Court Opinion

ID: 9763362
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 02:43:05.564994+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:41.710777
License: Public Domain

Dissenting Opinion by
Mr. Justice Nix :
I respectfully dissent.
Under the facts of this case, where the police were aware that counsel was retained, that counsel had expressed a desire to be present in the event of interrogation, that no significant delay would have been occasioned by awaiting his presence, and in the absence of any demonstrated prejudice to the Commonwealth, a waiver obtained in counsel’s absence as a matter of law, should have been held invalid.
*221Former Chief Justice Warren at the outset of his opinion for the majority of the Court in Miranda v. Arizona, 884 U.S. 438 (1966), stressed the fact that the issues then raised before the Court presented “questions which go to the roots of our concepts of American criminal jurisprudence: the restraints society must observe consistent with the Federal Constitution in prosecuting individuals for crime.” 384 U.S. at 439. In formulating the procedural safeguards giving meaning to the right against self-incrimination and the right of counsel the Court cautioned that we must be constantly alert to prevent these rights from becoming a form of words in the hands of law enforcement officials. The clear purpose of Miranda was to insure that any incriminatory statement was the product of the free will and the judgment of the suspect after he had been made completely aware of his rights. It was an awareness of the pressures of custodial interrogation and that this type of questioning exacted “a heavy toll on individual liberty and trades upon the weakness of individuals. 384 U.S. at 455. “Unless adequate protective devices are employed to dispel the compulsion inherent in custodial surroundings, no statement obtained from the defendant can truly be the product of his free choice.” 384 U.S. at 458.
The full significance of this mandate is appreciated where the subject, as in the instant case, is a young adult possessing dull-normal intelligence.1 It is admitted that warnings were given the suspect in the in*222stant case but under the circumstances it is my belief that they amounted to no more than a ritualistic recitation without meaning or substance. I agree that Miranda does not expressly direct the presence of engaged counsel at the time a waiver is given. I do not, however, concur in the reasoning of the majority, and the cases upon which they rely, that the mere fact that there was no such expressed direction necessarily justifies a rejection of the contention.2 A prophylactic rule requiring the attorney’s presence at least during the time the waiver is being extracted, I believe, is more consistent with the spirit of the Miranda decision and is the most effective method of achieving the objectives set forth therein. Courts in this stage of the development of our society must be cognizant that we have many individuals who, because of limitations of God-given endowments, are barely capable of dealing with the routine stresses of the world about us. Where, as here, we are concerned with a situation providing unique stresses, taxing even the most gifted in our community, special precaution must be taken to prevent overreaching by police officials.
In the case before us no interest of society would have been prejudiced if the questioning of the defendant had been deferred until the presence of counsel. If, in fact, there was a voluntary and considered judgment by the suspect to unburden his soul by discussing the incident with police officials there is no reason to believe consultation with counsel would stifle that desire. On the other hand, counsel’s presence would restrain *223the suspect who was motivated by fear, intimidation, ignorance, or unreasoned impulse, which is the objective Miranda has mandated us to seek. The very presence of counsel during custodial interrogation is a bulwark against the compulsion of the surroundings and provides a credible witness for the defense if there is a subsequent issue as to the circumstances surrounding the questioning.
The majority seems content to rely upon a stringent test in the determination of an intelligent and effective waiver to discharge their responsibility to protect the suspect’s constitutional rights. Undoubtedly, such a test assists in the protection of a suspect’s rights, but the prophylactic rule suggested is far more practical and effective protection. One does not need to be reminded that the protection afforded by the majority rule may be hollow indeed if the suspect must rely solely on his testimony to contravert the Commonwealth’s evidence of waiver regardless of the burden of proof imposed.
The reluctance of the majority to reach this conclusion is most difficult to comprehend in view of the time honored prohibition that an attorney may not confer with an opposing party who is represented by counsel.3 Surely it is not considered that an attorney’s integrity is more suspect or his motives more sinister than that of police officials. No time in the prosecution of a criminal complaint is more critical than during custodial interrogation. In many instances, answers given in response to questions render subsequent assistance by counsel impotent.
I am unimpressed with the majority’s observations that the suspect’s unsolicited remarks after he has retained counsel should not be privileged. Here we are not concerned with unsolicited admissions but rather *224inculpatory statements as a result of interrogation. Equally inapplicable is the argument that the suspect has the right to waive the presence of counsel during interrogation. The rule I suggest does not destroy this right, the suspect after consultation may still elect to dismiss his counsel and proceed with the interrogation in his absence. It does however, insure that he is fully appraised of the possible consequences of this course of action before the decision.
For these reasons I believe the extrajudicial statement of the appellant should have been suppressed and I would reverse the judgment of sentence and grant a new trial.
Mr. Justice Roberts and Mr. Justice Manderino join in this dissent.

 The record contains a psychiatric evaluation of the appellant by Dr. von Schlicten which emphasized that the social judgment under stress was significantly impaired in that appellant appeared prone to impulsive and egocentric behavior. When placed in a relatively unstructured environment his judgment became more disorganized and ineffective the longer he attempted to work through a problem. He appeared to be functioning in a dull-normal level of intelligence.

 Miranda does require that questioning must cease when the suspect expresses his desire for counsel. Questioning cannot be resumed without counsel unless the resumption is initiated by the suspect. 384 U.S. at 444-45. It is certainly not a major departure to suggest that the obtaining of counsel is in fact an expression by the defendant that he wishes his presence during the critical stages of the proceedings.

 ABA Canons of Professional Ethics No. Dll 7-104 (A)(1).