Opinion ID: 2575837
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Comment on Silence Claims

Text: {7} We first consider whether the prosecutor commented on Defendant's silence, contrary to his constitutional rights. We then address whether and how Defendant's silence was protected. Finally, we determine whether the comment should be characterized as fundamental error.
{8} In Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 614, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed.2d 106 (1965), the United States Supreme Court held that a defendant's Fifth Amendment privilege is violated in a state court trial when the prosecution asks the jury to draw an adverse conclusion from the defendant's failure to testify. New Mexico courts, following Griffin, consider whether the language used was manifestly intended to be or was of such a character that the jury would naturally and necessarily take it to be a comment on the accused's exercise of his or her right to remain silent. State v. Clark, 108 N.M. 288, 302, 772 P.2d 322, 336 (1989), overruled on other grounds by State v. Henderson, 109 N.M. 655, 789 P.2d 603 (1990). We evaluate the statement in context to determine the manifest intention that prompted the remarks, as well as the natural and necessary impact upon the jury. State v. Isiah, 109 N.M. 21, 24-25, 781 P.2d 293, 296 (1989), overruled on other grounds by State v. Lucero, 116 N.M. 450, 863 P.2d 1071 (1993). We have recognized that indirect comments, both those that are ambiguous, and those inadvertently elicited by the prosecutor from a witness, see State v. Baca, 89 N.M. 204, 549 P.2d 282 (1976), are less likely to call a jury's attention to the defendant's exercise of his rights. We have considered direct or indirect comments, Clark, 108 N.M. at 302, 772 P.2d at 336, and comments addressed both to a defendant's failure to testify and his or her right to remain silent when taken into custody, Isiah, 109 N.M. at 24, 781 P.2d at 296, in each case focusing on the likely impact of the comment on the jury. {9} Where comments by the prosecutor are ambiguous, we consider what inference the jury was asked to draw from the defendant's silence and the propriety of that inference. For example, in State v. Garcia, 118 N.M. 773, 777-78, 887 P.2d 767, 771-72 (Ct.App.1994), a series of questions regarding how suspects normally act when they have an alibi was improper as a matter of due process; the jury was implicitly asked to conclude that the defendant's alibi was fabricated because it was not immediately revealed to the police on arrest. Similarly, a prosecutor's questions regarding a defendant's failure to correct or amend his initial statement to the police were improper because they invited the jury to draw a negative inference from the defendant's failure to make an additional statement after his arrest. State v. Hennessy, 114 N.M. 283, 288-89, 837 P.2d 1366, 1371-72 (Ct.App.1992), overruled on other grounds by State v. Lucero, 116 N.M. 450, 863 P.2d 1071 (1993). But cf. State v. Foster, 1998-NMCA-163, ¶¶ 14-15, 126 N.M. 177, 967 P.2d 852 (holding that evidence of a defendant's failure to mention in initial interviews threats made on the day of shooting had significant probative value as impeachment, was admissible as a matter of New Mexico evidentiary law, and did not deny the defendant due process). Although Foster and Hennessy initially appear contradictory, they illuminate the difference between a permissible comment on a defendant's incomplete statement, as in Foster, and commenting on a defendant's silence, as in Hennessy. On the facts of this case, we conclude the prosecutor invited the jury to infer guilt from silence. {10} The prosecutor used Defendant's silence immediately after the attack, and in the following weeks, to suggest that Defendant's explanation was fabricated. In closing argument, the prosecutor repeatedly stated that Defendant had three weeks to fabricate a story and suggested that most people would come forward immediately if they had killed another in self-defense. The prosecution's comments regarding the three weeks between the attack and Defendant's statement were indirect, but the jury was implicitly asked to reject Defendant's self-defense explanation because Defendant did not offer it immediately. We conclude that the prosecutor's statement regarding Defendant's failure to come forward immediately was a comment on Defendant's pre-arrest silence, and the references to the three weeks between the attack and Defendant's statement to police was a comment on both pre-arrest silence and post-arrest silence while he was in the custody of the Pojoaque Tribal Police. We next consider whether and how that silence was protected.
{11} There are four relevant time periods at which a defendant may either volunteer a statement or remain silent: before arrest; after arrest, but before the warnings required by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), have been given; after Miranda warnings have been given; and at trial. The general rule limiting prosecution comment on a defendant's silence is drawn from multiple sources, which are variously applied to each of these time periods. We have recognized that the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, the Due Process Clause, and New Mexico evidentiary rules all limit prosecutorial comment on a defendant's silence. See Foster, 1998-NMCA-163, ¶ 9, 126 N.M. 177, 967 P.2d 852. Although we ultimately conclude that this case involves only pre-arrest and post- Miranda periods, we touch on all four briefly because the rules on preservation and the standard of review change with the source of the protection. See generally Garcia, 118 N.M. at 776-77, 887 P.2d at 770-71 (distinguishing post-arrest, pre- Miranda silence from post-arrest, post- Miranda silence). {12} The Fifth Amendment protects a defendant's decision not to testify at trial from prosecutorial comment. See Griffin, 380 U.S. at 613-14, 85 S.Ct. 1229 (describing a state constitutional provision permitting comment on a defendant's silence at trial as a violation of the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination). Similarly, due process guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment protects post- Miranda silence. Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610, 618-19, 96 S.Ct. 2240, 49 L.Ed.2d 91 (1976) (holding that, in light of the assurance implicit in the Miranda warning that silence will carry no penalty, it would be fundamentally unfair and a denial of due process protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to allow post- Miranda silence to be used in a state criminal trial to impeach an explanation subsequently offered at trial). Where a timely objection is made, a mistrial may be required. See State v. Lopez, 105 N.M. 538, 544-45, 734 P.2d 778, 784-85 (Ct.App.1986). If a mistrial is denied, a new trial may be ordered on appeal unless the State can show the error is harmless. Id. In the absence of a timely objection from a defendant, comments on a defendant's exercise of his or her right not to testify, or right to remain silent, are reviewed for fundamental error. State v. Allen, 2000-NMSC-002, ¶ 27, 128 N.M. 482, 994 P.2d 728. {13} The law regarding post-arrest, pre- Miranda silence is less clear. The United States Constitution does not limit the use of post-arrest, pre- Miranda silence to impeach a defendant at trial. Fletcher v. Weir, 455 U.S. 603, 607, 102 S.Ct. 1309, 71 L.Ed.2d 490 (1982). The federal circuits, however, are divided on the question of whether the Fifth Amendment bars the use of a defendant's post-arrest, pre- Miranda silence as proof of guilt. [2] The standard of review applicable to post-arrest, pre- Miranda situations has not been determined in New Mexico. See generally State v. Gutierrez, 2003-NMCA-077, ¶ 10, 133 N.M. 797, 70 P.3d 787 (noting the absence of New Mexico law on this point, and assuming for the appeal that a Miranda warning had been given); Garcia, 118 N.M. at 777, 887 P.2d at 771 (assuming that the same standard is applied before and after Miranda warnings). Rather, we have assumed warnings were given when the record did not permit us to determine whether or not they were given. Gutierrez, 2003-NMCA-077, ¶ 10, 133 N.M. 797, 70 P.3d 787. Because we also assume in this case that Miranda warnings were given when Defendant was arrested by the Pojoaque Tribal Police, we do not determine the appropriate review of a comment on post-arrest, pre- Miranda silence at this time. {14} We have recognized the general absence of a constitutional limitation on using pre-arrest silence to impeach, see State v. Gonzales, 113 N.M. 221, 229, 824 P.2d 1023, 1031 (1992), although a suspect's silence is protected if the suspect invokes the right to remain silent in response to non-custodial interrogation. In Gonzales, we observed that, based on Jenkins v. Anderson, 447 U.S. 231, 100 S.Ct. 2124, 65 L.Ed.2d 86 (1980), the use of a defendant's pre[-]arrest silence to impeach is constitutional. Gonzales, 113 N.M. at 229, 824 P.2d at 1031. Nevertheless, any evidence remains subject to normal evidentiary rules and should be excluded where its prejudicial effect substantially outweighs its probative value. See Rule 11-403 NMRA 2006. {15} New Mexico evidentiary rules limited comment on a defendant's silence prior to the Supreme Court's decision in Doyle. See Baca, 89 N.M. at 205, 549 P.2d at 283 (reviewing reference by a witness to post-arrest, post- Miranda silence as an evidentiary matter); State v. Lara, 88 N.M. 233, 539 P.2d 623 (Ct.App.1975) (holding that comments on a defendant's silence were prejudicial, of minimal probative value, and would require reversal). In the absence of controlling federal law, we return to these principles. Because silence is often too ambiguous to have great probative force and may be given improper weight by a jury, evidence of a defendant's silence generally is not admissible as proof of guilt. See also Garcia v. State, 103 N.M. 713, 714, 712 P.2d 1375, 1376 (1986) (distinguishing Jenkins and holding that pre-arrest refusal to permit a search could not be used as proof of guilt when the defendant did not testify at trial); Lara, 88 N.M. at 234-35, 539 P.2d at 624-25 (describing prosecutor's inquiry about a defendant's silence as reversible error if the fact of post-arrest, post- Miranda silence lacked significant probative value). We have recognized exceptions to this rule when the State can make some additional showing of relevance. See, e.g., Foster, 1998-NMCA-163, ¶¶ 12, 15, 126 N.M. 177, 967 P.2d 852 (holding that evidence of omission of exculpatory details in an ostensibly complete statement to police was relevant and admissible for impeachment purposes). We review these evidentiary decisions for abuse of discretion, Allen, 2000-NMSC-002, ¶ 17, 128 N.M. 482, 994 P.2d 728, and where no objection is made at trial, limit our review to plain error. Id. ¶ 27. {16} We also have reviewed comments on a defendant's silence as prosecutorial misconduct, see, e.g., Hennessy, 114 N.M. at 286, 837 P.2d at 1369, but applied essentially the same fundamental error analysis used in post-arrest comment on silence cases. Compare Allen, 2000-NMSC-002, ¶ 95, 128 N.M. 482, 994 P.2d 728 (reviewing a claim of prosecutorial misconduct), with id. ¶ 27 (reviewing the effect of a comment on silence). Where comments by a prosecutor encourage a jury to base its decision on improper grounds, we consider whether this misconduct denied the defendant a fair trial. Id. ¶ 27. Where no objection was made at trial, we review the claim on appeal for fundamental error. Id. {17} The comments made by the prosecutor refer to Defendant's silence in the immediate aftermath of the attack and also in the three-week interval between the attack and Defendant's statement to police. Defendant was not immediately apprehended by police. The prosecutor's comment that Defendant could have, but chose not to, contact the police was a reference to pre-arrest silence, but it should not be reviewed as an evidentiary matter. These comments may, however, have constituted prosecutorial misconduct by encouraging the jury to convict Defendant on improper grounds, and we consider below whether this comment constituted fundamental error. Id. {18} The prosecutor also commented on Defendant's silence after his arrest. The three-week interval on which the prosecutor commented includes time when Defendant was in the custody of the Pojoaque Tribal Police between December 16 and December 28. The record does not indicate whether Defendant was given the Miranda warnings on December16, and the State argues that we should assume that no warning was given. We decline, however, to place on Defendant the burden of showing that law enforcement complied with the well-known requirements of Miranda. Rather, where such an inference will benefit a defendant, we presume that the warning was given. See Gutierrez, 2003-NMCA-077, ¶ 10, 133 N.M. 797, 70 P.3d 787. {19} We conclude that Defendant's silence while in the custody of the Pojoaque Tribal Police is protected even though he was held on unrelated charges. Doyle, 426 U.S. at 617-18, 96 S.Ct. 2240. The Fifth Amendment protections stated in the Miranda warnings are a general right against self-incrimination. Cf. Arizona v. Roberson, 486 U.S. 675, 683-84, 108 S.Ct. 2093, 100 L.Ed.2d 704 (1988) (holding that a suspect who has invoked his Fifth Amendment right to counsel may not be questioned regarding a separate investigation); State v. Juarez, 120 N.M. 499, 502-03, 903 P.2d 241, 244-45 (Ct.App. 1995) (holding that a defendant arrested on one charge was entitled to Miranda warnings prior to police questioning regarding another more serious charge). It would be inconsistent with Doyle to offer a defendant the implicit assurance that his or her decision to remain silent will not be used against him or her, and then add that it may be used in another trial on a different charge. 426 U.S. at 618, 96 S.Ct. 2240. Therefore, we consider Defendant's silence protected under Doyle from the moment he was arrested by the Pojoaque Tribal Police. {20} The State has also suggested that Defendant did not invoke his right to remain silent, and the prosecutor could not have commented on the exercise of a right that was not invoked. Compare State v. Garvin, 2005-NMCA-107, ¶ 24, 138 N.M. 164, 117 P.3d 970 (distinguishing a defendant's failure to provide the whole story when questioned by the police from his failure to testify at trial), and Foster, 1998-NMCA-163, ¶ 14, 126 N.M. 177, 967 P.2d 852 (The Miranda warnings do not imply that the arrestee's half-truths will carry no penalty.), with Hennessy, 114 N.M. at 288, 837 P.2d at 1371 (rejecting the argument that a defendant who gives a statement to the police waives the right to be free from comment on silence). While we agree that silence is protected only if a right to remain silent is invoked, the record contains no evidence that Defendant did not invoke this right while in the custody of the Pojoaque Tribal Police. Defendant's later statement does not have the effect of waiving any objection to comment on his silence prior to that statement. Because Defendant was in custody for a portion of the three weeks referred to by the prosecutor, and because we assume that he invoked his rights while in custody, Defendant's silence was protected as in Doyle from prosecutorial comment. He is not entitled to a new trial, however, unless he can show that the prosecutor's comments resulted in fundamental error. See Hennessy, 114 N.M. at 289, 837 P.2d at 1372.
{21} When a defendant fails to object at trial to comments made by the prosecution about his or her silence, we review only for fundamental error, recognizing that it is fundamentally unfair and a violation of due process to allow an individual's invocation of the right to remain silent to be used against him or her at trial. Allen, 2000-NMSC-002, ¶ 27, 128 N.M. 482, 994 P.2d 728; see also Isiah, 109 N.M. at 25, 781 P.2d at 297; Clark, 108 N.M. at 303, 772 P.2d at 337. This review consists of two parts. We first determine whether any error occurred, i.e., whether the prosecutor commented on the defendant's protected silence. If such an error occurred, we then determine whether the error was fundamental. An error is fundamental if there is a reasonable probability that the error was a significant factor in the jury's deliberations in relation to the rest of the evidence before them. Clark, 108 N.M. at 303, 772 P.2d at 337; cf. United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-37, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993) (discussing federal review under the plain error standard). We have recognized that more direct prosecutorial comments on a defendant's invocation of the right to remain silent are more likely to be fundamental error. Applying this analysis, we have held no fundamental error occurred where the prejudicial effect of the prosecutor's comments was minimal and the evidence presented by the prosecution was overwhelming. Isiah, 109 N.M. at 25, 781 P.2d at 297. {22} Our cases may have created some confusion about the proper analysis of a claim that a prosecutor has commented on a defendant's silence when no objection was made at trial. See, e.g., Gutierrez, 2003-NMCA-077, ¶¶ 17-18, 133 N.M. 797, 70 P.3d 787 (characterizing this as harmless error review and separately considering whether the error was fundamental). This confusion may stem from Hennessy's reference to the remedy of automatic reversal regardless of objection ... as a prophylactic measure to deter prosecutors from obtaining convictions by unfair tactics. 114 N.M. at 286, 837 P.2d at 1369. Hennessy recognizes that appellate courts will reverse on the basis of an unpreserved error only where the error is fundamental. Hennessy does not stand for the proposition that any prosecutorial comment on silence will require reversal because the court in fact considered whether the defendant was prejudiced after concluding that the prosecutor's comments violated the defendant's privilege. Id. at 289, 837 P.2d at 1372 (reversing where the evidence presented was not overwhelming and the court could not say there is no reasonable probability that the prosecutor's numerous comments on silence were not a significant factor in the jury's deliberations in relation to the rest of the evidence before them). Where a defendant has made a proper objection at trial, the appellate court determines whether the prosecution commented on the defendant's protected silence, and if so, reverses the conviction unless the State can demonstrate that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Garcia, 118 N.M. at 779, 887 P.2d at 773. Where no timely objection is made, the court considers only whether the defendant has shown that there is a reasonable probability that the error was a significant factor in the jury's deliberations relative to the other evidence before them. Isiah, 109 N.M. at 25, 781 P.2d at 297; Clark, 108 N.M. at 303, 772 P.2d at 337. While similar considerations influence both harmless and fundamental error analyses, they are not interchangeable, and both need not be applied on appellate review. {23} Although we conclude that the prosecution's comments regarding Defendant's silence were error, they were not fundamental error. There is a reasonable argument that the comments did not directly call on the jury to infer guilt from Defendant's silence. The comments on the three-week interval suggest that the Defendant had an opportunity to think up an explanation in that time, not that the failure to give a statement was in itself proof of guilt. The prosecution offered evidence at trial that was inconsistent with self-defense. Investigators testified that a screen at the back of the house had been cut. The victim had been stabbed eight times and hit repeatedly with a hammer and another object, and blood spatter low to the ground suggests that a portion of the attack occurred while he was on the ground. After the attack, Defendant gathered up key pieces of evidence, took the victim's keys and wallet, and fled the scene, later disposing of the incriminating weapons. In light of the evidence of forcible entry into the victim's house, an extended struggle within the house, Defendant's flight, and attempt to hide evidence of the attack, we conclude that the prosecutor's comments were not a significant factor in deliberations and do not rise to the level of fundamental error. [3] In light of the minimal prejudicial effect of the prosecutor's comments, and the overwhelming evidence presented by the prosecution, Defendant has not shown fundamental error. See Isiah, 109 N.M. at 25, 781 P.2d at 297.