask you if you can identify this, please [handing to witness]. WITNESS: Yes, this is the form that I read to Ray Dansby that morning. It's noted here at the top 9:00 a.m., at the bottom 9:14 a.m. which would have been the time that I read directly to him from the form and that he signed it. COUNSEL FOR STATE: Okay. And then at some point did he also decline to talk? WITNESS: Yes, at 9: ... COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT: Objection. WITNESS: ... 21 a.m. COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT: Objection. THE COURT: What's your objection? MS. THORNTON: May we approach? Dansby cites the United States Supreme Court decision in Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed.2d 106 (1965), in support of his position that Lieutenant Hill's testimony contained an improper reference to his right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment; however, Griffin prohibits comment on a defendant's failure to testify at trial, and is thus of no consequence here. As the State correctly asserts in its brief, Dansby mischaracterizes the elicited testimony of Lieutenant Hill as being a comment on the invocation of Dansby's Miranda rights. See Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610, 96 S.Ct. 2240, 49 L.Ed.2d 91 (1976); Greer v. Miller, 483 U.S. 756, 107 S.Ct. 3102, 97 L.Ed.2d 618 (1987); Tarkington v. State, 313 Ark. 399, 855 S.W.2d 306 (1993). To the contrary, Lieutenant Hill's testimony demonstrated that Dansby waived his right to remain silent and gave a statement to police officers, and according to the earlier testimony of Officer Mike Stegall elicited during cross-examination, when Lieutenant Hill attempted to record Dansby's statement, Dansby stated that he wanted a lawyer present and that he did not want to talk. In short, the testimony elicited from Lieutenant Hill was not a comment on Dansby's right to remain silent; rather, it merely explained to the jury why there was not a taped statement. Under the circumstances here, we find no error.