Court Opinion

ID: 9779731
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 00:41:27.499984+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:33:39.351738
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE NEVILLE, dissenting: I respectfully dissent because I believe the trial court’s finding that Polk knowingly and intelligently waived his right to remain silent is against the manifest weight of the evidence. When a defendant challenges the admissibility of his confession, the State bears the burden of proving that the defendant confessed voluntarily. People v. Braggs, 209 Ill. 2d 492, 505 (2004). As part of that burden, the State must prove that the defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his Miranda rights. Braggs, 209 Ill. 2d at 505. Before police interrogate a suspect in custody, they must give him three separate, but related, warnings. They must warn him that the State may use against him any statement he makes, they must inform him that he has the right to counsel, and they must inform him that he has a right to remain silent. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 475, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 724, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 1628 (1966). If the defendant does not understand these rights, he cannot knowingly and intelligently waive them. Braggs, 209 Ill. 2d at 514-15. Thus, to introduce a confession into evidence, the State must show that the defendant had “a full awareness of both the nature of the right being abandoned and the consequences of the decision to abandon it.” Patterson v. Illinois, 487 U.S. 285, 292, 101 L. Ed. 2d 261, 272, 108 S. Ct. 2389, 2395 (1988). To assess the defendant’s understanding of his rights, the trial court should consider his background, experience and conduct. Braggs, 209 Ill. 2d at 515. Polk, 17 years old at the time of questioning, read at the level of a seven-year-old child. Moreover, Polk had an IQ of 70, indicating extremely low intellectual functioning. Sergeant Barz asked Polk whether he understood what the right to remain silent meant. Polk shook his head to indicate no. Sergeant Barz never explained the right to remain silent to Polk. Instead, Sergeant Barz warned Polk that the State could use against him any statements he made, and he informed Polk of his right to an attorney. Sergeant Barz told Polk he could waive his right to remain silent and make a statement if he wished to do so. Again, Sergeant Barz asked Polk if he understood, and Polk said, “What, what was that last one?” Sergeant Barz never explained to Polk that he had a right not to answer any of the questions the police asked him, and he never explained that Polk could stop the police from questioning him by invoking his right to remain silent. Sergeant Barz simply plowed ahead with substantive questioning without taking any further steps to ensure that Polk understood his rights. In this case, after reviewing the record, I found that the trial court’s finding was against the manifest weight of the evidence because the evidence shows that Polk, a 17-year-old with extremely low intellectual functioning, never in any way indicated that he had even a marginal understanding of his right to remain silent. Polk did not understand what the right to remain silent meant so he could not knowingly and intelligently waive his right to remain silent. Here, the trial court should have granted Polk’s motion and suppressed his confession because the State failed to prove that Polk confessed voluntarily. Therefore, I would reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial because, without a knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to remain silent, Polk did not confess voluntarily.