Court Opinion

ID: 9653346
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 17:44:39.55664+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:55.795833
License: Public Domain

DONNELLY, Judge,
dissenting.
The United States Supreme Court, in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444—445, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) held that, in the context of custodial interrogation, “to inform accused persons of their right of silence and to assure a continuous opportunity to exercise it, the following measures are required. Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed. The defendant may waive ef-fectuation of these rights, provided the waiver is made voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently. If, however, he indicates in any manner and at any stage of the process that he wishes to consult with an attorney before speaking there can be no questioning. Likewise, if the individual is alone and indicates in any manner that he does not wish to be interrogated, the police may not question him.”
This case again presents the problem of determining whether the accused, after being informed of his rights to silence and an attorney, voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently waived those rights. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that, “the question of waiver must be determined on ‘the particular facts and circumstances surrounding that case, including the background, experience, and conduct of the accused.’ " North Carolina v, Butler, 441 U.S. 369, 99 S.Ct. 1755, 1758, 60 L.Ed.2d *720286 (1979). The Court rejected North Carolina’s interpretation of the Miranda rule which would have required an explicit waiver of the rights to remain silent and to have an attorney. Rather, the Court said, waiver may be inferred from the actions and words of the person interrogated.
The Court in Butler, supra, said it could see no reason to require a standard of explicit waiver rather than one of inferring waiver from all the circumstances. In my opinion, there are good reasons for requiring an explicit waiver from the point of view of both the accused and the state.
“Two major policies would be served by requiring an express, affirmative statement of waiver in all cases as an absolute prerequisite to admissibility. First, since police interrogators would be required to ask for a statement of waiver if the suspect did not volunteer one, such a requirement would advance the goal of assuring that the suspect is made aware of ‘his interrogators’ willingness to recognize his rights should he choose to exercise them.’ Second, although a ‘boilerplate statement’ of waiver may not be sufficient in itself to establish the validity of a waiver, since such a statement could always be the result of coercion, ignorance, or diminished intelligence, the presence of an affirmative statement would be a readily ascertainable fact, which would substantially lessen the burden of the reviewing court, particularly in cases where the suspect exhibits inconsistencies or vacillating intentions at the interrogation.” Note, Waiver of Rights in Police Interrogations: Miranda in the Lower Courts, 36 U. of Chi.L.Rev. 413, 426 (1969).
In Commonwealth v. Bussey, - Pa. -, 404 A.2d 1309, 1314-1315 (1979), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held an explicit waiver of Miranda rights mandatory under the Pennsylvania Constitution, and said:
“Our ruling, unlike North Carolina v. Butler, supra, will promote certainty in knowing an accused has waived his rights and will avoid a mountain of litigation which might otherwise result from trying to determine what ‘implicitly’ went on in an accused’s mind. * * * Our ruling will also serve to impress on an accused the importance of his decision. Furthermore, assuming North Carolina v. Butler, supra, was concerned with additional burdens being placed on law enforcement officials, given Miranda, we cannot agree our ruling creates any such burden. Surely if the rights must be explained, merely asking for an answer to a question is no great burden, and even if it is a burden, it will promote certainty in the law and, thereby, eliminate a greater burden resulting from allowing implicit waivers.”
The inferential approach of the United States Supreme Court is fraught with ambiguity. It threatens the accused with an unknowing waiver born of confusion and uncertainty. It requires of the courts and police a psychological acumen for which they are not trained and which they are in no position to exercise.
The United States Supreme Court has made it clear, however, that this Court, as the highest state court of Missouri, is not permitted to entertain an interpretation of the United States Constitution which varies from rulings of the United States Supreme Court. The United States Constitution may not be interpreted to require an express waiver of the right to remain silent and to the assistance of an attorney. The holding in Butler, supra, is not equivocal; the Court’s power to interpret the United States Constitution shall be unshared and ultimate. How could this have happened in America? The curious can read Eric Hof-fer’s The True Believer. Then they will understand.
In my view, the Constitution of the United States sets the outer limits of the powers delegated by the people to their agents in The Legislative Department (Art. I), The Executive Department (Art. II), and The Judicial Department (Art. Ill) of the Federal Government. I find support for this view in the Preamblé to the Constitution of the United States and in The Declaration of *721Independence which declares, as I read it, that even members of The Judicial Department may exercise only those powers which derive “from the consent of the governed.” And, “it is always safe to read the letter of the Constitution in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.” Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company v. Ellis, 165 U.S. 150, 160, 17 S.Ct. 255, 258-259, 41 L.Ed. 666 (1897).
History tells us that the Framers, in establishing a Federal Government, were influenced by the teachings of Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, and others, and by the social contract concept they espoused. This concept would recognize a continuing right in the people to call their agents, even the United States Supreme Court, to account. It would assure that the people, and not an agency of government, will determine the direction of their lives. If, in fact, our National Government is exercising powers without the consent of the governed — the people — then the rights it purports to secure in their name are counterfeit — its benevolence is a fraud.
Where, then, do we find a delegation of power by the people to the United States Supreme Court' to declare “the supreme Law of the Land” under Article VI of the United States Constitution? Where do we find “the consent of the governed”?
In Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137, 177, 2 L.Ed. 60 (1803), Chief Justice Marshall expressed the Court’s view that “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” In Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1, 18, 78 S.Ct. 1401, 1410, 3 L.Ed.2d 5 (1958), the Court enlarged upon Marshall’s dictum, declared itself the ultimate arbiter of constitutional disputes in the Nation, and pronounced that its interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment “is the supreme law of the land; and Art. VI of the Constitution makes it of binding effect on the States * *
If, as I believe, the people are sovereign, the question narrows: may the power to bind a principal (the people) come from the agent (the Supreme Court) or must it come from the principal (the people)? Of course, it must come from the people. If the people desire that the Supreme Court be given the power to declare “the supreme law of the land”, Article V of the Constitution provides the vehicle for change. The assertion of power in Cooper, supra, is self-serving and substanceless.
During the past several months, I have sought to inform the people of Missouri of the arrogations of the federal judiciary. See Seales v. State, 580 S.W.2d 733, 739 (1979); Baker v. State, 584 S.W.2d 65, 69 (1979); and State v. Handley, 585 S.W.2d 458, 465 (1979). I will say no more about it.
To return to the case before us: I would hold, under Mo.Const. art. I, § 10, that no statement made by an accused in response to custodial interrogation may be used against him at trial unless the statement was made within a reasonable time after the accused was informed of his Miranda rights and signed a writing waiving those rights and consenting to interrogation without an attorney. If a written waiver is introduced in evidence, I would hold that the prosecution has met its burden of showing a voluntary, knowing and intelligent waiver. The waiver could be voided if obtained by coercion or because of incapacity or diminished intelligence. The accused could revoke the waiver by an express request to halt questioning or for an attorney, rendering any statements made after the revocation inadmissible. But I would place the burden of showing the invalidity or revocation of the written waiver on the accused. Resolution of these issues should be had by pre-trial motion and hearing. I would view the question whether the procedure by which a statement is obtained violates due process as a separate pre-trial issue. The focus would then be on the acceptability of the procedures used and on whether the statement was voluntary. Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368, 84 S.Ct. 1774, 12 L.Ed.2d 908 (1964); State v. Bradford, 262 S.W.2d 584 (Mo.1953). In my view, a resolution of the former would make the problem of the latter less intractable.
*722The General Assembly has recognized the value of a written waiver of a defendant’s constitutional rights in similar circumstances. Section 600.051, RSMo 1978 requires that any waiver of counsel in a criminal case which may result in punishment by confinement be made by a writing signed before and witnessed by the judge or clerk of court. This provision is strictly enforced. Peterson v. State, 572 S.W.2d 475 (Mo.banc 1978). The requirement of a written waiver is thus not unwarranted departure from accepted procedures for relinquishment of constitutional rights. Neither should it prove onerous to the interrogators as it is presently often used. See State v. Phillips, 563 S.W.2d 47 (Mo.banc 1978); State v. Ford, 495 S.W.2d 408 (Mo.banc 1973); State v. Alewine, 474 S.W.2d 848 (Mo.1971).
I would reverse and remand for new trial.
I respectfully dissent.