Court Opinion

ID: 9749119
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 16:24:29.969625+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:44.237010
License: Public Domain

BEVILACQUA, Chief Justice,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
Although I concur with the decision of the majority to vacate the convictions for robbery and for kidnapping, I must respectfully dissent from the majority view on the question of whether the defendant was interrogated in violation of art. I, sec. 13 of the Rhode Island Constitution. The position that the majority adopts today effectively allows the police officers in an interrogation environment to accomplish indirectly what they may not accomplish directly. See State v. Travis, 116 R.I. 678, 683, *656360 A.2d 548, 551 (1976). Even though I recognize that the dividing line between statements volunteered by a suspect and statements impermissibly elicited from a suspect after he has asserted his constitutional rights or requested an attorney is not always clear, I believe that the facts and circumstances of the instant case indicate that the' statements elicited from the defendant after his exercise of his right to counsel and the evidence obtained therefrom were admitted into evidence in violation of both defendant’s federal and his state constitutional rights.
The resolution of federal constitutional law is controlled by decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Oregon v. Hass, 420 U.S. 714, 719, 95 S.Ct. 1215, 1219, 43 L.Ed.2d 570, 576 (1975). But a state is free, in interpreting its own laws or constitution, to impose greater restrictions to protect its citizens against governmental intrusions, even if the state and federal provisions are similar. See id. at 719, 95 S.Ct. at 1219, 43 L.Ed.2d at 576; State v. Benoit, R.I., 417 A.2d 895, 899 (1980). The decision to depart from the minimum standards guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and to afford greater protection to the citizens of this state, should be made guardedly and be supported by a principled rationale.1 State v. Benoit R.I., 417 A.2d at 899; cf. State v. Maloof, 114 R.I. 380, 389, 333 A.2d 676, 681 (1975) (in search-and-seizure area, state is free to adopt higher standard than that compelled by Federal Constitution). See generally Howard, State Courts and Constitutional Rights in the Day of the Burger Court, 62 Va.L.Rev. 873 (1976).
Although the textual language of the Fifth Amendment and that of R.I.Const. art. I, sec. 13 is similar, in the instant case I believe that the rule of Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1980) does not reflect our fundamental principle concerning interrogation under either our own constitution or our case law. In State v. Travis, 116 R.I. 678, 360 A.2d 548 (1976), where a defendant in custody was afforded his Miranda rights and invoked the right to remain silent and to consult with a lawyer, we held that “[t]he mere presence of [the undercover police officer] was an inducement to speak” and that “[t]he undercover agent’s ruse amounted to proscribed ‘further interrogation’ ” that effectively “nullified defendant’s privilege against compelled self-incrimination as guaranteed by the Constitution of Rhode Island, art. 1, § 13.” State v. Travis, 116 R.I. at 683, 366 A.2d at 551; see Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966); State v. Lachapelle, 112 R.I. 105, 308 A.2d 469 (1973). Hence, in determining whether the defendant had been impermissibly induced to speak, we focused solely on the police conduct.
Similarly, in State v. Innis, R.I., 391 A.2d 1158 (1978), we applied the same standard in finding that the conversation 2 carried on between Officers Gleckman and McKenna within earshot of defendant constituted inducement sufficient for us to conclude that defendant had been impermissibly interro*657gated. Id., 391 A.2d at 1162 (Kelleher, J., with whom Joslin, J., joined, dissenting). On appeal, however, the United States Supreme Court in Rhode Island v. Innis ruled that the term “interrogation * * * refers not only to express questioning, but also to any words or actions on the part of the police * * * that [they] should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect.” 446 U.S. at 301, 100 S.Ct. at 1689, 64 L.Ed.2d at 308. (Footnotes omitted.) Accordingly, in applying their own standard, the Court determined that defendant “was not subjected by the police to words or actions that the police should have known were reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from him.” Id. at 303, 100 S.Ct. at 1691, 64 L.Ed.2d at 309. In construing art. I, sec. 13 of our Rhode Island Constitution and our own case law, I would respectfully disagree with this conclusion.
In the instant case, the three officers who accompanied defendant to the station house were directed by their superior not to question defendant en route. Notwithstanding this admonition, the accompanying officers deliberately began discussing among themselves, in defendant’s presence, specific emotional aspects of the very crime under investigation. Contrary to the state’s contention, the colloquy between Officers Gleckman and McKenna was no idle conversation to pass the time of day nor should their conversation be so cavalierly dismissed as “no more than a few off-hand remarks.” Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. at 303, 100 S.Ct. at 1691, 64 L.Ed.2d at 309. Rather, defendant was prompted to believe that his assistance in locating the shotgun and shells would prevent untold harm to some unsuspecting handicapped child. Indeed, “[o]ne can scarcely imagine a stronger appeal to the conscience of a suspect — any suspect— than the assertion that if the weapon is not found an innocent person will be hurt or killed. And not just any innocent person, but an innocent child — a little girl — a helpless, handicapped little girl on her way to school. The notion that such an appeal could not be expected to have any effect unless the suspect were known to have some special interest in handicapped children verges on the ludicrous.” Id. at 306, 100 S.Ct. at 1692, 64 L.Ed.2d at 311 (Marshall, J., with whom Brennan, J., joined dissenting).3
I note also that the majority in the instant case agrees that defendant’s statements “were prompted by the remarks made by Officer Joseph Gleckman,” yet they “are unable to agree that they were made as an inducement for [defendant] to speak.” I perceive no real difference between a defendant’s being “prompted” or his being “induced” to make incriminating statements.4 In my view, both prompting and inducing someone to incriminate himself after he has invoked his constitutional rights constitute improper interrogation under both the Fifth Amendment and the Constitution of Rhode Island, art. I, sec. 13. See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966); State v. Travis, 116 R.I. 678, 366 A.2d 548 (1976); State v. Lachapelle, 112 R.I. 105, 308 A.2d 467 (1973).
I fear that the test for interrogation as applied by the Court in Rhode Island v. Innis and adopted by the majority today may very well create “an incentive for police to ignore a suspect’s invocation of his *658rights in order to make continued attempts to extract information from him.” Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. at 313, 100 S.Ct. at 1696, 64 L.Ed.2d at 315-16 (Stevens, J., dissenting). Additionally, I fear that the risk that will result from adoption of the majority viewpoint lies in the fact that “the police are apparently free to exert that pressure on [defendant] despite his request for counsel, so long as they are careful not to punctuate their statements with question marks.” Id. It may appear to some that such “prompting” of a defendant in an interrogation environment is an “obnoxious thing in its mildest and least repulsive form; but illegitimate and unconstitutional practices get their first footing in that way, namely, by silent approaches and slight deviations from legal modes of procedure. * * It is the duty of courts to be watchful for the constitutional rights of the citizen, and against any stealthy encroachments thereon.” Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616, 635, 6 S.Ct. 524, 535, 29 L.Ed. 746, 752 (1886).
Consequently, as a matter of Rhode Island law, I would adopt Justice Stevens’s view that “any statement that would normally be understood by the average listener as calling for a response is the functional equivalent of a direct question, whether or not it is punctuated by a question mark.” Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. at 309, 100 S.Ct. at 1694, 64 L.Ed.2d at 313 (Stevens, J., dissenting). In my view not only is this definition a more workable one,5 but it is also a more accurate reflection of Rhode Island law concerning interrogation.

. The United States Supreme Court itself has noted that
“It is impossible for us to foresee the potential alternatives for protecting the [Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination] which might be devised by Congress or the States in the exercise of their creative rule-making capacities. Therefore we cannot say that the Constitution necessarily requires adherence to any particular solution for the inherent compulsions of the interrogation process as it is presently conducted. Our decision in no way creates a constitutional straitjacket which will handicap sound efforts at reform, nor is it intended to have this effect. We encourage Congress and the States to continue their laudable search for increasingly effective ways of protecting the rights of the individual while promoting efficient enforcement of our criminal laws.” Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 467, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1624, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, 719-20 (1966).

. En route to the police station, Officer Gleck-man remarked to Officer McKenna in Innis’s presence that “there’s a lot of handicapped children running around in this area, and God forbid one of them might find a weapon with shells and they might hurt themselves.” Officer McKenna reportedly responded, “Gee, it would be too bad.” At this point, defendant reportedly said, “Stop, turn around, I’ll show you where it is.”

. Although the Court stated that “the perceptions of the suspect, rather than the intent of the police” would be the focus in determining whether there has been an interrogation, they nevertheless focused exclusively on how the police officers perceived defendant. Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. at 302-03, 100 S.Ct. at 1690-91, 64 L.Ed.2d at 308-09. In this regard, I agree with Justice Stevens, who chided the majority for failing to abide by its promise to evaluate police statements from the suspect’s point of view: “By prohibiting only those relatively few statements or actions that a police officer should know are likely to elicit an incriminating response, the Court * * * accords a suspect considerably less protection.” Id. at 311-12, 100 S.Ct. at 1695, 64 L.Ed.2d at 314 (Stevens, J., dissenting).

. According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 1154, 1815 (1971) to “induce” is "to inspire, call forth, or bring about by influence or stimulation” while “prompt” means “to move to action, incite.”

. Even Chief Justice Burger, in his concurring opinion in Rhode Island v. Innis, expresses a concern that the majority opinion “may introduce new elements of uncertainty; under the Court’s test, a police officer in the brief time available, apparently must evaluate the suggestibility and susceptibility of an accused.” Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. at 304, 100 S.Ct. at 1691, 64 L.Ed.2d at 310 (Burger, C. J., concurring). Additionally, the recent case of Edwards v. Arizona, - U.S. -, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981), indicates that the Court is not in agreement regarding the requisite elements of “interrogation.” For example, it is unclear whether a determination of interrogation now involves a two-part test: (1) was there in fact “interrogation” under Rhode Island v. Innis, and (2) did the police “initiate” it. See id. at-, 101 S.Ct. at 1881, 68 L.Ed.2d at 389-90 (Powell, J., with whom Rehnquist, J., joined, concurring in the result).