Opinion ID: 1895037
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: defendant's right to counsel

Text: The first issue we must address deals with defendant's constitutionally protected right to counsel and with whether that right was violated by the police when they questioned him on June 27 after he had twice invoked his right to counsel. The trial court held that defendant's right to counsel had been violated. In reaching this decision, Judge Anderson relied on the constitutional guarantees articulated in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). Miranda states that once a criminal defendant invokes his or her right to counsel, all interrogation must cease until an attorney is present. Id. at 471. The trial court further relied on the decisions of this court in Wentela v. State, 95 Wis. 2d 283, 290 N.W.2d 313 (1980); and Leach v. State, 83 Wis. 2d 199, 265 N.W.2d 495 (1978), which, in turn, both heavily rely upon the five-factor test adopted by the United States Supreme Court in Michigan v. Mosley, 423 U.S. 96 (1975). This court in both Wentela and Leach determined that the Mosley test, originally applied in the right to silence context, is equally applicable to right to counsel cases. Wentela, 95 Wis. 2d at 295; Leach, 83 Wis. 2d at 211. Mosley permits reinterrogation of defendants who have previously invoked their right to silence when: (1) the original interrogation is promptly terminated, (2) the questioning is resumed only after a significant period of time has passed, (3) fresh Miranda warnings are given at the outset of the second interrogation, (4) a different officer conducts the reinterrogation, and (5) the second interrogation deals with a crime that was not the subject of the initial interrogation. Mosley, 423 U.S. at 104-06. Wentela additionally required, as a condition of reinterrogation, that (1) the accused be afforded the opportunity to obtain assistance of counsel and that (2) reasonable steps be taken by police to obtain an attorney where the suspect did not utilize the opportunity to obtain counsel or where that opportunity was not afforded. 95 Wis. 2d at 298-99. Judge Anderson believed that the seven factors were not satisfied. In reaching this holding, the court determined that Turner's statement to Korff, ask me questions you want to ask, did not constitute a voluntary waiver of Turner's right to counsel. It reached this conclusion despite the holding of the U.S. Supreme Court in Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, reh'g denied 452 U.S. 973 (1981), which states that once a defendant has invoked the right to counsel, police interrogation must cease unless the accused initiates further communication, exchanges, or conversations with the police after the right has been invoked. 451 U.S. at 484-85. In contrast, the appeals court believed that the Edwards case controlled and that defendant had waived his right to counsel, in part, because he had initiated further conversations or exchanges with the police. The appeals court pointed to several other factors important to its determination that defendant had knowingly waived his right to counsel, including: his good physical condition, his education and reading level, his previous experience with the arresting officers, and previous experiences with various appointed counsel. Because we believe that Edwards controls, we now hold that the appeals court did not err in reversing the trial court decision on the right to counsel and waiver issues. We are not persuaded by the defendant's argument that Leach and Wentela should control the disposition of this case. Leach and Wentela are both pre- Edwards cases which relied heavily on the holding in Mosley and which adapted Mosley to the right to counsel line of cases, with some modifications. Leach, 83 Wis. 2d at 210-11, 214; Wentela, 95 Wis. 2d at 295, 298-99. Mosley itself, however, indicated that invocation of the right to counsel, as mandated by Miranda, triggers a per se termination of questioning until an attorney is present. 423 U.S. at 104 n. 10. Edwards is not at all inconsistent with this principle. [1] A recent United States Supreme Court case, Solem v. Stumes, 465 U.S. 638 (1984), lends further support to the conclusion that the Edwards per se rule is now dispositive. Edwards held that once the right to counsel has been invoked, police are absolutely prohibited from questioning a defendant until and unless it is established that the accused has subsequently initiate[d] further communication, exchanges or conversations with the police, 451 U.S. at 484-85. Once this has been established, it must be shown that the defendant has waived the right to counsel. An accused waives the right to counsel when there is a voluntary, knowing and intelligent relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege. Id. at 482. The threshold requirement in Edwards, stating that a defendant must have invoked the right to counsel, has been undisputedly satisfied. The focus, therefore, turns to the two elements at issue in this portion of the appeal. Defendant initiated further conversations in two ways. First, he indicated to police that he would submit to questioning without the presence of an attorney, and, second, he invited Korff to begin the interrogation even though the police had not yet been able to locate his probation officer. Since the facts establish that defendant initiated further conversations or exchanges with police after invocation of the right to counsel, the focus then shifts to whether the defendant validly waived his right to have an attorney present during questioning. Resolving the waiver question necessarily requires a case-bycase examination of all the facts and circumstances, including the defendant's background, experience, and conduct. Edwards, 451 U.S. at 482. We agree with the state and with the court of appeals' conclusion that this element of the Edwards analysis was satisfied as well. The factors cited by the appeals court in support of its position that defendant's waiver was knowing and intelligent are persuasive. First, the appeals court correctly notes that an important factor in the knowing and intelligent analysis deals with the question of whether the defendant did in fact reopen the dialogue with police subsequent to the initial invocation of the right to counsel. See, Edwards, 451 U.S. at 486 n. 9 Second, the facts are simply inconsistent with a conclusion that the waiver was unknowing. Defendant was given his Miranda warnings, in both written and oral form. He, in addition, had previous experience with the arresting officers and with various appointed counsel five times in the past. Defendant's substantial exposure to the criminal justice system militates against a determination that he was not aware of his right to counsel. Third, defendant signed a standard Miranda waiver from not once, but three times. There is no evidence in the record to suggest that he was in any way incapable of understanding what he was signing. Turner had a tenth-grade education, had a seventh-grade reading ability, and was not under the influence of any intoxicants or other narcotics or otherwise physically or mentally incapacitated at the time he signed the waiver. Since we find that the appeals court properly applied the Edwards analysis to the facts of this case, we affirm its reversal of the trial court's suppression order. Therefore, statements made by the defendant subsequent to his invocation of the right to counsel on June 27 may be admitted into evidence upon remand to the trial court.