Court Opinion

ID: 9750166
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 14:26:19.181507+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:03.484234
License: Public Domain

Concurring and Dissenting Opinion by
Mr. Justice Pomeroy:
I concur in the decision of the Court that the judgment should be vacated and the record remanded for a new hearing on the degree of guilt. I am unable to agree, however, that the lower court erred at the sup*598pression hearing in not finding that the appellant had not been properly warned of his right to counsel.
Under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966), “. . . it is necessary to warn [the accused] not only that he has the right to consult with an attorney, but also that if he is indigent a lawyer will be appointed to represent him. Without this additional warning, the admonition of the right to consult with counsel would often be understood as meaning only that he can consult with a lawyer if he has one or has the funds to obtain one.”
In the present case, as the opinion of the Court indicates, the police officer testified without contradiction that the appellant “was told that he had the right to an attorney and that if he could not afford one, one would be obtained for him.” I am unable to see wherein this statement does not comport with the warning prescribed by Miranda. Appellant argues that the adjective “free” was not used in this warning in connection with the word “lawyer”, but there is no requirement either by the United States Supreme Court or in our own prior decisions that the word “free” must be used in this connection.
Mr. Chief Justice Bell joins in this concurring and dissenting opinion.