Opinion ID: 1628307
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Suppression of the Custodial Statement

Text: It is well-settled the ruling in Miranda v. Arizona, supra . protects an individual's Fifth Amendment privilege during incommunicado interrogation in a police-controlled atmosphere. State v. Leger, 05-0011, p. 13 (La.7/10/06), 936 So.2d 108, 124, citing State v. Taylor, 01-1638, p. 6 (La.1/14/03), 838 So.2d 729, 739. In Miranda, the Supreme Court defined custodial interrogation as questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way. Id., 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1602. Thus, before a confession or inculpatory statement made during a custodial interrogation may be introduced into evidence, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was first advised of his Miranda rights, that he voluntarily and intelligently waived those rights, and that the statement was made freely and voluntarily and not under the influence of fear, intimidation, menaces, threats, inducement, or promises. La.Code Crim. Proc. art. 703(D); La. R.S. 15:451; Lee, 05-2098 at 15, 976 So.2d at 122. The admissibility of a confession is a question for the trial court. Id. As with the testimony relative to the physical evidence, the trial court's conclusions on the credibility and weight of the testimony relating to the voluntary nature of the defendant's confession are accorded great weight and will not be disturbed unless they are not supported by the evidence. State v. Benoit, 440 So.2d 129, 131 (La.1983). Whether or not a showing of voluntariness has been made is analyzed on a case-by-case basis with regard to the facts and circumstances of each situation. Id. We now apply these legal principles to the evidence. As stated, the State relies exclusively on the hearing testimony of Officer Himel for the admissibility of the defendant's custodial statement. His testimony alleges he legally arrested the defendant for two traffic violations and for possession of a stolen weapon, and then lawfully obtained the defendant's custodial statement after he advised the defendant of his Miranda rights on the scene. The defense did not present any witness testimony or documentary evidence in contravention of the officer's statements. Specifically, the defendant does not dispute that he was read his Miranda rights and understood them. Nor does he contest that he knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to not speak. Nonetheless, the trial court dismissed as incredulous Officer Himel's testimony relative to the incriminating statement. Again, the court did not articulate any specific factual findings connecting its perception of Officer Himel's lack of credibility to its legal conclusion that the State failed to carry its burden of proving the defendant's statement was voluntarily and freely given in the absence of any intimidation or inducement. Specifically, the trial court did not reject the totality of the officer's testimony relative to the custodial statement. Rather, its only reason cited in support of the suppression was the officer's failure to have the defendant execute a waiver of Miranda rights form and/or failure to record the statement. Undeniably, an executed waiver of rights form and a recorded statement would be compelling evidence corroborating the existence of an incriminatory statement. However, as correctly noted by both parties, the execution of a waiver form or failure to record a custodial statement is not a requisite under the law for the admissibility of a confession or incriminating statement. State v. Navarre, 302 So.2d 273, 275 (La.1974) (The lack of a signed, written waiver of rights form is not determinative of the issue of the voluntariness of a confession.). The testimony of an interviewing police officer alone may be sufficient to prove that inculpatory statement was given freely and voluntarily. La.Code Crim. Proc. art. 703(D); La. R.S. 15:451. Based on our review, Officer Himel's testimony supports the validity of the arrest and the legality of the custodial statement. There is no evidence to contravene the State's assertion that the defendant's custodial statement was a product of his knowing and voluntary waiver of his constitutional rights. State v. Anderson, 06-2987, p. 24-25 (La.9/9/08) 996 So.2d 993, 995. Again, while we afford deference to the trial court's determination regarding the general veracity of Officer Himel's testimony, the court's articulated basis for rejecting the testimony does not constitute in and of itself a sufficient legal ground to maintain the suppression. The suppression of the incriminating statement is unsupported by the record and controlling law. See, State v. Green, 94-0887, p. 11 (La.5/22/95), 655 So.2d 272, 281 ([A]s we have often stated in the past, because the evaluation of witness credibility often plays such a large part in the context of a motion to suppress a confession, reviewing courts should defer to the finding of the trial judge unless his finding is not adequately supported by reliable evidence.). Accordingly, we find the trial court erred in granting the defendant's motion to suppress the custodial statement.