Court Opinion

ID: 9456064
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 19:41:08.226075+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:34:50.291632
License: Public Domain

JAMES M. CARTER, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
The majority reverses the convictions on two grounds. (1) Insufficient evidence to support the conspiracy conviction, and (2) Bekowies’ statements were the product of impermissible police interrogation and should not have been admitted. I agree with the majority on the first point. I cannot, however, accept the conclusion of my brethren on the second.
The admissibility of Bekowies’ statements to the police was thoroughly considered by the trial court at the suppression hearing. Bekowies and three investigating officers testified. The judge found “certainly no custody situation [was] involved on February 14 * * * Apparently [Bekowies] thought that he couldn’t leave, but he had no reasonable reason * * * I would say that this case falls squarely within Lowe v. United States, except that I don’t even think it gets that far.” Relying on the same legal standard and evidence considered by the trial court, but without the opportunity to have heard and observed the witnesses, the majority concludes that Bekowies was in custody or significantly deprived of his liberty. I cannot agree.
The majority does not specify which statements of Bekowies should have been excluded by the trial court. In his brief Bekowies summarized the six incriminating statements he felt should have been excluded. They were: (l)hisstatement that he didn’t recognize Davidson’s picture or know anything about him; (2) his statement that Davidson was not there and that his [Bekowies’] wife had the flu; (3) “I did what I had to do.”; (4) “Everyone must do his bit.”; (5) “Well, I’m sorry, Jim [Davidson]. I tried,” all made on February 14, 1969; and (6) “What more is there to say? I already did what I did.” (Rep.Tr. 34). It is clear from the record that statement (6) occurred after Bekowies had been arrested on February 18 on the charge which led to the indictment, given a valid Miranda warning, and had agreed to talk. Statements (3), (4) and (5) were made in the apartment immediately after the arrest of Bekowies on February 14, 1969, on the traffic charge and were not made in response to any police interrogation but were volunteered. Therefore, even assuming the validity of the majority’s custody argument, none of the last four statements should have been excluded, and all would be admissible on a retrial.
The majority twice states “The district court seems to have accepted Bekowies’ testimony, stating that he thought he couldn’t leave.” [Opinion p. 12; p. 12]. Since the subjective thinking of Bekowies is not admissible under the objective standard, as demonstrated hereafter, there is no place in the opinion for a speculation as to whether the court accepted Bekowies’ testimony as to his thoughts and beliefs.
But the majority reverses the conviction relying on Bekowies’ statements that he didn’t recognize Davidson’s picture or know anything about him. These statements were made shortly after Bekowies had been called from the bedroom by Jeffrey Weil. The police first established that Bekowies wasn’t Davidson, then told of the warrant for Davidson and read the provisions of the federal harboring statute. Bekowies denied knowledge of Davidson. As of this time, the majority would insist that a reasonable man would have assumed that Bekowies was subject to in-custody interrogation.
*16The trial court’s finding would concern only statements (1) and (2), since the record clearly shows that statements (3), (4) and (5) were volunteered and (6) was made after the arrest on February 18, on the charges which lead to the indictment and after a full Miranda warning. The trial court also found that Bekowies had no reasonable reason to believe he was in custody and that the case fell squarely within Lowe v. United States (9 Cir. 1969), 407 F.2d 1391. This was a square finding that Bekowies was not in “custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom in any significant way.” Miranda v. United States, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). We think the majority in error in this summary upset of a trial court’s fact finding.
In addition, the facts showed that after Davidson was discovered in 'Bekowies’ apartment, the officers called headquarters to ascertain if any charges were pending against Bekowies and found he was wanted on a warrant for jay walking. We think the officers followed proper police practice in checking to see whether warrants are outstanding for a suspect. There is a public interest in the apprehension of offenders, even traffic violators. However, the majority states “But instead they [the officers] went out of their way to discover some reason (we hesitate to say pretext) apart from the harboring charge for keeping Bekowies in custody, and arrested him finally for a petty traffic offense.” [Opinion p. 14]. Such statements concern no issue in the case and have no place in an opinion of this court.
The majority, although purporting to follow Lowe, supra [407 F.2d 1391], actually departed from it completely. Lowe lays down an objective standard for determining custody (pp. 1396-1397) and considered particularly the intent of the officer. Such an objective standard would equally cover the intent of the defendant. People v. Arnold, 66 Cal.2d 438, 58 Cal.Rptr. 115, 426 P.2d 515 (1967) stated that on retrial the trial court should consider the language used by the Deputy District Attorney, the physical surroundings, “the extent to which the authorities confronted defendant with evidence of her guilt, the pressures exerted to detain defendant, and any other circumstances which might have led defendant reasonably to believe that she could not leave freely.” 66 Cal.2d at 449, 58 Cal.Rptr. at 122, 426 P.2d at 522. [Emphasis added].
See Criminal Law and the Constitution — Sources and Commentaries, published by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Yale Kamisar. Ch. 4 thereof deals with “Custodial Interrogation Within the Meaning of Miranda.” At page 362, Kamisar lists four alternatives, and chooses number (4) :
“What determines whether a person being questioned is ‘in custody’ ? (1) The subjective intention of the questioning officer to hold the person or to arrest him? (2) the degree to which the investigation has ‘focused’ on the person or, a variation of the same approach, whether or not the police have ‘probable cause’ to arrest the person? (3) The subjective belief of the person that he is significantly deprived of his freedom? (4) The belief of the person, as ‘a reasonable man,’ that his freedom is significantly impaired? It is submitted that approach (4) should be controlling.”
In People v. Rodney P. (Anonymous), 21 N.Y.2d 1, 9, 286 N.Y.S.2d 225, 233, 233 N.E.2d 255, 260 (1967), the New York Court of Appeals per Keating, J. held that a defendant was not subjected to “custodial interrogation” and that Miranda warnings need not have been given, relying heavily on People v. Arnold, supra, and the particular language therein, to-wit, “custody occurs if the subject is physically deprived of his freedom in any significant way or is led to believe, as a reasonable person, that he so deprived,” quoting from People v. Arnold, supra, 66 Cal.2d 438 at 448, 58 Cal.Rptr. 115, 426 P.2d 515 [Emphasis add*17ed]; and citing People v. Hazel, 252 Cal.App.2d 412, 442, 60 Cal.Rptr. 437, to the same effect. Judge Keating wrote:
“This [the test applied by the California courts] is the test which we hold to be the most reasonable. It gives effect to the purpose of the Miranda rules; it is not solely dependent either on the self-serving declarations of the police officers or the defendant nor does it place upon the police the burden of anticipating the frailties or idiosyncracies of every person whom they question * * * ”
We think an objective standard means objective both as to any thoughts of the officer and of the defendant. When we look at the majority opinion we see that it is replete with references to testimony of what the defendant Bekowies “felt” or “believed.” Bekowies is quoted as saying “he felt that ‘as long as they had questions to ask me, I was to stay and answer them’ ” ; that he “never felt like I should leave.” [Majority opinion p. 11]. Thereafter the court dismissed the rule in Lowe, supra, and after citing People v. Arnold, supra, and citing with a Cf. People v. Rodney P. (Anonymous), supra, purported to apply the rule. Again Bekowies is quoted as saying “he believed that he was not allowed to leave the room” [Majority opinion, p. 12],
Although couching its conclusion in apparent reliance on the objective standard, to-wit “ * * * Bekowies while talking to Agent McLeod, reasonably believed himself not free to leave,” it is apparent that the majority relied extensively on Bekowies’ subjective thoughts and expressions, Footnote #4 merely compounds the error.
Certainly this is not an application of “an objective standard for determining custody.” The fact to be determined is did the defendant as a reasonable man or did the defendant reasonably believe that he was not free to leave. But the self serving statements of the defendant should not be admissible on this issue any more than the unexpressed intent of the officer in Lowe, supra. Instead of applying the rule of Lowe, Arnold and Rodney, the majority has clearly departed therefrom.
Assuming error was committed, I am convinced it was harmless. 18 U.S.C. § 1071, under which Bekowies was convicted, provides:
“Whoever harbors or conceals any person for whose arrest a warrant or process has been issued under the provisions of any law of the United States, so as to prevent his discovery and arrest, after notice or knowledge of the fact that a warrant or process has been issued for the apprehension of such person, shall be fined * * * or imprisoned * *
It is undisputed that Davidson was a fugitive from an arrest warrant, that he was discovered under Bekowies’ bed, and that Bekowies knew that Davidson was a fugitive from a warrant. Bekowies’ only possible defense would have been that he didn’t know that Davidson was being harbored in his apartment. Yet the evidence rebutting this contention is overwhelming. It reveals: (1) Bekowies was in the bedroom in which Davidson was discovered for at least fifteen minutes shortly before Davidson was found. (2) Bekowies’ wife was on top of the bed at the time Davidson was found. (3) Just after the apprehension, Davidson and Bekowies were heard discussing the disposition of Davidson’s automobile, parked outside the apartment, and Davidson’s clothes which were in the apartment. (4) Bekowies stated: “Everyone must do his bit.” (5) Bekowies came over to Davidson and said, “Well, I’m sorry, Jim. I tried.” (6) In custody, four days after the arrest of Davidson, Bekowies commented, “What more is there to say? I already did what I did.”
I am unable to see how the admission of Bekowies’ statements in response to police interrogation in the apartment added anything of significance to the overwhelming evidence proving that Bekowies was knowingly hiding David*18son to prevent his arrest. Taken from one perspective, the statements helped Bekowies by asserting his contention that he knew nothing of Davidson, in sum, that Davidson had been concealed without his knowledge. Viewed unfavorably to Bekowies, his statements indicated that he was lying to protect Davidson. This conclusion can only be firmly drawn, however, from the overwhelming independent evidence that Bekowies knew Davidson and was actively concealing him. Bekowies’ answers may have been significant in determining the existence of a conspiracy between Bekowies and his roommate Weil. But we agree the conspiracy count should be reversed. It is therefor no longer in the case. As to the harboring charge, we are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, any Miranda error was harmless. Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 84 S.Ct. 229, 11 L.Ed.2d 171 (1967).
The conviction under the conspiracy count should be reversed. The conviction under the harboring count should be sustained.