Court Opinion

ID: 9565601
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:24:15.301365+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:19:46.707449
License: Public Domain

Herd, J.,
dissenting: As in the case of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, 86 S.Ct. 1602 (1966), we are confronted with the question of the restraints our society must observe to comply with state and federal constitutional guarantees against self-incrimination in prosecuting individuals for crime.
*547As Justice Stevens wrote in his concurring opinion in Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387, 415, 51 L.Ed.2d 424, 97 S.Ct. 1232 (1977): “Nothing that we write, no matter how well reasoned or forcefully expressed, can bring back the victim of this tragedy.” However, the heinous nature of the crime should not dim our view of the constitutional principles involved. They live on after us and affect everyone. The issue here is the voluntariness of a confession. The legal standard for voluntariness is whether the confession is “the product of a rational intellect and a free will.” Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U.S. 199, 208, 4 L.Ed.2d 242, 80 S.Ct. 274 (1960). Blackburn also held that a confession may be extracted by psychological methods as surely as by physical abuse. In the case of psychological coercion a court should consider the intensity of the psychological pressure employed and the potential for deceit arising as a result of the accused’s susceptibility to such pressure, measured by his maturity, education, intelligence, experience and physical condition.
In State v. Newfield, 229 Kan. 347, 357, 623 P.2d 1349 (1981), we set forth some of the factors and principles to be considered in determining the voluntariness of an accused’s confession:
“In determining the voluntariness of a confession, it is to be viewed in light of the totality of circumstances, including the following factors: (1) The duration and manner of interrogation; (2) the accused’s ability upon request to communicate with the outside world; (3) the accused’s age, intellect and background; and (4) the fairness of the officers in conducting the interrogation. Essential to the inquiry is the determination that the statement was the product of the free and independent will of the accused. If the accused was not deprived of his free choice to admit, deny or refuse to answer, the statement may be considered voluntary. [Citations omitted.] The burden of proving the statement was voluntary rests with the State. State v. Kanive, 221 Kan. at 35. When the trial court conducts a preliminary inquiry, determines the confession to be voluntarily and intelligently given, and admits the statement into evidence at trial, the findings of the trial court are to be upheld on appellate review if supported by substantial, competent evidence. State v. Levier, 226 Kan. 461, 462, 601 P.2d 1116 (1979).”
With the foregoing rules in mind and with recognition that we regularly reaffirm our dedication to the foregoing principles, let us review the undisputed facts in this case.
Michael R. Waugh came under suspicion as the possible murderer of John Edward Longbine. Prior to interrogation, Waugh was properly administered the Miranda warning. He gave the officers some untrue but inculpatory statements wherein he admitted he had the victim in his car and that he disposed of the *548body. He was then arrested and consented to submit to a polygraph test to prove the truth of his prior statements. The test took two hours. Immediately after the test, Bruce Howell, the polygraph operator, interrogated Waugh. The interrogation took place in a jail setting. Mr. Howell advised Waugh he wanted to help him. He stated he knew Waugh had alcohol problems for which he needed professional assistance. Howell assured Waugh he did not really blame him for the crime but blamed alcohol. Howell then said there were two areas of the polygraph test which showed Waugh was not truthful. After repeated assurances by Howell that the only reason for the interview was to help Waugh and that he was interested in finding Longbine’s body to give it a Christian burial, Waugh confessed.
In the course of the interrogation, both before and after the arrest, Waugh was denied the privilege of talking to his wife.
Miranda contains a detailed discussion of this type of interrogational atmosphere. It states:
“Again we stress that the modern practice of in-custody interrogation is psychologically rather than physically oriented. As we have stated before, ‘Since Chambers v. Florida, 309 U.S. 227 [, 84 L.Ed. 716,60 S. Ct. 472 (1940)], this Court has recognized that coercion can be mental as well as physical, and that the blood of the accused is not the only hallmark of an unconstitutional inquisition.’ Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U.S. 199, 206[, 4 L.Ed.2d 242, 80 S.Ct. 274] (1960). Interrogation still takes place in privacy. Privacy results in secrecy and this in turn results in a gap in our knowledge as to what in fact goes on in the interrogation rooms. A valuable source of information about present police practices, however, may be found in various police manuals and texts which document procedures employed with success in the past, and which recommend various other effective tactics. These tests are used by law enforcement agencies themselves as guides. It should be noted that these tests professedly present the most enlightened and effective means presently used to obtain statements through custodial interrogation. By considering these texts and other data, it is possible to describe procedures observed and noted around the country.
“The officers are told by the manuals that the ‘principal psychological factor contributing to a successful interrogation is privacy — being alone with the person under interrogation.’ The efficacy of this tactic has been explained as follows:
‘If at all practicable, the interrogation should take place in the investigator’s office or at least in a room of his own choice. The subject should be deprived of every psychological advantage. In his own home he may be confident, indignant, or recalcitrant. He is more keenly aware of his rights and more reluctant to tell of his indiscretions or criminal behavior within the walls of his home. Moreover his family and other friends are nearby, their presence lending moral support. In his own office, the investigator possesses all the *549advantages. The atmosphere suggests the invincibility of the forces of the law.’
“To highlight the isolation and unfamiliar surroundings, the manuals instruct the police to display an air of confidence in the suspect’s guilt and from outward appearance to maintain only an interest in confirming certain details. The guilt of the subject is to be posited as a fact. The interrogator should direct his comments toward the reasons why the subject committed the act, rather than court failure by asking the subject whether he did it. Like other men, perhaps the subject has had a bad family life, had an unhappy childhood, had too much to drink, had an unrequited desire for women. The officers are instructed to minimize the moral seriousness of the offense, to cast the blame on the victim or on society. These tactics are designed to put the subject in a psychological state where his story is but an elaboration of what the police purport to know already — that he is guilty. Explanations to the contrary are dismissed and discouraged.” 384 U.S. at 448-50.
The techniques utilized by the investigators in the present case were clearly designed to deprive the defendant of every possible psychological advantage. The interrogation, with its inaccurate statements and representations by the interrogating officer, coupled with the jail-like setting, overcame the will of Waugh. By no stretch of imagination can it be said Waugh’s statement was a product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice. It was the product of implied promises to help him, cajolery, and inaccurate assertions of the interrogator’s purpose. The officer was not interested in “helping” Waugh, nor was he interested in obtaining a Christian burial for Mr. Longbine. He was interested only in overcoming Waugh’s will and obtaining his confession.
Under these facts I find no evidence to support the trial court’s findings and am convinced Waugh’s will was overcome, rendering his confession involuntary.
In cases such as this, where a terrible crime has been committed and there is probable cause the accused committed the crime, our natural inclination is to believe we must fight fire with fire and use any means available to rid society of this threat. This is the rule of expediency, which is exactly the practice the rule of law was designed to eliminate. Let us again look at Miranda, at p. 460, where the Court gave an excellent review of the privilege, stating:
“Thus we may view the historical development of the privilege as one which groped for the proper scope of governmental power over the citizen. As a ‘noble principle often transcends its origins,’ the privilege has come rightfully to be recognized in part as an individual’s substantive right, a ‘right to a private enclave where he may lead a private life. That right is the hallmark of our democracy.’ United States v. Grunewald, 233 F.2d 556, 579, 581-82 (Frank, J., *550dissenting), rev’d, 353 U.S. 391 (1957). We have recently noted that the privilege against self-incrimination — the essential mainstay of our adversary system — is founded on a complex of values, Murphy v. Waterfront Comm’n, 378 U.S. 52, 55-57, n. 5[, 12 L.Ed.2d 678, 682, 84 S.Ct. 1594] (1964); Tehan v. Shott, 382 U.S. 406, 414-415, n. 12[, 15 L.Ed.2d 453, 86 S.Ct. 459] (1966). All these policies point to one overriding thought: the constitutional foundation underlying the privilege is the respect a government — state or federal — must accord to the dignity and integrity of its citizens. To maintain a ‘fair state-individual balance,’ to require the government ‘to shoulder the entire load,’ 8 Wigmore, Evidence 317 (McNaughton rev. 1961), to respect the inviolability of the human personality, our accusatory system of criminal justice demands that the government seeking to punish an individual produce the evidence against him by its own independent labors, rather than by the cruel, simple expedient of compelling it from his own mouth. Chambers v. Florida, 309 U.S. 227, 235-238[, 84 L.Ed.716, 60 S.Ct. 472] (1940). In sum, the privilege is fulfilled only when the person is guaranteed the right ‘to remain silent unless he chooses to speak in the unfettered exercise of his own will.’ Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 8[, 12 L.Ed.2d 653, 84 S.Ct. 1489] (1964).”
This case is a classic example of violation of an accused’s privilege against self-incrimination. I would reverse and remand for a new trial with directions to suppress all of Waugh’s statements made after his arrest and the evidence found as a result thereof.