Opinion ID: 1436760
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Suppression of Appellant's Two Statements

Text: Appellant claims that his Miranda rights were violated when the police obtained statements from him on June 29, 1989 and July 6, 1989, and that the trial court erred in failing to suppress these statements. Appellant argues that because the police officer testified that Appellant appeared to be high during the June 29, 1989 interview, he could not have voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently waived his Miranda rights. Appellant fails to allege that he was actually high at this time. As for the July 6, 1989 interview and statement, Appellant was hospitalized for detoxification. He alleges that he was in psychological state of detoxification such that he could not make a voluntary or intelligent waiver of his rights. Appellant's Brief at 21. Because Miranda is wholly inapplicable in this situation for the reasons which follow, Appellant's argument is without merit. The protective provisions of Miranda prohibit an interviewee who is in police custody from being subjected to interrogation after the interviewee has asserted his right to remain silent and/or to consult with an attorney. Commonwealth v. Holcomb, 508 Pa. 425, 498 A.2d 833 (1985). An interviewee undergoes custodial interrogation whenever the person is physically deprived of freedom in any significant way or is placed in a situation in which he reasonably believes that his freedom of action or movement is restricted by such interrogation. Commonwealth v. Chacko, 500 Pa. 571, 573, 459 A.2d 311, 314 (1983). The trial court found, and we agree, that in neither of these two situations was Appellant undergoing custodial interrogation. On June 29, 1989, the police requested that Appellant accompany them to the state police barracks. The trial court found that while the first statement [ i.e., the June 29th statement] was given at the police barracks, the defendant volunteered to accompany the troopers to answer some questions about the Fridley homicide. Additionally, the defendant was free to terminate the interview and leave at any time. Trial court slip op. at 16-17 (emphasis added). As Appellant was free to leave at any time, he was most certainly not in custody. Given that he was not in custody, the protections of Miranda were not applicable. On July 6, 1989, Appellant's mother telephoned a trooper and informed the trooper that Appellant wanted to talk to the police. Two troopers went to the hospital, requested permission of the hospital staff to interview Appellant and, after receiving permission, interviewed Appellant. In the course of the interview, Appellant grew angry and asked the police to leave. The police complied with his request. The trial court found that under these circumstances, the police did not conduct a custodial interrogation which would have required the providing of Miranda warnings. Again, we agree. As neither interview amounted to a custodial interrogation, Appellant was not entitled to receive Miranda warnings and, as such, the police did not violate any of Appellant's constitutional rights in not giving him these warnings. Accordingly, this issue affords Appellant no relief. Miranda being wholly inapplicable, the fact of his mental condition during the interviews is of no consequence to the admissibility of his statements; rather, his mental condition goes to the evidentiary weight which the jury should have given to such statements.