Opinion ID: 2520113
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Pre- Miranda Statements

Text: The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself or herself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. State v. Lewis, 258 Kan. 24, Syl. ¶ 1, 899 P.2d 1027 (1994). Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 86 S. Ct. 1602 (1966), holds that the State may not use statements stemming from a custodial interrogation of a defendant unless the State demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards to secure the defendant's privilege against self-incrimination. State v. Ewing, 258 Kan. 398, Syl. ¶ 1, 904 P.2d 962 (1995). Miranda warnings come into play whenever a person in custody is subjected to either express questioning or its functional equivalent. State v. Dudley, 264 Kan. 640, Syl. ¶ 1, 957 P.2d 445 (1998). An objective standard is used to judge whether an interrogation was custodial. The proper analysis is how a reasonable person in the suspect's position would have understood the situation. State v. Valdez, 266 Kan. 774, 791, 977 P.2d 242 (1999). The defendant argues his pre- Miranda statement should have been suppressed because it was elicited by the functional equivalent of a custodial interrogation. There is no doubt in this case that the defendant was in custody when he was being interviewed by Agent Cordts in a private room at the jail. The defendant had been arrested, handcuffed, and chained, and was being transported from one jail to another at the time of the interview. Thus, the defendant's argument revolves around whether the initial pre- Miranda question constituted an interrogation. T]he term `interrogation' under Miranda refers not only to express questioning, but also to any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect. The latter portion of this definition focuses primarily upon the perceptions of the suspect, rather than the intent of the police. This focus reflects the fact that the Miranda safeguards were designed to vest a suspect in custody with an added measure of protection against coercive police practices, without regard to objective proof of the underlying intent of the police. A practice that the police should know is reasonably likely to evoke an incriminating response from a suspect thus amounts to interrogation. Dudley, 264 Kan. at 643 (quoting Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300-01, 64 L. Ed. 2d 297, 100 S. Ct. 1682 [1980]). The district court found the initial question was one in which a reasonable person would respond to in a yes or no fashion, and the question was not designed to elicit a confession but simply to make a determination of whether the officer and the defendant were going to have any further conversation. The defendant takes issue with the district court's finding, arguing that other jurisdictions have held that the invitation to a suspect to tell his side of the story has been held to constitute an interrogation. However, most of the cases cited by the defendant are distinguishable from this case because they involved situations in which police officers initiated conversations with the defendants after they invoked their right to have counsel present. See State v. Monroe, 103 Idaho 129, 645 P.2d 363 (1982); State v. Williams, 6 Ohio St. 3d 281, 452 N.E.2d 1323 (1983); State v. Crawford, 73 Or. App. 53, 698 P.2d 40 (1985); State v. Barmon, 67 Or. App. 369, 679 P.2d 888 (1984). In the present case, the defendant never invoked his right to remain silent. State, City of St. Paul v. Lynch, 477 N.W.2d 743 (Minn.App. 1991), is the most persuasive case cited by the defendant. In Lynch, the defendant was pulled over for a traffic violation by one officer but was recognized by another officer as the man she had seen earlier the same evening trying to pick up a prostitute. Upon seeing a known prostitute in the car with the defendant, and without giving a Miranda warning, the second officer said, I thought you were going home, and then asked him, what is your side of the story? 477 N.W.2d at 745. The defendant confessed to engaging in prostitution and possessing marijuana. The Minnesota Court of Appeals held that the district court properly suppressed the defendant's confession because the defendant was in custody and the direct inquiry, which was not germane to the initial traffic stop, constituted an interrogation. 477 N.W.2d at 746. In this case, Agent Cordts testified that he was shocked that the defendant responded with an incriminating statement. This court, however, is not concerned with the agent's subjective feelings, but whether he or she should have known his or her words were reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response. Dudley, 264 Kan. at 643. A careful review of the agent's entire opening statement reveals that it was reasonable that the defendant would respond in the manner that he did. Before asking, Would you like the opportunity to tell me your side of the story, Agent Cordts told the defendant that he would like to hear his side of the story in his own words. This is exactly what the defendant did. The officer should have known that the defendant, who had made no previous statement, who knew he had shot the officer, and who had been in custody for several hours, might be anxious to take him up on this request to hear his side of the story. This question was not a routine booking question; rather, it was designed to gain information from the defendant about the shooting. The brief question as to whether the defendant wanted to tell his side of the story, preceeded by several requests by Agent Cordts that he wanted to hear the defendant's side of the story, elicited the defendant's confession while he was in custody. The interrogation should have begun with the administration of a Miranda warning. The officer's failure to administer a Miranda warning to the defendant prior to his custodial interrogation creates the presumption of compulsion as to the defendant's initial confession. Consequently, the defendant's pre- Miranda statement should have been suppressed. State v. Dang, 267 Kan. 198, 205, 978 P.2d 277 (1999) However, the question remains as to whether the erroneous admission of the defendant's initial confession was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The answer to this question depends upon whether the defendant's nearly identical post- Miranda confession was admissible. See State v. Lucas, 243 Kan. 462, 476, 759 P.2d 90 (1988).