Opinion ID: 2625134
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Admission of Defendant's Statement About Gun

Text: The defendant argues that the district judge erred by admitting defendant's statement that the gun was in a safe place. In his view, Brown's question about the whereabouts of the gun, which followed defendant's invocation of his Miranda rights was not excused by a Quarles ' public safety exception because there were no exigent circumstances and Quarles applies only to pre- Miranda statements. The parties set forth slightly different standards of review on this issue. The State suggests that, when a district court has conducted a full hearing on the admissibility of a statement and determines that it was freely, voluntarily, and intelligently made, this court should uphold the determination if there is substantial competent evidence to support it. This standard is incomplete. First, the district court did not admit the statement because it was freely, voluntarily, and intelligently made. It admitted the statement because it determined that there was a legitimate concern for public safety that fit the Quarles scenario. Defendant is correct that, when reviewing a district judge's suppression decision on an accused's statements, the factual underpinnings of the decision are reviewed for substantial competent evidence, but the ultimate legal decision drawn from those facts is reviewed de novo. State v. Mattox, 280 Kan. 473, 480, 124 P.3d 6 (2005); State v. Walker, 276 Kan. 939, 944, 80 P.3d 1132 (2003). We do not reweigh the evidence, pass on the credibility of witnesses, or resolve conflicts in the evidence. State v. Swanigan, 279 Kan. 18, 23, 106 P.3d 39 (2005). The district judge found that Brown considered it dangerous that the gun used in the homicide had not been located. Defendant had walked throughout Lawrence and Topeka, and the gun could have been anywhere, meaning a child might find it and more people could be harmed. The district judge regarded the concern as reasonable, and, although it would have made more sense for Brown to ask defendant about the gun before Miranda warnings were given, the judge did not see anything or know of any cases that indicate that the sequence has to be a certain order. . . . I have some concern with the time gap . . . [but it] is not an issue that the court can consider as long as there was a legitimate concern for public safety. There is substantial evidence in the record to support the district court's findings of fact about Brown's worry over the gun, but the ultimate legal question of whether a public safety exception applies requires our independent review. See Mattox, 280 Kan. at 480, 124 P.3d 6. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right against self-incrimination, including the right to have a lawyer present during a custodial interrogation and the right to remain silent. U.S. Const. amend V; Miranda, 384 U.S. at 479, 86 S.Ct. 1602. Miranda requires law enforcement to inform suspects of these rights before statements, exculpatory or inculpatory, made in a custodial interrogation can be admitted against them; Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602; but Miranda's rules are procedural safeguards; they are not constitutional rights themselves. Michigan v. Tucker, 417 U.S. 433, 444, 94 S.Ct. 2357, 41 L.Ed.2d 182 (1974). In Quarles, 467 U.S. 649, 104 S.Ct. 2626, the United States Supreme Court recognized an exception to Miranda in situations involving a threat to public safety. In that case, a woman reported that she had just been raped by an armed man who had escaped into a supermarket. The officers apprehended a suspect, noticing he had an empty shoulder holster. Without first advising him of his rights, an officer asked the suspect where the gun was. The suspect directed police to the gun behind some nearby empty cartons, and the statement was admissible because the need to ascertain the location of a potential danger to the public outweighed the need for the prophylactic rule of Miranda. Quarles, 467 U.S. at 657, 104 S.Ct. 2626. Our courts have recognized the public safety exception expressed in Quarles and have applied it in pre- Miranda situations where there is an immediate need for an officer to protect himself or herself or the public. For example, in State v. McKessor, 246 Kan. 1, 7, 785 P.2d 1332, cert. denied 495 U.S. 937, 110 S.Ct. 2184, 109 L.Ed.2d 513 (1990), we determined that a gun seized during a valid warrantless arrest of defendant in his motel room was admissible under the public safety exception, where police officers had asked the defendant about the location of the gun before reading him the Miranda warnings. In that case, officers had reason to believe that the defendant was armed, that an accomplice was in the bathroom, and that adjoining motel rooms were occupied. Public safety demanded determination, without delay, of the location of any weapons in the room. We have applied the public safety exception in other pre- Miranda situations as well. See State v. Drennan, 278 Kan. 704, 722-724, 101 P.3d 1218 (2004) (where officers had reasonable belief potential victim might be in danger, in need of assistance, officers justified in asking suspect about victim's whereabouts before reading suspect Miranda rights); State v. Bailey, 256 Kan. 872, 880, 889 P.2d 738 (1995) (officer's question about whereabouts of gun occurred after high-speed chase, report defendant was suspect in shooting; question fell within public safety exception); see also State v. Ewing, 258 Kan. 398, 404, 904 P.2d 962 (1995) (declining to discuss persuasive argument that public safety exception applied to pre- Miranda questioning where error in admission of statement harmless). Once the right to have counsel present during interrogation has been invoked, the courts impose a relatively rigid requirement that interrogation must cease. Questioning can be resumed only after a lawyer has been made available or the suspect reinitiates conversation. Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 482, 484-85, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981); State v. Henry, 273 Kan. 608, 613, 44 P.3d 466 (2002). This rule provides a second layer of prophylaxis for the Miranda right to counsel, designed to prevent police from badgering a defendant into waiving previously asserted rights. Michigan v. Harvey, 494 U.S. 344, 350, 110 S.Ct. 1176, 108 L.Ed.2d 293 (1990); Mattox, 280 Kan. at 481, 124 P.3d 6; State v. Walker, 276 Kan. 939, 944-46, 80 P.3d 1132 (2003). Here, it is undisputed that defendant was in custody at the time his challenged statement was made; his invocation was clear and unambiguous; and he did not waive his asserted right to counsel by responding to Brown's question concerning the whereabouts of the gun. A valid waiver of a previously asserted right cannot be established by showing only that the suspect responded to further police-initiated custodial interrogation, even if the suspect has been advised of his rights. Edwards, 451 U.S. at 484, 101 S.Ct. 1880. The question that remains is one of first impression in Kansas: Can an officer's response-provoking question meet the public safety exception expressed in Quarles and applied in McKessor if it is posed after Miranda warnings are given and after defendant invoked the right to have an attorney present during questioning? There is a split of authority on this issue. See United States v. Mobley, 40 F.3d 688, 692 (4th Cir.1994), cert. denied 514 U.S. 1129, 115 S.Ct. 2005, 131 L.Ed.2d 1005 (1995) (public safety exception applies both before, after administration of Miranda warnings, right to counsel is invoked; however, absent circumstances posing objective immediate danger to public, police, need for exception not apparent; suspicion questioner on fishing expedition outweighs belief public safety motivated otherwise improper questioning); United States v. DeSantis, 870 F.2d 536, 541 (9th Cir.1989) (even if accused has been advised of rights and invoked those rights, public safety exception applies with equal force as long as there remains objectively reasonable need to protect officers, public from immediate danger associated with weapon); Trice v. United States, 662 A.2d 891, 894-97 (D.C. 1995) (detective's question after defendant's assertion of right to counsel within public safety exception, although arrest, questioning occurred 4 days after shooting; detective waited 1 hour after arrest to ask question at police station rather than at defendant's home; strong circumstantial evidence gun at defendant's home; several small children in defendant's home at time of arrest); Borrell v. State, 733 So.2d 1087, 1089 (Fla.Dist.App. 1999) (police called to scene immediately after shooting; unarmed defendant surrendered within minutes; circumstances demonstrate an objectively reasonable need to protect the police or the public from any immediate danger associated with the weapon); see also State v. Davis, 1999 WL 1050092, unpublished opinion of Ohio Court of Appeals filed November 19, 1999, rev. denied 88 Ohio St.3d 1433, 724 N.E.2d 809 (2000) (public safety exception extends to certain narrow circumstances where suspect informed of Miranda rights, invokes right to counsel; here, appellant undeterred by Miranda warnings, voluntarily gave location of weapon); compare United States v. Anderson, 929 F.2d 96, 98-102 (2d Cir.1991) (public safety does not justify deceptive, coercive tactics; suspect had been read Miranda rights; agent coerced suspect saying he would lose opportunity to cooperate if attorney sought); State v. Pante, 325 N.J.Super. 336, 346, 739 A.2d 433 (1999), cert. denied 163 N.J. 76, 747 A.2d 285 (2000) (defendant revealed location of explosives after continued post- Miranda interrogation; public safety exception does not justify questioning after right to counsel invoked); State v. Harris, 199 Wis.2d 227, 247, 544 N.W.2d 545 (1996) (public safety exception cannot excuse questioning after right to counsel invoked); see also People v. Zanini, 2003 WL 103464, unpublished opinion of California Court of Appeals filed January 10, 2003 (appellant arrested, taken to police station, given Miranda warnings; appellant invoked rights; officer subsequently mentioned concern about public safety; appellant again stated he did not want to incriminate himself; officer then implied anything appellant said would not be used to incriminate appellant; defendant's statements inadmissible). We decline to weigh in on this conflict among the various federal and state courts, because a narrower ground for our decision exists in this case. Even if the district judge erred in admitting defendant's statement about the gun, the error was harmless. See Ewing, 258 Kan. at 404, 904 P.2d 962 (declining to discuss Quarles exception; any error harmless). Defendant never disputed that he killed the victim with his gun. Seven persons saw him do so. Evidence that defendant knew the location of the gun after the shooting was of no probative value to the jury on the true contested issue at trial: defendant's intent or justification for killing Martin. Under these facts, we are convinced that the district judge's admission of defendant's statement concerning the whereabouts of the gun was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 22, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705, reh. denied 386 U.S. 987, 87 S.Ct. 1283, 18 L.Ed.2d 241 (1967); State v. Thompkins, 271 Kan. 324, 335, 21 P.3d 997 (2001).