Court Opinion

ID: 9693874
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 17:05:44.928042+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:51.407478
License: Public Domain

Concurring/Dissenting opinion by
DAVIS, J.
Most respectfully, I must dissent from the Majority opinion’s determination that appellant’s confession was voluntary. We are instructed by the Court of Appeals, in Winder v. State, 362 Md. 275, 309, 765 A.2d 97 (2001), and Hillard v. State, 286 *90Md. 145, 406 A.2d 415 (1979), that a confession made in reliance on an improper promise of assistance by an interrogating officer or an agent of the police always will be deemed involuntary under Maryland and non-constitutional common law. Winder explains that “an improper promise or inducement” occurs when “an accused is told, or it is implied, that making an inculpatory statement will be to his advantage, in that he will be given help or some special consideration.” 362 Md. at 308, 765 A.2d 97.
“The trial court’s determination regarding whether a confession was made voluntarily is a mixed question of law and fact.” Winder, 362 Md. at 310-11, 765 A.2d 97. An appellate court undertakes a de novo review of the trial judge’s ultimate determination on the issue of voluntariness. Id. We do not look, however, at the trial record for additional information, nor do we engage in de novo fact-finding. Cartnail v. State, 359 Md. 272, 279, 753 A.2d 519 (2000). Appellate review of a circuit court’s denial of a motion to suppress is limited to the record of the suppression hearing. Winder, 362 Md. at 310-11, 765 A.2d 97. As the State was the prevailing party on the motion, we consider the facts as found by the trial court, and the reasonable inferences from those facts, in the light most favorable to the State. Cartnail, 359 Md. at 282, 753 A.2d 519.
In Knight v. State, 381 Md. 517, 850 A.2d 1179 (2004), the interrogating officer made the following statement: “[I]f down the line, after this case comes to an end, we’ll see what the State’s Attorney can do for you, with your case, with your charges[.]” 381 Md. at 537, 850 A.2d 1179. The Court of Appeals, referring to footnote 14 of the opinion, held this statement to be an improper inducement. Footnote 14 had chronicled statements held to be inducements in prior decisions: “I can make you a promise, Okay? I can help you. I could try to protect you.” Winder, 362 Md. at 289, 765 A.2d 97; “If you’re telling me the truth ... I will go to bat for you.” Hillard, 286 at 153, 406 A.2d 415; “It would be better for [you] if [you] make a statement because if [you] did they would try to get [you] put on probation.” Streams v. State, *91238 Md. 278, 281, 208 A.2d 614 (1965). Certainly, reference to disposition of a suspect’s “case” or “charges” graphically induces one to be compliant, but, as I read Knight, the emphasis there was on the officer assuming the role of advocate, much like legal counsel would advocate for a client.
At the outset, I do not take issue with any of the decisional authority cited by the Majority. Were it within our purview to credit appellant’s testimony on the motion, his rendition of what occurred, i.e., that he would receive help in getting into a program and Detective Brew would help him get into a program instead of doing some time, would certainly have constituted an inducement. Keeping in mind that, upon appellate review, we do not engage in de novo fact-finding and, as the Majority points out, the motions court did not find appellant’s testimony credible, his version of what occurred is of no moment. That leaves us, then, with the testimony of Detective Brew. Considering his testimony in the light most favorable to the State, in my view, it held out at least an expectation that Detective Brew would go to bat for appellant. A promise will be deemed an inducement if it was made explicitly or implicitly; it need not be expressed.
In the case at hand, Detective Brew was asked on cross-examination, “And did you say that you could help him with that?” (Referring to his earlier statement that, “I think I said that we might be able to get him some through the State’s Attorney or Parole and Probation or that the programs are run through them.”) Detective Brew had indicated that he “couldn’t do it, but might be able to through the State’s Attorney.” The majority opinion seeks to ameliorate the effect of Detective Brew’s testimony by asserting that, taken in context, the statement is no more than information regarding the agencies that are responsible for administering drug treatment programs.
The critical language from Knight as it is relevant here is:
If the court concludes that the confession was made in
reliance on an improper inducement, the confession may not *92be admitted as evidence at trial, (citing Winder, 362 Md. at 309, 765 A.2d 97)
The first prong of the Hillard test is an objective one. The suspect’s subjective belief that he or she will be advantaged in some way by confessing is irrelevant. The trial court instead determines whether the interrogating officers or an agent of the police made a threat, promise, or inducement. Winder, 362 Md. at 311, 765 A.2d. at 116. An improper promise or inducement occurs when “an accused is told, or it is implied, that making an inculpatory statement will be to his advantage, in that he will be given help or some special consideration.” 362 Md. at 308, 765 A.2d at 115.
As noted previously, we undertake a de novo review of the trial judge’s ultimate determination on the issue of voluntariness. Winder, 362 Md. at 310-11, 765 A.2d 97. Detective Brew attempted to refine his earlier testimony by adopting the substance of the prosecutor’s question, “But you told them that the State’s Attorney or Parole and Probation might be able to help him,” by saying, “7 could talk to them about that, for him to get into a program” That, in my view, constitutes a promise, under Knight, that he “will be given help.” More to the point, the Court of Appeals in Knight found the statement under consideration to be an inducement because it “was clearly a promise to exercise advocacy on Knight’s behalf to convince the prosecutor to exercise discretion in Knight’s favor.” Id. at 537, 850 A.2d 1179. Moreover, according to Detective Brew’s testimony, he did not advise appellant that the drug treatment program would be available to him after conviction or in conjunction with, rather than instead of, incarceration.
The law is clear that the voluntariness of a confession is vitiated by an improper inducement, in order to obtain a confession, without more. In my judgment, when Detective Brew testified that he advised appellant that he could “talk to them about that, for him to get into a program,” he assumed the role of an advocate, thereby rendering his statement an inducement rather than simply an indication that he would *93report the circumstances of the interrogation to the prosecutor. I see very little difference between Detective Brew’s offer of assistance that “We might be able to get him some through the State’s Attorney or Parole and Probation,” and the statement in Streams that, if the accused made a statement, “they would try to get you put on probation.” In both instances, there is at least an implicit suggestion that assistance in obtaining drug treatment or in getting on probation would be forthcoming if the suspect cooperated by giving a statement.
Because I believe, on remand, the lower court can only find that appellant, at least tacitly, was led to believe giving a statement would result in Detective Brew acting on his behalf as an advocate or sponsor for his acceptance in a drug program, I would conclude, on the present record, that the statement is not voluntary.