Court Opinion

ID: 9627846
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 08:56:54.259621+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:06:51.518793
License: Public Domain

ROVIRA, Justice,
specially concurring:
I agree with the result reached by the majority. I write only to express my opinion that the result in this case, that the defendant’s statements were voluntary, should be governed by the principles set out in Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. -, 107 S.Ct. 515, 93 L.Ed.2d 473 (1986). In Connelly, the Court held that “coercive police activity is a necessary predicate to the finding that a confession is not ‘voluntary’ within the meaning of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” 479 U.S. at -, 107 S.Ct. at 522.
The Court also states that “mental condition is surely relevant to an individual’s susceptibility to police coercion....” 107 S.Ct. at 521. This implies that the requisite police coercion can be determined without examining the mental state of the defendant. United States v. Rohrbach, 813 F.2d 142, 144 (8th Cir.1987) (reading Connelly to hold that personal characteristics “would be relevant to the voluntariness issue once coercive police activity has been shown....”); United States v. Wolf, 813 F.2d 970, 975 n. 16 (9th Cir. March 27, 1987) (reading Connelly to hold that voluntariness for due process purposes “turns solely on the objective constitutional acceptability of the police conduct.”).
Here, there was absolutely no evidence that the defendant’s statements were induced by police misconduct; therefore, the defendant’s medical condition is not relevant.
We recently reached this same conclusion in People v. Rhodes, 729 P.2d 982 (Colo.1986), where we reversed the suppression of a confession because the record did not indicate that the defendant’s statements were induced by coercive police activity even though there was substantial evidence concerning the defendant’s mental condition.
In distinguishing the case at bar from People v. Fordyce, 200 Colo. 153, 612 P.2d 1131 (1980), the majority suggests that if the defendant had testified concerning her medical condition the result might be different. I disagree with such a suggestion for the reason that her medical condition, evidencing an ability to cooperate voluntarily, is not relevant until police coercion has been established.