Opinion ID: 1212289
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Intoxication and Miranda Consent

Text: LeShore also argues that he was intoxicated during the interview recorded on the DVD, and that he was thus in no condition to provide a knowing waiver of his Miranda rights. (Once again, the Government urges us to find waiver, but we are satisfied that LeShore did not affirmatively give up this point.) The ultimate question whether a confession was voluntary is one of law, and thus our review of that issue is de novo. Miller v. Fenton, 474 U.S. 104, 110, 106 S.Ct. 445, 88 L.Ed.2d 405 (1985). We examine the totality of the circumstances to assess whether the defendant's will was overborne, United States v. Hocking, 860 F.2d 769, 774 (7th Cir.1988), and we review factual determinations for clear error. United States v. Haddon, 927 F.2d 942, 945 (7th Cir.1991). [W]hen the interrogating officers reasonably should have known that a suspect is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a lesser quantum of coercion may be sufficient to call into question the voluntariness of the confession. Id. at 946. In addition, a valid waiver of Miranda rights is necessary before a custodial statement may be admitted. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 476, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). A valid waiver must be made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. Id. at 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602. A valid waiver is necessary but not sufficient for a voluntary statement: a statement may still be found involuntary under the totality of the circumstances even though the waiver was valid. Baskin v. Clark, 956 F.2d 142, 145 (7th Cir.1992). LeShore runs into problems at the threshold: the district court specifically found that [LeShore] was not under the influence of any drugs affecting his capacity to understand what was going on or to intelligently assess his situation. This was a simple credibility determination. LeShore said that he had smoked 2.5 grams of crack before going to Green's and had another 1.5 grams with Green. Green admitted that she had taken a hit but not enough to cloud her thinking. Special Agent Loran testified that nothing he saw alerted him to a present state of intoxication during the interview. Loran was not impeached at trial, and LeShore offers no reason why we should second-guess the district court's decision to credit Agent Loran's testimony. The district court was negatively impressed by LeShore because his story changed between the interview and his testimony at the suppression hearing, and he had twice been convicted of false informing. If LeShore was not under any influence that would diminish his capacity, then there is no circumstance that would lead us to question the validity of his Miranda waiver, even on de novo review.