Court Opinion

ID: 9728315
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 14:04:43.681685+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:47.576949
License: Public Domain

Concurring Opinion by
Mr. Justice Eagen :
I agree with the conclusion of Mr. Justice Boberts that the long delay between the arrest and the filing of the complaint in this ease was “unnecessary” in the sense that term is used in Buie 118 of the Pennsylvania Buies of Criminal Procedure. I likewise agree that, under the circumstances of this case, Tingle’s confession was “reasonably related” to the delay, and hence, evidence thereof should have been suppressed in the trial court. However, X cannot accept the rationale that the delay, without more, establishes this necessary relationship.
Initially, I must make it clear that I agree in principle with Buie 118 of the Pennsylvania Buies of Criminal Procedure. It is of utmost importance that an accused be taken promptly before an issuing authority. Mr. Justice Frankfurter explained the necessity for such action in McNabb v. United States, 318 U.S. 332, 63 S. Ct. 608 (1943), stating: “A democratic society, in which respect for the dignity of all men is central, naturally guards against the misuse of the law enforcement process. Zeal in tracking down crime is not in itself an assurance of soberness of judgment. Disinterestedness in law enforcement does not alone prevent disregard of cherished liberties. Experience has therefore counseled that safeguards must be provided against the dan*248gers of the overzealous as well as the despotic. The awful instruments of the criminal law cannot be entrusted to a single functionary. The complicated process of criminal justice is therefore divided into different parts, responsibility for which is separately vested in the various participants upon whom the criminal law relies for its vindication. Legislation such as this, requiring that the police must with reasonable promptness show legal cause for detaining arrested persons, constitutes an important safeguard—not only in assuring protection for the innocent but also in securing conviction of the guilty by methods that commend themselves to a progressive and self-confident society. For this procedural requirement checks resort to those reprehensible practices known as the ‘third degree’ which, though universally rejected as indefensible, still find their way into use. It aims to avoid all the evil implications of secret interrogation of persons accused of crime. It reflects not a sentimental but a sturdy view of law enforcement. It outlaws easy but self-defeating ways in which brutality is substituted for brains as an instrument of crime detection.” 318 U.S. at 343-44, 63 S. Ct. at 614-15.1 Moreover, since this rule applies to warrantless arrests, it is imperative that the accused be taken promptly before an issuing authority for a judicial determination of probable cause for arrest and detention. Such a procedure acts as a barrier to abuses of the criminal process, such as dragnet arrests, and for lack of a better phrase, mere “fishing expeditions” by the authorities.
However, in determining if evidence of a confession is admissible at trial, it is my view the main inquiry is whether the confession was given voluntarily under the qualitative test of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, *24986 S. Ct. 1602 (1966), and the decisions of this Court following that landmark decision. If there is a delay between the arrest and the confession, this delay, in itself, does not render the confession involuntary. The operative question is what occurred within the delay.
Eule 118 is a mere procedural device, lacking in constitutional dimension. The impact of Justice Roberts’ opinion, as I read it, is to attach to Rule 118 a judicial evidentiary exclusionary rule, and to hold that a violation of Rule 118 with the only consideration being the amount of time between the arrest and the confession, renders the confession inadmissible. In other words, no consideration is given to whether the confession is voluntary. Miranda teaches that a person accused of crime is entitled to certain basic and fundamental rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Miranda also sets forth guidelines under which a determination can be made if an accused’s “waiver” of his rights is constitutionally valid, and if a confession is voluntary and admissible in a judicial proceeding. To give Rule 118 the force and effect advocated by Mr. Justice Roberts is to preclude any consideration of the guidelines enunciated in Miranda.
My disagreement with the above approach can be seen from the following hypothetical. An individual is arrested without a warrant, taken to police headquarters and given full warning of his Miranda rights, which he knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waives. He is then intermittently questioned by the police for a period of time, which may be construed as “unreasonable delay” under Rule 118, a,nd confesses. Under the position espoused by Mr. Justice Roberts his confession would be inadmissible at trial, notwithstanding it was freely given and unquestionably met all of the constitu*250tional standards dictated by Miranda. Ironically, the result would be the exclusion of a confession which is freely given and constitutionally valid merely because of a violation of a procedural rule which was brought into existence to insure that confessions would be voluntary. The accused’s constitutional rights have not been violated, the police have afforded the accused all the required protections so that his confession is a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary exercise of his free will; yet, the confession is excluded. I cannot reconcile this type of result with the general purposes of our criminal law. Additionally, its impact on the administration of justice in Pennsylvania gives me great concern.
While I believe the time of delay in presenting an accused to an issuing authority and the filing of a complaint should weigh heavily in considering whether a confession is voluntary and, therefore, admissible, I do not believe delay alone, exclusive of all other factors, is a reasonable basis for the exclusion of a confession.
Mr. Chief Justice Jones and Mr. Justice Pomeroy join in this concurring opinion.

 McNabb, supra, was decided under the supervisory powers of the Supreme Court and not on constitutional grounds.