Opinion ID: 2543555
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: statements to police and inmates

Text: Next, Payne challenges the propriety of the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress statements he made during his arrest and to inmates at the Leavenworth County jail. `When analyzing a district court's suppression of evidence, an appellate court reviews the factual underpinnings of a district court's decision by a substantial competent evidence standard and the ultimate legal conclusion drawn from those facts by a de novo standard. An appellate court does not reweigh the evidence. The ultimate determination of the suppression of evidence is a legal question requiring independent appellate review.' State v. Pritchett, 270 Kan. 125, 128, 11 P.3d 1125 (2000) (quoting State v. Toothman, 267 Kan. 412, Syl. ¶ 1, 985 P.2d 701 [1999]). In arguing this second assertion of error, Payne employs essentially the same reasoning in his argument for the suppression of the crack pipe and rock of crack cocaine. Payne contends there was insufficient probable cause for an arrest and, therefore, the officer's warrantless searches during his detention were per se unreasonable.Building on these assumptions, Payne then argues that all evidence [his statements] recovered subsequent[ly] ... should have been suppressed. The prosecution has the burden of proving whether a confession or admission is admissible. On appeal, an appellate court will not reverse a determination that a confession was freely, voluntarily, and intelligently given if there is substantial competent evidence to support the determination. The legal conclusion drawn from those facts is reviewed de novo. State v. Jacques, 270 Kan. 173, Syl. ¶ 4, 14 P.3d 409 (2000). Substantial evidence is evidence that possesses both relevance and substance and furnishes a substantial basis of fact from which the issues can reasonably be resolved. Substantial evidence is such legal and relevant evidence as a reasonable person might accept as being sufficient to support a conclusion. 270 Kan. 173, Syl. ¶ 5. First, we note that Payne does not contest the trial court's admission of the statements he made during custodial police interviews. During those interviews, Payne was advised of his Miranda rights and voluntarily signed waiver forms. Payne only challenges the statement he made during his arrest and the statement he made to a fellow inmate at the Leavenworth County jail. First, we consider Payne's statement at the scene of his arrest. When police officers apprehended Payne, they failed to read him his Miranda rights. Officer Slusher testified that Payne's statement during the arrest indicated his potential involvement in Harris' murder. In the landmark case of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 16 L. Ed.2d 694, 86 S. Ct. 1602 (1966), the United States Supreme Court held the prosecution cannot use statements, whether inculpatory or exculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation, unless it proves that procedural safeguards were used to secure the defendant's privilege against self-incrimination. These safeguards include informing the person in custody, prior to interrogation, of his or her Fifth Amendment rights to remain silent, to consult with an attorney, and to have an attorney present during interrogation. Further, if the person in custody states that he or she wants an attorney, all questioning must cease until the attorney is present. [Citations omitted.] A waiver of Miranda rights need not be in writing. [Citation omitted.] State v. Williams, 268 Kan. 1, 12-13, 988 P.2d 722 (1999). As we noted above, clearly Payne was in police custody and placed under arrest at that time. The officers had not advised Payne of his Miranda rights when he made the statement. The question for our consideration here is whether his statement was voluntary or was made in response to interrogation. Interrogation in the context of police custody refers to 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. Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 301, 64 L. Ed.2d 297, 100 S. Ct. 1682 (1980). [T]he voluntariness of a statement should be determined on the basis of the totality of the surrounding circumstances. State v. Ferguson, 254 Kan. 62, 85, 864 P.2d 693 (1993). Officer Slusher testified that [officers] were leading [Payne] away and he like stopped and looked towards me and said, `So Eddie Harris is dead?' None of the officers present had mentioned that Harris was the murder victim. There was no evidence to suggest that this statement was made in response to an inquiry of police. Significantly, Payne does not assert on appeal that this statement was made in a nonvoluntary manner or as a result of police coercion. We find that Payne's statements during his arrest were not the result of interrogation and were made voluntarily. Next, we consider Payne's statement to inmate McCoy at the Leavenworth County jail. McCoy testified that Payne told him that when Harris refused to buy drugs, it made Payne and Browning angry. McCoy said, according to Payne's story, Browning started to beat Harris and Payne joined in, and then they stabbed him a couple of times. Once again, there is no evidence suggesting that Payne's statements to McCoy were the result of police interrogation or were not voluntarily made. Nor is there any assertion by Payne that this statement was nonvoluntary or the result of police coercion. Substantial evidence supports the trial court's decision to deny Payne's motions to suppress. Further, because we have determined that the officers lawfully arrested Payne, his intimation that these statements should have been suppressed as the fruit of the poisonous tree is incorrect. We conclude that substantial competent evidence supports the trial court's decision to refuse to suppress these statements.