Opinion ID: 2686833
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Massiah Claim

Text: Next, Johnson argues that the State utilized Vitale as a State agent to obtain incriminating information from Johnson. Johnson contends that this is evidenced by the Burns Letter, which was withheld from the defense in violation of Brady; letters from Vitale to the State; and the fact that the State investigator, Hamrick, visited Johnson in jail for the purpose of getting the letters directly from Vitale. The State contends that this claim is procedurally barred. Johnson asserts that the claim is not barred because the State withheld pertinent information pointing to a Massiah violation, including the Burns Letter, on which this claim in large part relies. Because the Burns Letter, as discussed below in our analysis of Johnson’s Brady claim, was not disclosed by the State, Johnson is not procedurally barred from bringing this claim in his postconviction relief proceeding. Turning to the merits of this claim, this Court has explained the holding and import of Massiah as follows: In Massiah, the United States Supreme Court announced for the first time that the Sixth Amendment prohibits law enforcement officers from interrogating a defendant after his or her indictment and in the absence of counsel. Consequently, statements “deliberately elicited” from a defendant after the right to counsel has attached and in the absence of a valid waiver are rendered inadmissible and cannot - 39 - be used against the defendant at trial. 377 U.S. at 206. Nevertheless, incriminatory statements by a defendant will not be excluded merely because the statements are made after judicial proceedings have been initiated and in the absence of a valid waiver. Rather, law enforcement officials must do something that infringes upon the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right. While the “deliberately elicited” standard is clearly satisfied when the police directly interrogate or question a defendant in some fashion, it also may be satisfied by less direct types of questioning. Usually, determining whether the “deliberately elicited” standard has been met becomes an issue in cases . . . where incriminatory statements from a defendant were obtained through persons other than the police who allegedly acted as police informants or surrogates. Smith v. State, 28 So. 3d 838, 857-58 (Fla. 2009) (citations and alterations omitted) (quoting Rolling v. State, 695 So. 2d 278, 290 (Fla. 1997)). However, “a defendant does not make out a violation of that right simply by showing that an informant, either through prior arrangement or voluntarily, reported [the defendant’s] incriminating statements to the police. Rather, the defendant must demonstrate that the police and their informant took some action, beyond merely listening, that was designed deliberately to elicit incriminating remarks.” Kuhlmann v. Wilson, 477 U.S. 436, 459 (1986) (emphasis added). The United States Supreme Court has applied the “deliberately elicited” standard to information garnered by jailhouse informants. See Maine v. Moulton, 474 U.S. 159, 176 (1985); United States v. Henry, 447 U.S. 264, 270 (1980). We conclude that the evidence presented in this record falls short of demonstrating a Massiah violation. The postconviction court did not err in its - 40 - finding that “Johnson has failed to meet his burden of proving that the State was using Vitale to deliberately elicit incriminating statements from Johnson or that Vitale was otherwise a State agent.” We begin our analysis of Johnson’s Massiah claim by setting forth two significant facts that place the letters and this claim in context. First, it is undisputed that Johnson—not the State—initiated the letter writing between Johnson and Vitale and that Johnson was the motivating force behind Vitale’s confession letters. Second, as pointed out by the State, Johnson’s letters are not incriminating in the sense that they directly implicated him in the crime. Rather, the letters were used by the State at trial to undermine Vitale’s written confessions by demonstrating that Johnson had manipulated Vitale into confessing. Against this backdrop, we now discuss Johnson’s arguments, which primarily rely on three pieces of evidence in support of his claim that Vitale was working as a State agent. The first is the Burns Letter. In denying this claim, the postconviction court specifically found that Burns was an “experienced trial attorney[] and [a] credible witness[].” The postconviction court further found that “Burns’ explanation is credible as to his attempt to manage his uncontrollable client Vitale, and Vitale’s expectations by addressing the recording” sought by Vitale in the Burns Letter. Although Johnson disagrees with the postconviction court’s finding of credibility as to Burns, this Court has explained that it is “highly - 41 - deferential to a trial court’s judgment on the issue of credibility” based on the trial court’s “superior vantage point.” Archer v. State, 934 So. 2d 1187, 1196 (Fla. 2006) (quoting State v. Spaziano, 692 So. 2d 174, 178 (Fla. 1997)). We conclude that the postconviction court’s finding with respect to the Burns Letter is supported by competent, substantial evidence. Burns testified at the evidentiary hearing that the “primary purpose” of the letter was for him to “show Mr. Vitale that, hey, I am bringing up these issues to [the State] that are concerning you and the ball is in their court. I am not letting you down. I am not failing to do what you want me to do. So it is kind of a dualpurpose communication, if you will.” Burns further testified that he “never really regarded [Vitale] as being completely patient and completely under my control and guidance.” Further, Burns emphatically denied that Vitale was acting as an agent of the State in eliciting statements from Johnson: “Whatever correspondence occurred between them was completely organic between the two of them. It was at nobody’s instruction.” With respect to the reference in the letter of getting Johnson to “confess on tape,” Burns testified that wearing a wire was Vitale’s idea. Vitale also testified at the evidentiary hearing that wearing a wire was his idea and that he did not have any discussions with the State about the idea. Rather, he stated that he had directed - 42 - his counsel, Burns, to speak to the State about it, but Burns did not think it was a good idea and had failed to relay the message. To the extent that Johnson relies on the evidentiary hearing testimony of his defense counsel explaining what they interpreted the Burns Letter to mean, this speculation does not constitute evidence of its purpose and meaning. Further, each of Johnson’s trial counsel testified that he did not know or have any direct knowledge of whether Vitale was acting as a State agent. As his second piece of evidence in support of this claim, Johnson points to letters from Vitale written directly to the State. Johnson argues that the State was made aware, through Vitale’s letters directly to the State, of the letter writing campaign between Vitale and Johnson, and did nothing to dissuade Vitale’s conduct. However, passive knowledge and failure to dissuade Vitale from writing letters to Johnson does not rise to the level of the “deliberately elicited” standard. The United States Supreme Court has explained that a defendant does not make out a Massiah violation “simply by showing that an informant, either through prior arrangement or voluntarily, reported [the defendant’s] incriminating statements to the police. Rather, the defendant must demonstrate that the police and their informant took some action, beyond merely listening, that was designed deliberately to elicit incriminating remarks.” Kuhlmann, 477 U.S. at 459. As the postconviction court found, “[t]here is no evidence that the prosecutors initiated - 43 - the contact or responded to Vitale.” Indeed, the record is clear that Johnson actually initiated the letter writing between himself and Vitale. The third primary piece of evidence on which Johnson relies is that the State investigator, Hamrick, visited Vitale in jail in October 2003 for the purpose of obtaining the letters directly from Vitale. However, as the postconviction court found, “[a]lthough there is reference to a jail visit by the State investigator, no testimony of the investigator or prosecutors was offered to explain the purpose of the visit. And the court declines to infer that the investigator’s visit was for the purpose of enticing or arranging for Vitale to elicit incriminating evidence from Johnson.” In sum, we conclude that based on the evidence presented in this case, Johnson has not demonstrated a Massiah violation.