Court Opinion

ID: 9690653
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 19:30:24.586635+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:04:09.248352
License: Public Domain

ROSS A. SEARS, Justice (Assigned),
concurring and dissenting.
I concur with the result reached by the majority, but respectfully dissent from the finding that appellant waived his right to be brought before a magistrate to be warned of his rights before any confession or statement can be used against him. The police are not at fault because appellant lied about his age. However, none of the cases cited in the opinion dealt with a statement taken before the accused received the juvenile warnings and rights from a magistrate. I believe the constitutional and legislative safeguards would be severely eroded if a juvenile can “knowingly” waive rights before a magistrate advises him of those rights. I have found no authority on this precise issue. Therefore, I would find the use of the second statement at trial was error. I would further find such error to be harmless because statement number three was taken after a magistrate advised appellant of his rights and after the magistrate determined that appellant understood those rights.