Opinion ID: 1454621
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Prearraignment Statement.

Text: Defendant and his two female companions were arrested shortly after midnight. Defendant invoked his right to remain silent in response to a Miranda warning given at the county jail at 1:45 a.m. on September 16, 1985. He was not interrogated at that time and was placed in a jail cell. Defendant's companions waived their Miranda rights and gave statements at 1:45 and 2:44 a.m. The record is not clear as to when the two women were arraigned, but it appears that it was around the noon hour on the 16th. Defendant was arraigned at 4:34 p.m. that day. Each of them was arraigned solely on the Nebraska marijuana charges. Shortly after noon on September 16, defendant asked to speak with an officer. A sheriff's investigator met with defendant in the jailhouse library and asked him what he needed. Defendant replied that he wanted to talk about his California crimes, but wanted some concessions. He requested, among other things, that his companions not be prosecuted and that he be allowed to speak with his girlfriend, Avette Barrett. The investigator responded that he had no power to grant any concession and that he would have to speak with the county attorney. He then contacted the county attorney, who arrived at the jail library 15 to 20 minutes later. The investigator and the county attorney were also joined by a state trooper and the chief deputy sheriff, the officers who had arrested defendant. The chief deputy sheriff turned on a tape recorder at 2:39 p.m., immediately after his arrival. The state trooper gave defendant a Miranda warning and defendant signed a waiver form. At this point, the chief deputy arranged for Barrett to be brought into the library and allowed defendant to speak with her for about five minutes. Defendant told Barrett that he would not allow her to suffer for something she did not do. About 2:45 p.m., the group moved across the street to the courthouse because that building had a better recording system and was less noisy. The interview recommenced at 2:52 p.m. and continued for approximately an hour. During the interview, the investigator told defendant that the investigator could make no concessions and had no jurisdiction over California charging decisions. He also stated that although defendant had requested and been permitted to speak with Barrett, that permission was not an inducement offered by the officers to obtain a statement. Defendant expressed agreement with the investigator's statement. During the interview, defendant confessed to the robbery and murder of Rickey Van Zandt. He admitted his plan to steal Van Zandt's van. He admitted hitting Van Zandt over the head numerous times with a rock the size of a softball, and with a stick. He stated the women were not present when he hit Van Zandt. He admitted telling Logan, the hitchhiker he had picked up, that he had knocked out Van Zandt. He professed that he did not intend to kill Van Zandt, but only to render him unconscious. (25a) Defendant does not contest the sufficiency of the Miranda admonition or the adequacy of his waiver. He maintains, however, that his statement was involuntary and should have been suppressed because of a delay in arraignment and because he was improperly induced to confess by being permitted to speak with Barrett, a conversation which he now calls a direct benefit or inducement. We reject his contention. The prosecution must prove the voluntariness of defendant's confession by a preponderance of the evidence. ( Lego v. Twomey (1972) 404 U.S. 477, 489 [30 L.Ed.2d 618, 627-628, 92 S.Ct. 619]; People v. Markham (1989) 49 Cal.3d 63, 71 [260 Cal. Rptr. 273, 775 P.2d 1042].) Delay in arraignment is but one factor in determining the voluntariness of a confession. ( People v. Harris (1981) 28 Cal.3d 935, 953-954 [171 Cal. Rptr. 679, 623 P.2d 240]; People v. Thompson (1980) 27 Cal.3d 303, 329 [165 Cal. Rptr. 289, 611 P.2d 883].) To justify exclusion of a statement, defendant must show that delay in arraignment produced his admissions or that there was an essential connection between illegal detention and admissions of guilt. (27 Cal.3d at pp. 329-330.) Here defendant was arrested in the early morning hours and arraigned late the following afternoon. This was well within the two-day period allowed by California statute. (§ 825.) Acting within 12 hours of his arrest, defendant himself initiated the interview during which he made the incriminating statements. There were no circumstances indicating involuntariness resulting from delay or any other cause. Defendant cites no controlling authority that would justify suppressing a voluntarily given statement merely because defendant was arraigned a few hours after his companions and on the same day as his arrest. We decline to create any such authority. Similarly, we find no merit in defendant's claim of improper inducement because he was allowed to speak with his girlfriend for five minutes. (26) A confession is voluntary if the accused's decision to speak is entirely `self-motivated' [citation], i.e., if he freely and voluntarily chooses to speak without `any form of compulsion or promise of reward....' [Citation.] ( People v. Thompson, supra, 27 Cal.3d at pp. 327-328.) A confession, however, is involuntary where a person in authority makes an express or clearly implied promise of leniency or advantage for the accused which is a motivating cause of the decision to confess. ... ( People v. Boyde, supra, 46 Cal.3d 212, 238, italics added.) (25b) The officers expressly disclaimed any promises of leniency and told defendant they had no authority to make decisions about charges that would be prosecuted in California. Defendant cites no authority that would support a holding that a five-minute talk with a girlfriend is a sufficient inducement to render a murder confession involuntary. Such an ephemeral benefit cannot reasonably be regarded as sufficient to cause a person to admit against his will the killing of another human being. (See People v. Hendricks (1987) 43 Cal.3d 584, 591 [238 Cal. Rptr. 66, 737 P.2d 1350] [providing accused person with whiskey and Bible did not improperly induce him to confess]; People v. Thompson, supra, 27 Cal.3d at pp. 327-328 [accused person's hope that his statement would result in release of his girlfriend was self-motivated and did not induce his confession].) For these reasons, and based on our independent review of the record, we find defendant's prearraignment statement was wholly voluntary and properly received in evidence.