Court Opinion

ID: 9467448
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 01:49:05.846929+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:40:21.095282
License: Public Domain

ADAMS, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the result reached by Chief Judge Seitz because, in my view, Mesa’s statements were made in the course of a colloquy that is not an “interrogation,” as that term was recently defined by the Supreme Court in Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1980).
Several factors lead me to conclude that Agent Viater was not interrogating Mesa. Viater spoke with Mesa in an attempt to defuse an admittedly delicate and volatile situation, which presented a tangible danger of suicide or other violence. Mesa indicated that he wished to talk to the agent, because he was in need of a sympathetic listener to whom he could vent his confused and tortured mind. Viater acted not as a *590questioner, but primarily as a listener. The conversation between Viater and Mesa was nonadversarial and noninquisitive in nature, and Viater’s empathetic tone conveyed little of the subtle compulsion that characterizes police interrogation.1 The concern expressed in Miranda that a defendant might be “subjugated to the will of the examiner” is not present here. See 384 U.S. 436, 457-58, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1618-19, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). The comments interjected by the agent were not designed to elicit an incriminating response from Mesa, but were calculated to convey sympathy and understanding, to indicate that Viater was still listening, and to keep Mesa from dwelling on thoughts of suicide. The agent’s prime motivation was to achieve a peaceful resolution of the confrontation, and it was only by talking to Mesa about his fears and recent events that Viater could hope to bring about this goal.2 Indeed, when Viater asked Mesa to elaborate on his contention that he was provoked, he did so not to lure him into a confession, but to encourage him to continue expressing his concerns. This was necessary to allay Mesa’s feeling that his life was over.
Moreover, it appears that Mesa’s incriminating statements alluding to the shooting and his motivations for the act were made of his own volition. After indicating a desire to talk to someone so that he might be dissuaded from killing himself, Mesa proceeded to pour out his heart to Viater, virtually uninterrupted. The agent made few comments until several minutes into the monologue. When he did speak, his scant remarks were more in the nature of indications that he was listening than of coercive hints designed to channel the one-way conversation into incriminating admissions. In my view, the impression to be gleaned from the entire exchange between Mesa and Viater is of voluntary revelations made by an admittedly troubled person who had sought the opportunity to tell his story to a compassionate listener.
Admittedly, in light of the lower court’s finding that Viater had a secondary purpose of gathering possible evidence, the question of whether Mesa was subjected to interrogation is an extremely close one. My conclusion that the statements are admissible is compelled by the realization that it would be impractical and counterproductive to require Miranda warnings to be given in such a sensitive situation fraught with a potential for tragedy. The success of a negotiating mission such as the one undertaken by Agent Viater is ultimately dependent, on establishing an atmosphere of trust and understanding. It was crucial for Viater to convince Mesa that his aim was to provide help and a sympathetic ear. If the agent had been required to commence the conversation with the Miranda warnings, he would have created an adversarial atmosphere from the outset. The reading of the warnings would no doubt have eradicated any possibility for establishing trust and understanding. In attempting to negotiate the peaceful surrender of a suspect or hostages, law enforcement personnel should not be forced to make a pressured judgment as to whether reading the Miranda warnings would deter the suspect from talking, when it is the chance to engage the suspect in a dialogue that holds the main hope for saving lives. The delicacy of the position in which an agent might find himself is amply demonstrated by this case, where Mesa stressed that he would have killed himself if he had not talked to Viater.
Because I conclude that the exchange between Viater and the agent did not constitute an interrogation for the purpose of the Miranda rule, I do not find it necessary to address the difficult issue whether Mesa *591was “in custody,” although I concede that this is a proposition not free from doubt.3
One further word: Despite the sensitive law enforcement needs which militate against the use of Miranda warnings in a situation such as that presented here, I feel constrained to add the observation that the government may nevertheless deem it advisable to refrain from relying on these statements at trial. Just as reading the Miranda warnings may be counterprodi^tive, a similar danger may be presented when statements obtained in trust and confidence are later used against the accused. In light of the necessity of creating an atmosphere conducive to encouraging the suspect to talk to the agents, and the repeated assurances given here that Viater was a friend seeking to help, and a person whom Mesa could trust completely, the use of these statements may undermine the trust that is so crucial to the success of surrender-negotiation missions. Once alerted to the possibility that the government may abuse or breach the trust by not adhering to its assurances of aid and friendship, suspects may be more reluctant to negotiate with the police. The final judgment, however, regarding the fairness or desirability of recording and introducing statements obtained in situations such as the present one is, I believe, a policy decision for the executive branch.

. In Innis the Court indicated that “interrogation,” as conceptualized in the Miranda opinion, must reflect a measure of compulsion above and beyond that inherent in custody itself. 446 U.S. at 301, 100 S.Ct. at 1690, 64 L.Ed.2d 297.

. Although the Innis test is largely objective, the Court emphasized that the intentions of the police are relevant to the extent that practices or remarks that are not designed to elicit an incriminating response may not amount to “interrogation.” 446 U.S. at 301, nn. 7 & 9, 100 S.Ct. at 1690 nn. 7 & 9, 64 L.Ed.2d 297.

. It has been suggested that we are precluded from re-examining whether Mesa was subjected to custodial interrogation inasmuch as this is a factual determination within the province of the trial court. Such a proposition, however, would appear to be based on a fundamental misconstruction of the nature of the inquiry in Miranda cases. “Custodial interrogation” is a legal term of art central to Miranda jurisprudence, and a decision whether or not “custodial interrogation” occurred is a matter of law to be determined in accordance with the policies underlying the Miranda rule. The legal nature of the determination is evidenced by the numerous Supreme Court decisions deciding whether certain facts constitute “custody” or “interrogation.” See, e.g., Rhode Island v. Innis, 48 U.S.L.W. 4506 (May 12, 1980); Oregon v. Mathiason, 429 U.S. 492 (1977); Orozco v. Texas, 394 U.S. 325 (1965). Accordingly, an appellate court is free to re-examine the trial court's legal conclusion as to the applicability of the Miranda rule. The standard of appellate review does not change simply because the legal determination in a Miranda situation depends on the particular facts of each case.