Opinion ID: 2585179
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: What Sergeant Barnes and Smith said and did

Text: The state and Smith raise numerous points concerning what Sergeant Barnes and Smith said and did during the interview: the overall tone of the interview, Barnes's initial assurances that Smith was not under arrest and was free to leave, the meaning of the actual words used by Barnes, Smith's greeting of his friend, Smith's request for an attorney, and Smith's statement that he wanted to get back to bed. Both sides interpret each point in their favor. The state argues that the questioning started casually and that Sergeant Barnes's tone was calm and low-key throughout the interview. Smith admits that Sergeant Barnes's voice was calm but argues that the psychological tone of the interview changed radically when the questioning became accusatory. This is the point where the court of appeals ordered suppression, after Sergeant Barnes said, And what I need to do is, is, have you tell me the truth. And I'm not gonna arrest you. Smith argues that the psychological tone changed radically at this point, but it did not. We have reviewed the tape recording of the interview. While Sergeant Barnes did accuse Smith of the crime and noted the evidence against Smith, this was not the first time that Barnes had accused Smith; Barnes had done so twice previously. [34] In addition, Barnes's demeanor remained calm and his tone of voice was, in the words of Judge Mannheimer, with which we agree, sympatheticalmost apologetic. The overall tone is noncustodial. [35] At the inception of the interview, Sergeant Barnes told Smith that he was not under arrest and was free to leave at any time. Smith argues that Sergeant Barnes did not tell Smith that he could remain silent and did not repeat the warnings as the questioning became accusatory. Assurances from the police that a person is not under arrest and is free to leave generally indicate a lack of custody but are not conclusive. [36] While multiple assurances would have made this case easier to decide, [37] the initial assurances tended to make a reasonable person believe he was not in custody. The state and Smith interpret Barnes's statements to Smith differently. Both agree that Barnes said, And what I need to do is, is, have you tell me the truth. And I'm not gonna arrest you. The state argues that the last sentence was a reassurance that Smith was not under arrest. Smith argues that the connecting and starting the second sentence made the assurance of not being under arrest conditional on Smith telling the truth. The state responds that use of and was simply a colloquialism. The statement is somewhat ambiguous. Ignoring contextual pauses and word usage, one could infer a conditional offerif Smith told the truth, Barnes would not arrest him. [38] However, Barnes said and instead of if; the literal meaning of Barnes's words was not a conditional offer. Furthermore, a reasonable person would interpret Sergeant Barnes's statement in context. Barnes used and to start his sentences at least twenty-one times in the short interview. Also, Barnes paused about two seconds between the two sentences. Given this context, we interpret Barnes's use of and as simply colloquial. The state notes that Smith called to his friend Dave during the interview while in the police car. The state argues that this shows Smith was comfortable and not coerced. Smith argues that his friend apparently did not hear him, which heightened the incommunicado aspects of the interview. While Smith's call to his friend might show his relative comfort in the police interview, his action is equally indicative of a nervous person trying to change the subject. Concerning Smith's argument, Dave's lack of audible response to Smith's salutation does not indicate the heightened coerciveness of the interview; if anything, Dave's appearanceand the fact that Dave appeared to have remained nearby because he spoke with Smith immediately after the interviewdiluted any atmosphere of police domination. The state and Smith also draw opposite interpretations from Smith's request to speak to a lawyer. The state argues that his request shows he knew he could terminate the interview. Smith argues that it shows he felt he was under arrest and needed a lawyer. Both contentions are plausible. The state also highlights Smith's later statement: I'd like to get to bed as soon as I can [because] I'm tired. The state argues that if Smith thought he was free to go back to bed, he must have thought he was free to go. Smith argues that his statement only indicates his hope that he would be free to go back to bed. Although Smith does not note it in his brief, he also said something that suggested he did not feel free to leave: Well you wanna walk over there with me Trooper Clark? Both of these points have reasonable interpretations for and against custody. Thus, neither would be decisive to a reasonable person. In sum, the tone of the interview, Barnes's assurance that Smith was free to leave at any time, and the presence of Smith's friends indicate a non-custodial interview.