Court Opinion

ID: 9647033
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 13:21:48.014508+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:44.981095
License: Public Domain

Dooley, J.,
concurring and dissenting. I agree with Parts II and III of the majority opinion and concur in the holdings therein. I agree with Justice Johnson, however, that the second, and controlling, decision on the motion to suppress was inadequate, because the court failed to consider the new evidence about defendant’s mental capacity and his ability to read. See State v. Bruno, 157 Vt. 6, 10, 595 A.2d 272, 274-75 (1991) (when defendant makes pretrial motion to suppress and renews motion before second judge, ruling on renewed motion is controlling for purpose of appeal).
I would not, however, go as far as to hold that no waiver of Miranda rights occurred as a matter of law. Thus, the remedy initially must be a “context-specific inquiry into the nature of defendant’s cognitive limitations and their effect on his understanding of his rights, the language used by the interrogating officer, and the concept of waiver.” State v. Ives, 162 Vt. 131, 149, 648 A.2d 129, 140 (Johnson, J., dissenting). Whether the defendant should receive a new trial should depend on the outcome of this inquiry. See State v. Shaw, 149 Vt. 275, 284, 542 A.2d 1106, 1111 (1987) (remanding sexual assault and felony trespass to trial court with direction to order new trial if court concluded that complainant’s prior statements improperly suppressed at trial “probably would have changed the outcome of the case,” but if not, or if suppression error was harmless beyond reasonable doubt, to reinstate defendant’s convictions).