Court Opinion

ID: 9713228
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 05:11:26.934472+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:08:16.052737
License: Public Domain

DUFFY, Justice
(concurring):
I concur in the judgment of the Court ordering a remand to the Superior Court, but I write separately because my analysis differs somewhat from that of the majority.
First, as to jurisdiction, I agree that the State has a statutory right of appeal under 10 Del.C. § 9902(b). Given the special circumstances of this case (in which the Trial Judge ordered the jury sworn over the State’s objection), I would construe the “before trial” requirement of § 9902(b) to mean before the presentation of evidence to the jury. Since the Trial Court’s order was entered before that event, the State has a right to appeal.1
Second, as to the substantive issue, all of the significant Delaware case law concerning the “voluntariness” of a statement used in a criminal case involved a statement given by a defendant in the case. The settled test for the admission of such a statement required the State to show, among other things, that the statement had been given “free of any promises ... by others.” See, for example, State v. Winsett, Del.Super., 238 A.2d 821 (1968), aff’d Del.Supr., 251 A.2d 199 (1968).
In announcing the test for voluntariness to be applied under 11 Del.C. § 3507(a), that is, to a statement given not by a defendant but by a third person, this Court adopted the same test used when the State offers in evidence a statement given by a defendant. Hatcher v. State, Del.Supr., 337 A.2d 30 (1975). It now seems to me, however, that this is too broad and should be modified. In saying-this, I emphasize that we are concerned here with a statement given by a witness, not with a statement given by a defendant.
In my view, the requirement that a § 3507(a) statement be “voluntary” should not include a requirement that it have been given “free of any promise” by another. Such a condition, at least in the context of this case, goes to the reliability or trustworthiness of the statement, rather than to its voluntary character. Such factors as those are, of course, relevant to the jury consideration of the case. “Promises” such as the expectation of a reward or a promise of leniency arising out of a plea bargain are material to the issue of reliability or trustworthiness but do not, in my judgment, make a statement involuntary (and thus inadmissible) as a matter of law under § 3507(a). There is one important caveat, however: if the promise was so extravagant or made such an impression upon the witness that, under the totality of the circumstances, his will was “overborne,” then of course the statement is involuntary and thus inadmissible. Hatcher v. State, supra; State v. Winsett, supra.
In his findings and rulings, the Trial Judge did not draw the distinction which I think is called for under § 3507(a) between reliability of the statement given by the witness and the voluntary nature of that statement. Accordingly, I think that a remand is necessary.

. The appeal presents an important question of procedure governing the admission, under 11 Del.C. § 3507(a), of a statement by a witness. Construing § 9902(b) to permit the State to appeal (as of right) the Trial Court’s ruling on § 3507(a) does not require any consideration of a double jeopardy issue. As to that, see Crist v. Bretz, 437 U.S. 28, 98 S.Ct. 2156, 2161, 57 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978).