Court Opinion

ID: 9495422
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:02:35.697438+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:00.824780
License: Public Domain

HANSEN, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I do not agree that LeBrun was “in custody” within the meaning of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), at the time he confessed to killing a superior officer and to disposing of the body in a tank of caustic fuel oil. Nor do I agree that LeBrun was “in custody” at the time he voluntarily reenacted the homicide, demonstrating how he strangled Ensign Muns while smashing his head against the deck of the disbursing office. Nor do I agree that LeBrun was “in custody” at the time he apologized to Muns’ sister for killing her brother. Finally, I do not agree that LeBrun’s confessions to and reenactment of Muns’ killing were the product of compulsion. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
*558I find the court’s attempt to distinguish this case from Oregon v. Mathiason, 429 U.S. 492, 97 S.Ct. 711, 50 L.Ed.2d 714 (1977), unpersuasive, and I conclude that Mathiason is on all-fours with this case. The court first notes that the officers transported LeBrun thirteen miles to the Highway Patrol Station and that LeBrun was therefore dependent on the authorities for transportation, whereas Mathiason walked only a short distance to the state patrol office thereby rendering him independent of the authorities. Id. at 495, 97 S.Ct. 711. In my view, the distinction is unavailing. The court ignores the fact that LeBrun carried his cellular phone in his pocket during the entire interview. He was free to make and receive calls during the entire interview. The videotape of the interview shows that LeBrun telephoned his wife from the Highway Patrol Station during the course of the interview. Thus, unlike the defendant in United States v. Hanson, 237 F.3d 961, 965 (8th Cir.2001) (finding “custody” because, among other things, the defendant was dependent on authorities for transportation back to his residence), LeBrun was not dependent upon the authorities for transportation. LeBrun could have easily arranged for alternative transportation by calling a coworker, a friend, a relative, his spouse, or even a taxicab.
The court also recites facts from which it concludes that this interview was conducted in a police-dominated environment and in a coercive manner. Specifically, the court notes the small dimensions of the interview room, the agents’ admittedly coercive interview tactics, and the agents’ misrepresentation of the evidence they had collected against LeBrun. As the majority correctly notes, however, “a noncustodial situation is not converted to one in which Miranda applies simply because ... the questioning took place in a ‘coercive environment.’ ” Mathiason, 429 U.S. at 495, 97 S.Ct. 711. Indeed, “[a]ny interview of one suspected of a crime by a police officer will have coercive aspects to it, simply by virtue of the fact that the police officer is part of a law enforcement system which may ultimately cause the suspect to be charged with a crime.” Id. The fact that the atmosphere was police-dominated is unsurprising, as the interview took place in a highway patrol station. Also, the fact that the agents exaggerated the amount of evidence that had been collected against LeBrun bears little on the custody issue. Id. at 495-96, 97 S.Ct. 711 (stating that fact that officer lied about finding defendant’s fingerprints at the scene of the crime had “nothing to do with whether respondent was in custody for purposes of the Miranda rule”). Thus, the facts upon which the court relies do not distinguish this case from Mathiason; rather, the Mathiason Court considered analogous facts and concluded that they did not convert a noncustodial interview into a custodial interrogation. Cf. Mathiason, 429 U.S. at 494, 97 S.Ct. 711 (recognizing that the interview took place behind closed doors, that the officer told the defendant that he was a suspect, and that the officer falsely told the defendant that the police had evidence against him).
In addition, the court overstates the coercive aspects of. this interview in an attempt to distinguish Mathiason. LeBrun was never physically restrained. He was never placed in handcuffs. Unlike the defendant in Hanson, LeBrun was transported to the Highway Patrol Station in the front seat of an unlocked patrol vehicle. As aforementioned, LeBrun had his cellular phone with him during the interview, and he called his wife from the interview room. While the mere possession of a cellular phone .without more will not transform a custodial interrogation into a noncustodial one, it is relevant to the question *559of whether the interview was coercive and whether a reasonable person in the same circumstances would feel restrained. See United States v. Unser, 165 F.3d 755, 766 (10th Cir.) (noting that use of a cellular phone during an interview is a factor supporting a finding of no custody), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 809, 120 S.Ct. 40, 145 L.Ed.2d 86 (1999). The cellular phone provided LeBrun a line of communication between himself and the outside world. The possession of a cellular phone mitigates the incommunicado nature of interrogations with which the Miranda Court was concerned and dulls the psychological pressure associated with being isolated in an interview room.
In its custody analysis, the court simply fails to consider that LeBrun’s age and experience militate against a finding of “custody.” In our objective “custody” analysis, the relevant inquiry is not whether any random reasonable person would have determined that he was “in custody,” but whether a reasonable person in the defendant’s position would have considered his freedom of action restricted to the degree associated with a formal arrest. Feltrop v. Bowersox, 91 F.3d 1178, 1181 (8th Cir.1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1242, 117 S.Ct. 1849, 137 L.Ed.2d 1051 (1997). LeBrun’s age, work experience, education, specifically his legal training, and his past experience with NCIS agents militate against a finding of custody. See United States v. Rorex, 737 F.2d 753, 756 (8th Cir.1984) (stating that the age and experience of the interviewee is a relevant factor in the custody determination). LeBrun is in his mid-fifties. He is a military veteran and is gainfully employed as a manager in a real estate office. He has a college education and has completed one year of law school. In short, LeBrun is an educated, somewhat sophisticated individual. More importantly, LeBrun had past experience and dealings with NCIS investigators. NCIS agents interviewed LeBrun on four different occasions. Significantly, in none of the prior interviews was Le-Brun placed under arrest. Thus, on this occasion, after learning that the interviewers were NCIS agents, LeBrun could draw upon his experiences with other NCIS agents to conclude that he likely would not be arrested here. LeBrun would have no reason to disbelieve the agents when they explicitly informed him before entering the Highway Patrol Station that he was not under arrest and that he was free to leave at any time. LeBrun-also would have no reason to disbelieve the agents when they told him on three separate occasions during the interview that he was free to leave and that he could go home. In fact, the district court explicitly found that at the start of the interview LeBrun believed he could terminate the interview and leave if he wanted to. (R. at 62.) The fact that Agents Early and Grebas did not arrest LeBrun after the interview supports the conclusion that LeBrun was not “in custody.” See United States v. Sutera, 933 F.2d 641, 647 (8th Cir.1991) (stating that it was a “very important” fact that the officers did not contemplate arresting the defendant).
Viewing the totality of the circumstances, I conclude that a reasonable, college educated, and legally trained person who has had prior experience with the practice and procedure of a particular law enforcement organization, who willingly agreed to be interviewed, who was specifically told on four different occasions during the course of the interview that he was not under arrest or could go home, and who could easily facilitate transportation from the interview site via cellular phone would not have perceived that his freedom of action was restrained to the degree associated with formal arrest. I conclude that this case is controlled by Mathiason in all relevant respects and, accordingly, *560would reverse the judgment of the district court.
Likewise, I do not agree with the conclusion that LeBrun’s incriminating statements were compelled. The appropriate test for determining whether a confession was involuntarily made is whether the totality of the circumstances surrounding the confession indicates that “the defendant’s will was overborne and his capacity for self-determination critically impaired.” United States v. Astello, 241 F.3d 965, 967 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 533 U.S. 962, 121 S.Ct. 2621, 150 L.Ed.2d 774 (2001). This requires that we look at “both the conduct of agents and [the defendant’s] capacity to resist pressure to confess.” Id.
Neither Agent Grebas nor Agent Early was armed during the interview. (R. at 62.) The district court found that the agents never shouted at LeBrun (R. at 61) or physically threatened him (R. at 68). Review of the interview videotape demonstrates that this finding is not clearly erroneous. The government concedes, however, that it used psychological coercion to facilitate a conféssion. While some of the psychological pressure employed in this case was creative, much of it was standard interview technique, and the government’s use of such tactics does not render a confession involuntary per se. For example, we have previously held that tactics such as subjecting a suspect to psychological pressure, making false promises, playing on a suspect’s emotions, and using his family against him did not render a confession involuntary. Astello, 241 F.3d at 967-68. The court correctly recognizes that the type of psychological pressure Agents Grebas and Early exerted on LeBrun here did not alone render his conféssion involuntary. The court concludes, however, that these tactics, when coupled with the agents’ statements concerning nonprosecution, rendered his confession involuntary. I most respectfully disagree.
It is unclear if any promise was even made here. The transcript demonstrates that Agent Grebas qualified his statements, stating that it was only “possible” that LeBrun would not be, prosecuted. (Tr. at 20-21.) In addition, it is unclear what the promise-if any-was. It is unclear whether the agents told LeBrun that he could not be prosecuted for murder or whether the agents simply told LeBrun that he could not be prosecuted for “spontaneous murder.” Finally, the district court explicitly rejected the magistrate judge’s findings regarding the alleged promises not to prosecute. The district court found only that “LeBrun believed he would not be prosecuted if he confessed to a ‘spontaneous’ murder.” (R. at 83-84.) The district court did “not make any findings as to what-if any-promise was actually made, or what the legal effect of any promise [was].” (Id.) Thus, our court relies upon facts the district court specifically declined to find. Applying the facts as actually found by the district court, I conclude that LeBrun’s confession was not compelled because a defendant’s mistaken belief that he could not be prosecuted does not render a confession involuntary. See United States v. Kilgore, 58 F.3d 350, 353 (8th Cir.1995) (stating that defendant’s mistaken belief that he had been promised leniency would not render confession involuntary); Winfrey v. Wyrick, 836 F.2d 406, 411-12 (8th Cir.1987) (concluding that defendant’s murder confession was voluntary even though defendant was encouraged to talk because of erroneous belief that if the shooting was accidental it would negate an element of the offense), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 833, 109 S.Ct. 91, 102 L.Ed.2d 67 (1988).
Moreover, even assuming that a reasonable person would view the agents’ statements as a promise, a promise made by law enforcement officers is only one relevant consideration in assessing police con*561duct and does not render a confession involuntary per se. See Simmons v. Bowersox, 235 F.3d 1124, 1133 (8th Cir.2001), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 122 S.Ct. 280, 151 L.Ed.2d 206 (2001); see also Tippitt v. Lockhart, 859 F.2d 595, 598 (8th Cir.1988) (holding that a custodial statement given in exchange for a promise that the defendant would not be charged with capital felony murder “was the product of his rational and voluntary decision and that the officers’ promise did not coerce or overbear his free will”), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1100, 109 S.Ct. 2452, 104 L.Ed.2d 1007 (1989). Thus, in United States -v. Larry, 126 F.3d 1077 (8th Cir.1997), we held that the defendant’s statement implicating himself as being a felon in possession of ammunition was voluntary even though it was induced by a promise that the defendant would not be prosecuted for a separate offense involving a drive-by shooting. Id. at 1079. After viewing the interview videotape, I do not seriously doubt that the discussions concerning non-prosecution were the but-for causes of Le-Brun’s confession. That is, LeBrun might not have confessed absent the discussion not to prosecute. The Court has indicated, however, that in the context of determining the voluntariness of a confession, a but-for type analysis is inadequate. Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 224, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973) (“Under such a test, virtually no statement would be voluntary because very few people give incriminating statements in the absence of official action of some kind.”). Instead, courts must look at the totality of the circumstances surrounding the confession and balance the complex of values implicated in questioning a subject. Even accounting for any potentially coercive impact that Agent Early’s and Agent Gre-bas’s statements might have had on Le-Brun, I conclude that his confession was freely and voluntarily made and was not the product of unconstitutional compulsion.
I place substantial weight on the fact that LeBrun confessed after a mere thirty-three minutes of conversation with the agents. Thus, this is not a situation where the agents wore down a defendant’s will with persistent questioning over a considerable length of time. I also place significant weight on the fact that LeBrun testified that he had a subjective understanding of his Miranda rights at the time of the interview. (R. at 61.) See Simmons, 235 F.3d at 1133-34 (stating that a particularly compelling fact militating in favor of finding a voluntary confession was that defendant understood his rights). I also place substantial weight on the fact that LeBrun was a sophisticated individual with legal training. As we have noted, “one of the key concerns in judging whether confessions were involuntary, or the product of coercion, [is] the intelligence, mental state, or any other factors possessed by the defendant that might make him particularly suggestible, and susceptible to having his will overborne.” Wilson v. Lawrence County, 260 F.3d 946, 952 (8th Cir.2001).
LeBrun did not display any unique sensitivity that would indicate the police might overbear his will. LeBrun had met with NCIS investigators on four prior occasions. The videotape demonstrates that LeBrun was aware of his surroundings and the circumstances confronting him. In fact, as LeBrun and the agents discuss the potential statute of limitations problems, LeBrun becomes more animated and much more interested in the interview. After watching the videotape, I conclude that LeBrun is an intelligent, calculating person who erroneously perceived a potential “out” or loophole in the prosecution’s case and tried to take advantage of it by confessing to “spontaneous” murder. Whatever his motivation, we rarely conclude, absent physical coercion, that a confession *562was made against a person’s free will unless the person is of extremely low intelligence or otherwise impaired. Compare Wilson, 260 F.3d at 953-54 (affirming denial of qualified immunity on coerced confession claim where defendant was mentally handicapped), with Astello, 241 F.3d at 968 (recognizing fact that defendant had completed eleventh grade and was generally mature supported a finding that statement was voluntary); Simmons, 235 F.3d at 1133-34 (finding confession of juvenile defendant with full scale IQ of 88 was voluntary where officers interrogated him for over two hours, threatened him with the death penalty, and lied about the evidence against him); Tippitt, 859 F.2d at 598 (concluding that confession of defendant with eleventh grade education was voluntary even though it was given in exchange for promise not to pursue capital sentence); Winfrey, 836 F.2d at 408 (finding confession voluntary where defendant had dull-normal IQ and mental age of 14 or 15), 411 (collecting cases). The court’s decision departs from the general trend of our cases. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.