Opinion ID: 583485
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Statements to Interrogating Officers

Text: 6 The Coast Guard apprised Greenberg of his Miranda rights upon arresting him on the Apache III. Greenberg was then brought to the Navy vessel U.S.S. Stump. The next day, Coast Guard officers read Greenberg his Miranda rights before removing him to another part of the vessel for interrogation. At the beginning of this session, Greenberg stated, I don't know if I need a lawyer--maybe I should have one, but I don't know if it would do me any good at this point. The interrogating officers continued their questioning without responding to Greenberg's statement. Greenberg subsequently agreed to make both a written and videotaped confession. Later in the United States, Greenberg made an incriminating statement during interrogation by Customs Agent Robert Abramson. 7 The district court found that Greenberg's comment during the first interrogation session was ambiguous enough not to cause law enforcement officers to pause or inquire further. Greenberg disagrees, contending that his comment constituted an equivocal request for counsel sufficient to preclude all further questions except those directed to ascertaining whether he indeed desired counsel. This Court reviews de novo the lower court's interpretation of the applicable legal standard. See United States v. Alexander, 835 F.2d 1406, 1408 (11th Cir.1988). 8 Once a suspect makes a request for an attorney, all questioning must cease and may not resume until an attorney is present, unless the suspect initiates an exchange with the authorities and knowingly and intelligently waives the right that he had invoked. Minnick v. Mississippi, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 486, 112 L.Ed.2d 489 (1990); Smith v. Illinois, 469 U.S. 91, 95, 105 S.Ct. 490, 492-93, 83 L.Ed.2d 488 (1984); Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981). This rigid prophylactic rule, Smith, 469 U.S. at 95, 105 S.Ct. at 492-93, is triggered by both explicit and equivocal requests for counsel: 9 When a [suspect] makes an equivocal request for an attorney during a custodial interrogation, 'the scope of that interrogation is immediately narrowed to one subject and one subject only. Further questioning thereafter must be limited to clarifying that request until it is clarified.' Any statement taken by the state after the equivocal request for counsel is made, but before it is clarified as an effective waiver of counsel, violates Miranda. 10 Owen v. Alabama, 849 F.2d 536, 539 (11th Cir.1988) (quoting Thompson v. Wainwright, 601 F.2d 768, 771 (5th Cir.1979)). 11 The threshold inquiry is therefore whether Greenberg's statement to the interrogating officers constitutes an equivocal request for an attorney. The Miranda Court defined broad parameters for finding a request for counsel: the accused invokes the right by indicat[ing] in any manner and at any stage of the process that he wishes to consult with an attorney before speaking. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444-45, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1612-13, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). This Circuit has recently defined a qualifying equivocal request as an ambiguous statement, either in the form of an assertion or a question, communicating a possible desire to exercise [the] right to have an attorney present during questioning. Towne v. Dugger, 899 F.2d 1104, 1109 (11th Cir.1990) (emphasis added). In Towne, the suspect during interrogation did no more than make the bare inquiry, officer, what do you think about whether I should get a lawyer? Id. at 1107. The district court held that a common sense interpretation of Towne's question mandated a finding that he was not actually requesting counsel. Id. The Towne court reversed, finding that defendant had sufficiently conveyed to the interrogating officer that he was contemplating exercising his right to have an attorney present. Id. at 1109. Because the officer did not attempt to clarify or discuss defendant's right to counsel, the court found a violation of Miranda. Id.; see also United States v. Cherry, 733 F.2d 1124 (5th Cir.1984) (defendant made equivocal request when he said, Maybe I should talk to an attorney before I make a further statement, and then later asked the officer, Why should I not get an attorney?); United States v. Fouche, 833 F.2d 1284 (9th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1017, 108 S.Ct. 1756, 100 L.Ed.2d 218 (1988) (defendant made equivocal request when he first asked to be allowed to call an attorney, but then instead called his wife for advice and later asked the officer, What should I do?). 2 12 Greenberg's statement to the interrogating officials--I don't know if I need a lawyer, maybe I should have one, but I don't know if it would do me any good at this point--clearly reveals that he was contemplating exercising his right to have an attorney present. Towne, 899 F.2d at 1109. Having indicated a possible desire for an attorney, see id., Greenberg made a qualifying equivocal indication. 13 The prophylactic reach of Miranda required the interrogating officer to clarify immediately Greenberg's equivocal statement: where an accused gives ambiguous, vague, indefinite, or indecisive signals, the interrogating officer must follow[ ]up questioning to clarify his or her wishes. Towne at 1109-10. Because the officer instead continued his questioning, the confession was obtained in violation of Greenberg's Miranda rights. See Cannady v. Dugger, 931 F.2d 752, 755 (11th Cir.1991); Owen, 849 F.2d at 539. 14 Greenberg's next inculpatory statement was elicited during questioning by the Customs official. Although Greenberg again waived his Miranda rights, counsel still had not been made available to him. When an accused remains without the benefit of counsel, the accused's earlier invocation bars further interrogation unless the accused himself initiates further communication, exchanges, or conversations with police. Minnick, 111 S.Ct. at 489 (quoting Edwards, 451 U.S. at 484-85, 101 S.Ct. at 1884-85); see United States v. Gomez, 927 F.2d 1530, 1539 (11th Cir.1991). The Customs official had initiated the interrogation session; accordingly, the district court should have suppressed this second statement. 2. Statement to Magistrate Judge 15 Greenberg made his third admission of guilt to a magistrate judge during his initial appearance in this case. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 5. Greenberg argues that the district court should have suppressed this statement either on the grounds that it was obtained in violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel or because the improperly obtained prior statements tainted his final admission of guilt. We disagree. 16 The Sixth Amendment right to counsel serves to assure aid at trial, United States v. Gouveia, 467 U.S. 180, 188, 104 S.Ct. 2292, 2297-98, 81 L.Ed.2d 146 (1984), and therefore attaches at the commencement of adversary judicial criminal proceedings. See McNeil v. Wisconsin, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 2204, 2208-09, 115 L.Ed.2d 158 (1991); see generally, Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, 688-89, 92 S.Ct. 1877, 1881-82, 32 L.Ed.2d 411 (1972). An accused's right to counsel extends to those critical pretrial proceedings in which the accused is confronted, just as at trial, by the procedural system, or by his expert adversary, or by both ... in a situation where the results of the confrontation might well settle the accused's fate and reduce the trial itself to a mere formality. Gouveia, 467 U.S. at 189, 104 S.Ct. at 2298 (citations omitted). Greenberg's initial appearance before a magistrate judge pursuant to Rule 5 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure is not such a critical proceeding. See United States v. Dohm, 597 F.2d 535, 543 (5th Cir.1979), reversed on other grounds, United States v. Dohm, 618 F.2d 1169 (5th Cir.1980) (en banc); see also United States v. Perez, 776 F.2d 797, 800 (9th Cir.1985) (an initial appearance at which indictment is read, name of defendant is asked, defendant apprised of Miranda rights, and counsel appointed not a critical stage). 17 The initial appearance is largely administrative. In Greenberg's case, the court read the charges, ascertained his name, recited his Miranda rights, appointed counsel and set bail. Although the court in the initial appearance must consider the weight of the evidence against the defendant as one of many factors in setting bail, 3 the bail hearing is not a trial on the merits in which the guilt of the accused is adjudicated. United States v. Dohm, 618 F.2d 1169, 1174 (5th Cir.1980) (en banc). The defendant in seeking bail is not required to reveal the facts of his case. Id. Greenberg's bail hearing was no exception. Prior to and during the bail hearing, Greenberg was repeatedly warned by the court that he had the right to remain silent and that any statement he made could be used against him. Nonetheless, without prompting, Greenberg offered an admission of guilt. 4 See id. 5 18 Greenberg argues that his confession in any event should have been excluded from evidence as fruit of the poisonous tree. See Oregon v. Elstad, 470 U.S. 298, 105 S.Ct. 1285, 84 L.Ed.2d 222 (1985); Martin v. Wainwright, 770 F.2d 918 (11th Cir.1985), opinion modified in unrelated part, 781 F.2d 185 (1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 909, 107 S.Ct. 307, 93 L.Ed.2d 281 (1986). Greenberg contends that under this doctrine, his prior confessions obtained in violation of Miranda tainted his subsequent confession and thereby rendered it inadmissible. See Elstad, 470 U.S. at 303-09, 105 S.Ct. at 1289-93; Martin, 770 F.2d at 928-29. 19 The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine may require exclusion of a subsequent confession only if the prior confession was obtained in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Elstad, 470 U.S. at 306, 105 S.Ct. at 291-92; Martin, 770 F.2d at 928. The Fifth Amendment provides limited protection for the defendant, prohibiting use by the prosecution in its case in chief only of compelled testimony. Elstad, 470 U.S. at 306-07, 105 S.Ct. at 1291-92 (emphasis in original). Miranda affords broader protection, disallowing statements made under conditions merely presumed coercive. Id. A violation of only Miranda's prophylactic procedures will therefore render inadmissible a statement otherwise voluntary within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment, see, e.g., id. (mere failure to administer Miranda warnings prior to taking statement), but will not exclude a subsequent confession under the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. Id.; Martin, 770 F.2d at 928. 20 In the instant case, Greenberg was entitled to the exclusion of his confession to the Customs official solely because the prophylactic reach of Miranda operated as a per se bar to all custodial interrogation until an attorney was provided. Since this confession was not actually coerced, it was obtained in violation of Miranda but not in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Thus under the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine Greenberg's second confession cannot trigger the exclusion of his final admission of guilt. See Miller v. Dugger, 838 F.2d 1530, 1537 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1061, 108 S.Ct. 2832, 100 L.Ed.2d 933 (1988). 21 Greenberg counters that his confession to the Customs official was in fact a product of coercion and thus in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Specifically, he argues that the Customs official threatened his family, and that this threat prompted him to make a confession. The district court rejected this allegation, finding that such a threat, if made, did not coerce Greenberg into making his confession. 22 We review determinations regarding the voluntariness of a confession for clear error. United States v. Vera, 701 F.2d 1349, 1364 (11th Cir.1983). The focus of the voluntariness inquiry is on whether the defendant was coerced by the government into making the statement: The relinquishment of the right must have been voluntary in the sense that it was the product of a free and deliberate choice rather than intimidation, coercion or deception. Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 170, 107 S.Ct. 515, 523, 93 L.Ed.2d 473 (1986) (citation omitted). The district court must consider the totality of the circumstances in assessing whether police conduct was causally related to the confession. Miller, 838 F.2d at 1536. Sufficiently coercive conduct normally involves subjecting the accused to an exhaustingly long interrogation, the application of physical force or the threat to do so, or the making of a promise that induces a confession. See Colorado, 479 U.S. at 163 n. 1, 107 S.Ct. at 520 n. 1; Miller, 838 F.2d at 1536; United States v. Castaneda-Castaneda, 729 F.2d 1360, 1362-63 (11th Cir.1984). Isolated incidents of police deception, see Castaneda-Castaneda 729 F.2d at 1362-63; Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731, 739, 89 S.Ct. 1420, 1424-25, 22 L.Ed.2d 684 (1969), and discussions of realistic penalties for cooperative and non-cooperative defendants, see United States v. Nash, 910 F.2d 749, 753 (11th Cir.1990), are normally insufficient to preclude free choice. 23 In the instant case, Greenberg alleges that the Customs official threatened his family by stating that if you don't cooperate with us, ten years can be a long time in jail. Anything can happen and something can happen to your family, something can happen to your mother, your father. Greenberg's subjective understanding aside, we find that the official's statement does not represent a credible threat against Greenberg's family. See Agee v. White, 809 F.2d 1487, 1494 (11th Cir.1987) (defendant's subjective understanding of statement irrelevant to determination of coercion). An official who encourages cooperation with the government and who informs the defendant of realistically expected penalties for cooperation and/or non-cooperation does not offer an illegal inducement. See Nash, 910 F.2d at 752-53. Although the Customs official also suggested deprivations that Greenberg might suffer while serving a long prison sentence, we find such speculation insufficient to deprive Greenberg of his ability to freely and voluntarily choose to make a statement. Accord United States v. Harris, 914 F.2d 927, 933 (7th Cir.1990). 24 The interrogation session was otherwise free of inducements or coercive factors. Greenberg makes no allegation of any actual promises made in return for his cooperation. The Customs official recited Greenberg his Miranda rights and questioned him for only forty minutes. See Miller, 838 F.2d at 1537; see also Martin v. Wainwright, 770 F.2d at 927 (off and on questioning over five hour period failed to render confession involuntary). We conclude that the totality of the circumstances demonstrates that the confession was voluntary. 25 Assuming arguendo, however, that the Customs official coerced his confession in violation of the Fifth Amendment, Greenberg still cannot prevail under the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. The doctrine dictates the suppression of a subsequent confession only if it was tainted by the coercion involved in the prior confession. See Elledge v. Dugger, 823 F.2d 1439, 1443 (11th Cir.1987), opinion withdrawn in unrelated part, 833 F.2d 250 (1987); see also Leon v. Wainwright, 734 F.2d 770, 772-73 (11th Cir.1984). A court determines whether a subsequent confession has been tainted by considering  'the time that passes between confessions, the change in place of interrogations, and the change in identity of the interrogators.'  Id.; see Elstad, 470 U.S. at 309, 105 S.Ct. at 1293. In the instant case, an entire day separated his confession before the Customs official and his admission of guilt to the magistrate. Most critically, however, Greenberg's last confession came in court before a neutral official. His dialogue with the magistrate did not resemble interrogation, and his prior confessions were not used as leverage to coerce the final admission of guilt. See Elledge, 823 F.2d at 1443-44; United States v. Gresham, 585 F.2d 103, 108 (5th Cir.1978). 26 Greenberg's admission of guilt to the magistrate judge was therefore properly admitted into evidence. This final inculpatory statement, together with significant circumstantial evidence (see infra section II(F)), constitute overwhelming evidence of guilt that renders harmless the district court's erroneous admission of the two prior confessions. See Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 23-24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 827-28, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1963); Harryman v. Estelle, 616 F.2d 870, 875 (5th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 860, 101 S.Ct. 161, 66 L.Ed.2d 76 (1980).