State v. Gonzalez
State v. Gonzalez
Opinion of the Court
Following a jury trial, the defendant, Harry Gonzalez, was convicted of one count each of felony murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54c, robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-133 and 53a-134 (a), and kidnapping in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-92 (a) (2) (b). On appeal from the judgment of conviction,
The following undisputed facts and procedural history are relevant to our resolution of this appeal. Pursuant to a warrant, on October 28,2005, the defendant and
Guzda proceeded to tell the defendant that he would be booked on the pending charges, including felony murder, and that the police were giving him the opportunity to talk to them and to tell his side of the story. At trial, on cross-examination, Guzda testified that he typically used the phrase “opportunity to tell his side of the story” as a way “to open up” suspects in the hope that it would lead to a conversation. Guzda also
Approximately sixty seconds later, the defendant stated that he may have been many things, but that he was not a murderer. In response, Guzda testified that he told the defendant “look, we can’t talk to you. I told [you] to be quiet, you asked for an attorney. And basically the conversation was over with because he asked for an attorney.” After another approximately sixty seconds had passed, the defendant reiterated that he was not a murderer, and that all he had wanted to do was to find some work and that was the reason that he and Jennifer had gone to Stamford. After this statement, Guzda stopped the defendant and “reminded him that he had asked for an attorney, so [the officers] can’t talk to him since he asked for an attorney, [and Guzda explained] that it would have to be the [defendant’s] choice to talk to [the officers] without an attorney.” At this point the defendant still had not been informed of his Miranda rights. Guzda then asked the defendant if he wanted to talk to the officers without an attorney, and the defendant assented. Thereafter, the defendant narrated his activity on the day of the murder. This narration included the defendant’s statement that he previously had done some work on the
Prior to the start of trial, the defendant filed a motion to suppress the statements that he had made during the police interview. In ruling on the motion to suppress, the issue before the trial court was whether the defendant had been subjected to interrogation when he made the contested statements.
The defendant claims that the trial court improperly denied in part his motion to suppress the statements that he made to Guzda and Dolan because he made those statements as a result of police interrogation while in custody and without having been informed of his Miranda rights. Specifically, the defendant claims that the trial court improperly concluded that he was not subjected to interrogation, where the defendant asserts that Guzda’s statement that “[it] was the defendant’s opportunity to tell his side of the story” was the “functional equivalent” of interrogation.
A
We begin by setting forth the applicable standard of review and governing legal principles. “It is well established that the prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self incrimination. Miranda v. Arizona, [supra, 384 U.S. 444]. Two threshold conditions must be satisfied in order to invoke the warnings constitutionally required by Miranda: (1) the defendant must have been in custody; and (2) the defendant must have been subjected to police interrogation. . . . State v. Turner, 267 Conn. 414, 434, 838 A.2d 947,
“A defendant in custody is subject to interrogation not only in the face of express questioning by police but also when subjected to any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect. . . . [State v. Canales, 281 Conn. 572, 585, 916 A.2d 767 (2007)], quoting Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 301, 100 S. Ct. 1682, 64 L. Ed. 2d 297 (1980).” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Mullins, 288 Conn. 345, 361-62, 952 A.2d 784 (2008).
“[Wjhether a defendant was subjected to interrogation . . . involves a . . . two step inquiry in which the court must determine first, the factual circumstances of the police conduct in question, and second, whether such conduct is normally attendant to arrest and custody or whether the police should know that it is reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response. . . . Because this framework is analogous to the determination of whether a defendant is in custody, the ultimate determination, therefore, of whether a defendant already in custody has been subjected to interrogation also presents a mixed question of law and fact over which our review is plenary, tempered by our scrupulous examination of the record to ascertain whether the findings are supported by substantial evidence.” (Citation omitted.) Id., 364.
“As a general matter, the standard of review for a motion to suppress is well settled. A finding of fact will not be disturbed unless it is clearly erroneous in view of the evidence and pleadings in the whole record .... [W]hen [however] a question of fact is essential to the outcome of a particular legal determination that
We begin by examining the factual circumstances of the police conduct surrounding the defendant’s contested statements. See id., 364. The determination of whether “words or actions on the part of the police . . . [are ones] that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect . . . focuses primarily upon the perceptions of the suspect, rather than the intent of the police. This focus reflects the fact that the Miranda safeguards were designed to vest a suspect in custody with an added measure of protection against coercive police practices, without regard to objective proof of the underlying intent of the police.” Rhode Island v. Innis, supra, 446 U.S. 301. As previously set forth, the police escorted the defendant into an archetypal interrogation room— which the defendant physically resisted by barricading himself against the door frame—for the specific purpose of interviewing him regarding the murder. Once there, the defendant was firmly instructed to sit down and was then handcuffed to the chair in which he was sitting. The defendant, faced by the officers with notepads and pencils, was then apprised of the fact that he was being charged with felony murder and was told that the police were giving him the opportunity to tell his side of the story. Although the defendant initially
As the state conceded at oral argument before this court, Guzda’s statement to the defendant that it was the defendant’s “opportunity to talk to us and to tell his side” of the story did not constitute words or actions on the part of the police that this court has determined are permissible under Miranda as normally attendant to arrest and custody. See, e.g., State v. Grant, 286 Conn. 499, 528-29, 944 A.2d 947 (officer’s factual statement to defendant that his blood had been found at crime scene not interrogation), cert. denied, 555 U.S. 916, 129 S. Ct. 271, 172 L. Ed. 2d 200 (2008); State v. Kirby, 280 Conn. 361, 399-400, 908 A.2d 506 (2006) (asking whether suspect understood his rights not interrogation); State v. Evans, 203 Conn. 212, 225-27, 523 A.2d 1306 (1987) (routine booking questions unrelated to crime and objectively neutral not interrogation). The phrase “opportunity to talk to us and to tell us [your] side” of the story also is dissimilar to statements or questions directed at suspects that this court has determined were permissible because they were not reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from a suspect. See, e.g., State v. Canady, 297 Conn. 322, 337-38, 998 A.2d 1135 (2010) (question not interrogation when juvenile detention facility officer, unaware of murder investigation involving defendant, asked distraught and scared defendant whether he was “ ‘okay’ ”); State v. Medina, 228 Conn. 281, 291, 636 A.2d 351 (1994) (question not interrogation when officer, unaware that crime had
Unlike the questions in the aforementioned cases, Guzda’s statement to the defendant in the present case that it was his opportunity to tell his side of the story was not an objectively neutral question unrelated to the crime. See State v. Canales, supra, 281 Conn. 589-90. On the contrary, Guzda’s statement to the defendant was directly related to the murder investigation for which the defendant had been arrested, charged, and was presently being held in custody. See id., 590 (“relationship of the questions asked to the crime committed is highly relevant” in determining whether police words or conduct was reasonably likely to elicit incriminating response [internal quotation marks omitted]). Guzda’s statement was not objectively neutral because it implied that the defendant was involved in the murder and explicitly sought statements from the defendant regarding his involvement in the charged crime. In State v. Hoeplinger, 206 Conn. 278, 287 n.6, 537 A.2d 1010 (1988), this court similarly concluded that “ [t]here [was] no question that the defendant was subject to interrogation” when an officer had requested that the defendant “give him a statement concerning what happened that night” because, pursuant to Rhode Island v. Innis, supra, 446 U.S. 301, police should know that such words are reasonably likely to elicit incrhninating statements. Likewise, in State v. Green, 207 Conn. 1, 8, 540 A.2d 659 (1988), this court concluded that the defendant therein had been subjected to police interrogation when an officer, who had been informed of the defendant’s involvement in a murder by other suspects, told the defendant that “I’m aware that you have given a statement yesterday; however, is there something else you want to tell us about this thing because it doesn’t fit with what we know.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Finally, although “[t]he test as to whether a particular question is likely to elicit an incriminating response is objective . . . the subjective intent of the police officer [may be] relevant [although] not conclusive . . . .” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Canales, supra, 281 Conn. 590; see also State v. Green, supra, 207 Conn. 7 (officer separated defendant from his father in order to elicit “ ‘admissions against [his] interest’ ”). At the suppression hearing, Guzda himself testified that he told the defendant that it was his opportunity to tell his side of the story as a way “to open up” the defendant in the hope that it would prompt the defendant to converse about the murder. Guzda also admitted that he had accomplished the goal of prompting the defendant to talk. Given these admissions, Guzda obviously knew that his words were reasonably likely to result in the defendant making possibly incriminating statements about the crime that he had been charged with committing.
We therefore conclude, on the basis of our scrupulous examination of the facts presented, that Guzda’s statement to the defendant that it was the defendant’s opportunity to tell his side of the story was the functional equivalent of interrogation because the police should have known that the phrase was reasonably likely to invite the defendant to respond by making possibly incriminating statements.
The state, despite conceding that the defendant was in custody, was not provided Miranda warnings, and was subjected to interrogation, contends, however, that the interrogation produced no statements.
We begin our analysis with the following guiding principle. When the police interrogate a custodial suspect without first providing that suspect with the warnings required by Miranda, there is a presumption that any ensuing statements made by the suspect resulting from the unwarned interrogation were compelled and must be suppressed. Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. 471-72; see also Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428, 435, 120 S. Ct. 2326, 147 L. Ed. 2d 405 (2000) (“[t]hose guidelines [set forth in Miranda] established that the admissibility in evidence of any statement given
We consider first the state’s contention that the interrogation produced no statements. This claim has as its basis the view that the officers’ interview of the defendant should be divided into independent episodes, thereby segregating the improper custodial interrogation from the resulting effects, namely, the defendant’s statements. We reject this claim. We previously have concluded, and the state has conceded, that at the onset of the interview the police improperly subjected the defendant to custodial interrogation without the benefit of Miranda warnings. Moreover, the state has not challenged the trial court’s decision to suppress statements the defendant made at the end of the interview, because those statements were the product of interrogation, namely, Guzda’s clarifying questions. It is therefore uncontested that the improper custodial interrogation of the defendant, which commenced at the onset of the interview, existed also at the conclusion of the interview. A scrupulous review of the record demonstrates that during the intervening period, when the defendant made the contested statements, the interrogation had not ceased and the defendant’s rights had not been honored.
First, the fact that approximately sixty seconds elapsed between Guzda’s statement and the defendant’s first contested statement, and then again between the
The officers also failed to utilize several other opportunities to provide the defendant with proper Miranda warnings. Following the defendant’s first contested statement that he was not a murderer, the officers had an approximate one minute opportunity to read the defendant his Miranda rights. Following the defendant’s second contested statement reiterating that he was not a murderer, the officers had yet another momentary opportunity to provide the defendant his Miranda rights. Lastly, prior to the defendant narrating
B
The state further contends that, even if the trial court improperly admitted the defendant’s contested statement narrating his activity on the day of the murder, any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because other evidence overwhelmingly established the defendant’s guilt.
“If statements taken in violation of Miranda are admitted into evidence during a trial, their admission must be reviewed in light of the harmless error doctrine. . . . The harmless error doctrine is rooted in the fundamental purpose of the criminal justice system, namely, to convict the guilty and acquit the innocent. . . . Therefore, whether an error is harmful depends on its impact on the trier of fact and the result of the case. . . . This court has held in a number of cases that when there is independent overwhelming evidence of guilt,
The jury reasonably could have found the following additional facts relevant to the determination of whether the admission of the defendant’s statements was harmless error. At trial, Jennifer, testifying for the state, stated that she was the defendant’s companion on the day of the murder. She testified about the defendant’s activity on that day, specifically placing him at the victim’s home both during the afternoon and evening of the murder, and directly inculpated the defendant in the charged crimes. On cross-examination, Jennifer admitted that, at the time of the murder, she had been a drug addict and an alcoholic, that she had prior convictions of larceny and assault, that she had admitted to being a burglar and felony murderer, that she previously had lied to the police on multiple occasions during their investigation of the murder, and that she had agreed to testify against the defendant because it was her only option to save herself from eighty years of incarceration.
Also testifying against the defendant was the victim’s housemate, Barbara Kos (Barbara).
The state asserts that the following evidence adduced at trial is independent overwhelming evidence that the defendant committed the charged crimes: (1) the testimony of Jennifer, the defendant’s companion, regarding the defendant’s activity on the day of the murder that inculpated the defendant in the crimes; (2) the testimony of the victim’s housemate, Barbara, who was present when the crimes were committed and observed the defendant; and (3) the testimony of Luders, the neighbor, who encountered the defendant and Jennifer inquiring about the victim on the afternoon of the murder.
The defendant disagrees, claiming that the state cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the trial court’s admission of his narration was harmless because the aforementioned evidence was not overwhelming evidence of his guilt. The defendant first asserts that the only testimony directly linking him to the murder was that of Jennifer. The defendant claims,
In light of this less than overwhelming evidence, we must next determine whether the improper admission of the defendant’s narration may have had a tendency to influence the judgment of the jury. First, although the state contends that the defendant’s narration was exculpatory, we disagree. On its face, the defendant’s narration, by placing himself at the victim’s home that afternoon, served to implicate him in the charged crimes. The statement was therefore not innocuous or unrelated to the charged conduct. See State v. Mitchell,
“So . . . Luders’ description is consistent with Bar-barais] and . . . [Jennifer] corroborates what . . . Luders says happened, but the defendant himself admits to the police that he’s that guy.” (Emphasis added.) The state, therefore, explicitly focused the jury’s attention on the defendant’s narration of his activity on the day of the minder and relied on that narration in order to place the defendant at the victim’s home. In so doing, the state also sought to use the defendant’s statement to bolster the credibility of its witnesses by corroborating their testimony placing the defendant at the victim’s home.
Finally, the state’s evidence against the defendant was not so overwhelming that we are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the admission of his improperly obtained narration was harmless. As previously set forth herein, the state emphasized the defendant’s narration and used it to corroborate the testimony of the state’s other witnesses, two of whom admitted on cross-examination that they had been unable to identify Jennifer’s male companion from photographic arrays, which subsequent police testimony confirmed had contained the defendant’s photograph. The inability of key witnesses—including the surviving victim, Barbara—to
The strength of the evidence of the defendant’s guilt is therefore weaker than in instances in which we have held that the state’s improper use of evidence was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. For instance, in State v. Brunetti, 279 Conn. 39, 78, 901 A.2d 1 (2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1212, 127 S. Ct. 1328, 167 L. Ed. 2d 86 (2007), we concluded there was overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt when “the defendant was seen in close proximity to the crime scene at the time of the victim’s murder, the victim’s blood was found on the defendant’s clothing, the defendant provided a detailed confession explaining how and why he had murdered the victim, apart of the defendant’s necklace was found in the victim’s hair and the defendant sought to cover up the crime by lying to his father about the source of the blood on his clothing.” Similarly, in State v. Mitchell, supra, 296 Conn. 462, we concluded that the state’s evidence against the defendant was sufficiently strong when “the defendant was found in the automobile that the victim and [another witness] had seen leave the scene of the assault. The car matched the color, description and, most significantly, the license plate number given to the police. In addition, the car was stopped by the police traveling in the direction that it was last seen by the [other witness], specifically driving on Interstate 95, away from the scene of the assault. Furthermore, the
In light of the other evidence proffered by the state, the improperly admitted narration, which the state explicitly urged the jury to rely upon, may have had a tendency to influence the judgment of the jury. Accordingly, under the facts presented, we conclude that admitting the improperly obtained narration was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
II
Although our conclusion in part I of this opinion requires that the case be remanded to the trial court for a new trial, we address the defendant’s claim of double jeopardy because the issue is likely to arise again on remand.
The following additional facts and procedural history are relevant to our resolution of this issue. Malka Shah, the state associate medical examiner, testified at trial that she conducted an autopsy on the victim’s body and determined that the victim suffered from an incise wound to the neck, which could have been caused by a knife, that the object that caused the wound had severed the victim’s jugular vein, and that she died as a result of a significant loss of blood and an air embolism of the lung. During the robbery, the perpetrator stole two rolls of gold dollar coins as well as some medication from the victim’s home. By way of substitute information, the defendant was charged with the crimes of felony murder and robbery in the first degree.
On appeal, the defendant claims that his separate convictions and punishments run afoul of the prohibition against double jeopardy because the same aggravating factor, namely, the fatal injury to the victim, forms the basis of both the charge of felony murder and the charge of robbery in the first degree under subsection (a) (1) of § 53a-134. Specifically, the defendant contends that an accused may only be convicted of and punished for both felony murder and robbery in the first degree when the accused is charged with an aggravating factor listed in § 53a-134 (a) other than the aggravating factor set forth in subsection (a) (1) of § 53a-134, for causing “serious physical injury . . . ,”
We begin by setting forth the applicable standard of review and governing legal principles. A “defendant’s double jeopardy claim presents a question of law, over which our review is plenary.” State v. Burnell, 290 Conn. 634, 642, 966 A.2d 168 (2009). “The double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment to the United States constitution provides: [N]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb. The double jeopardy clause [applies] to the states through the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. . . . This constitutional guarantee prohibits not only multiple trials for the same offense, but also multiple punishments for the same offense in a single trial. . . . Although the Connecticut constitution does not include a double jeopardy provision, the due process guarantee of article first, § 9, of our state constitution encompasses protection against double jeopardy. . . .
“Double jeopardy analysis in the context of a single trial is a two-step process. First, the charges must arise out of the same act or transaction. Second, it must be determined whether the charged crimes are the same offense. Multiple punishments are forbidden only if both conditions are met. . . .
“Traditionally we have applied the Blockburger test to determine whether two statutes criminalize the same offense, thus placing a defendant prosecuted under both statutes in double jeopardy: [Wjhere the same act or transaction constitutes a violation of two distinct statutory provisions, the test to be applied to determine whether there are two offenses or only one, is whether
In the present case, it is undisputed that each of the crimes with which the defendant was charged arose out of the same transaction. “Thus, the question is whether robbery in the first degree . . . and felony murder based on the predicate [offense of robbery] are the same offense for the purposes of double jeopardy analysis.” Id., 291. In Greco, the defendant was charged pursuant to a three count substitute information with felony murder, the predicate offenses being robbery of the victim and burglary of the victim’s home; id., 284; robbery in the first degree under subsection (a) (2) of § 53a-143 for being armed with a deadly weapon, and burglary in the first degree. Id., 283-84. On appeal, the defendant in that case claimed that , the prohibition on double jeopardy prevented the state from punishing him for
In reaching our conclusion in Greco, we first analyzed the charged offenses under the Blockburger test and “conclude[d] that first degree robbery and first degree burglary constitute the same offense as felony murder under that test, where the felony murder count alleges ‘robbery and burglary’ as the predicate offenses.” Id., 291. This conclusion rested on our determination that “there are no elements of first degree robbery and first degree burglary which are not also elements of felony murder when the felony murder count alleges ‘robbery and burglary’ as the predicate offenses . . . .”
We conclude that this court’s decision in Greco is dispositive of the defendant’s claim of double jeopardy in the present case. Similar to the defendant in Greco, the defendant in the present case was charged, convicted and punished for the crimes of felony murder, with the underlying predicate crime being robbery, and robbery in the first degree. Although the defendant in Greco was charged with first degree robbery under the aggravating factor of being armed with a deadly weapon, as set forth in subsection (a) (2) of § 53a-134; id., 283; and the defendant in the present case was charged pursuant to § 53a-134 (a) (1) for causing serious physical injury to the victim, our analysis of the double jeopardy issue in Greco did not depend on the exact aggravating factor levied against the defendant. See id. Indeed, in that case we agreed with the defendant that, under the Blockburger test, the crimes of robbery and burglary in the first degree were the same offense as felony murder when the predicate offenses for felony murder were robbery and burglary. Id., 292. Similarly, the crimes with which the defendant in the present case was charged, namely, robbery in the first degree and felony murder with the predicate offense of robbery, constitute the same offense for the same reasoning. See
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded for a new trial.
In this opinion PALMER, HARPER and VERTE-FEUILLE, Js., concurred.
The defendant appealed directly to this court pursuant to General Statutes § 51-199 (b).
Because we reverse the judgment of conviction on the basis of the defendant’s suppression claim, we do not reach the defendant’s additional claims on appeal, other than his double jeopardy claim.
We note that, because Jennifer Kos shares a surname with another witness in the present case, Barbara Kos, we refer in this opinion to both Jennifer Kos and Barbara Kos by their first names for clarity.
“Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed.” Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. 444. Jennifer, who was separately transported to the Stamford police department, was provided Miranda warnings en route.
We refer herein to Guzda and Dolan collectively as the officers, and individually by name where necessary.
The state had conceded that the defendant was in custody and had not been provided Miranda warnings before he made the contested statements.
According to the trial court, the first period began when Guzda explained why the defendant was at the police department, and ended with the defendant stating that he wanted an attorney. The second period began approximately one minute later when the defendant stated that he was not a murderer, and ended when Guzda silenced him. The third period, which contained the defendant’s narration, began approximately one minute later when the defendant again stated that he was not a murderer and Guzda explained that if the defendant wanted to speak with the officers, he would have to initiate the conversation.
See Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300-301, 100 S. Ct. 1682, 64 L. Ed. 2d 297 (1980) (interrogation under Miranda encompasses both express questioning and its functional equivalent).
In its written argument to this court, the state previously had claimed that Guzda’s statement merely was a preliminary comment and permissible under Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 301, 100 S. Ct. 1682, 64 L. Ed. 2d 297 (1980), as the type of conduct that is normally attendant to arrest.
We note that our conclusion on this issue is consistent with the decisions of courts of several of our sister states holding that telling a suspect that it is his opportunity to tell his side of the story constitutes the functional equivalent of interrogation. See People v. Wood, 135 P.3d 744, 751-52 (Colo. 2006); State v. Monroe, 103 Idaho 129, 130, 645 P.2d 363 (1982); State v. Herbert, 277 Kan. 61, 70, 82 P.3d 470 (2004); State v. Doughty, 472 N.W.2d 299, 303 (Minn. 1991); State v. Lynch, 477 N.W.2d 743, 746 (Minn. App. 1991); State v. Williams, 6 Ohio St. 3d 281, 290, 452 N.E.2d 1323 (1983); State v. Kerby, 162 Ohio App. 3d 353, 368, 833 N.E.2d 757 (2005); State v. Crawford, 73 Or. App. 53, 58, 698 P.2d 40 (1985); State v. Barmon, 67 Or. App. 369,
In support of this claim, the state relies on the trial court’s division of the officers’ interview of the defendant into three distinct episodes. See footnote 7 of this opinion. Under this approach, the state contends that the improper interrogation is confined to the first episode, in which the defendant made no statement, and that the two subsequent episodes, independent of the improper interrogation, therefore contain admissible statements.
“[Tjhe admissibility of statements obtained after the person in custody has decided to remain silent depends under Miranda on whether his ‘right to cut off questioning’ was ‘scrupulously honored.’ ” Michigan v. Mosley, 423 U.S. 96, 104, 96 S. Ct. 321, 46 L. Ed. 2d 313 (1975).
We disagree with the dissent’s contention that the majority opinion reaches a conclusion “belied by the facts and the law, and represents an unwarranted extension of the principles of Miranda such that its decision will inject confusion into our case law.” We also disagree with the dissent’s claims that the majority opinion fails to explain our reasoning, fails to cite authority, and fails to provide adequate guidance to the courts or law enforcement.
First, we disagree that the majority opinion belies the facts of the case. In the majority’s view, the dissent parses the facts without considering the broader circumstances demonstrating that the defendant’s statements resulted from improper custodial interrogation. Specifically, we reiterate the facts that the defendant was in custody and taken to an interrogation room, handcuffed to a chair, and never apprised of his rights; that Guzda, with the intent to prompt the defendant to speak about the murder, then posed a question to the defendant that was the functional equivalent of interrogation; and that the officers, in response to the defendant’s attempt to invoke his right to remain silent and have counsel present, simply told the defendant to sit there and wait to be booked, and then stared at the defendant in silence until he made his first statement.
Second, we disagree with the dissent that the majority opinion is inconsistent with our case law or an unwarranted extension of it. The majority opinion’s conclusion merely applies the requirement that a suspect’s unwarned statements made in response to improper custodial interrogation are inadmissible.
Third, we disagree that the opinion fails to explain our reasoning. To the contrary, the majority opinion’s reasoning sets forth that the first and second
Fourth, we disagree that this opinion lacks sufficient citation to authority. In our view, the majority opinion adequately surveys our case law on the issue of the admissibility of statements obtained as a result of improper custodial interrogation and a resort to federal decisions applying the same principles is unnecessary. Fifth, we disagree that the opinion fails to “provide any rule or principle to guide courts” as to when an interrogation has ended. We decline to create a bright line rule or set of conditions that dictate when an interrogation commences or concludes and instead affirm that “whether a [custodial] defendant was subjected to interrogation . . . involves a . . . two step inquiry in which the court must determine first, the factual circumstances of the police conduct in question, and second, whether such conduct is normally attendant to arrest and custody or whether the police should know that it is reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.” State
Neither party specifically addresses whether the improper admission of the defendant’s first two contested statements was harmful. In accordance with our conclusions that the two statements resulted from an improper custodial interrogation and that the admission of the defendant’s narration was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, we also conclude that the admission of the defendant’s first two statements was harmful, because they also give rise to the inference that the defendant was present at the victim’s home, even if he denied committing the murder.
Pursuant to a plea agreement, Jennifer received ten years incarceration.
The subsequent police investigation determined that there was no familial relationship between Jennifer and Barbara.
The defendant failed to raise this claim at trial. He therefore seeks review of his unpreserved claim pursuant to State v. Golding, 213 Conn. 233, 239-40, 567 A.2d 823 (1989). Because the record is adequate for our review in that it is undisputed that each of the crimes with which the defendant was charged arose out of the same transaction and the defendant’s claim implicates his constitutional right against double jeopardy, we consider the merits of his claim.
General Statutes § 53a-54c provides in relevant part: “A person is guilty of murder when, acting either alone or with one or more persons, he commits or attempts to commit robbery ... in the first degree . . . and, in the course of and in furtherance of such crime ... he, or another participant, if any, causes the death of a person other than one of the participants . . . .”
General Statutes § 53a-134 provides in relevant part: “(a) A person is guilty of robbery in the first degree when, in the course of the commission of the crime of robbery as defined in section 53a-133 or of immediate flight therefrom, he or anotherparticipant in the crime: (1) Causes serious physical injury to any person who is not a participant in the crime . . .
The defendant was also charged with kidnapping in the first degree, which is not relevant to our determination of this issue.
In addition to the aggravating factor set forth in subsection (a) (1) of § 53a-134 of causing serious physical injury to a person who is not a participant in the crime, a person may be guilty of robbery in the first degree if the person: (1) was armed with a deadly weapon; General Statutes § 53a-134 (a) (2); (2) used or threatened the use of a dangerous instrument; General Statutes § 53a-134 (a) (3); or (3) displayed or threatened the use of what the person represented by his words or conduct to be a firearm. General Statutes § 53a-134 (a) (4). Under the defendant’s reasoning, an accused may properly be convicted of and punished for felony murder and robbery in the first degree without violating the prohibition on double jeopardy because the aggravating factors under subsections (a) (2), (a) (3) and (a) (4) of § 53a-134, are unlike the aggravating factor in § 53a-134 (a) (1), which forms the basis of a felony murder charge, namely, a fatal ir\jury.
We determined that this conclusion was dictated by our decision in State v. Morin, 180 Conn. 599, 601-605, 430 A.2d 1297 (1980), wherein we concluded that robbery in the first degree and burglary in the first degree were the lesser included offenses of felony murder.
Concurring in Part
with whom NORCOTT and McLACH-LAN, Js.,
join, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I agree with the majority’s conclusion that the conviction of the defendant, Harry Gonzalez, must be reversed on the basis of a violation of the requirements of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444-45, 479, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966). I further agree with the majority that the defendant’s constitutional right against double jeopardy was not violated. I dissent from the majority opinion, however, insofar as the majority concludes that the police failed to honor the defendant’s invocation of his rights to remain silent and to counsel, that the initial interrogation of the defendant did not cease when he invoked his rights, and that all of the
Because the facts of the present case are important to the analysis of the defendant’s claim under Miranda, I review them briefly. According to the trial court’s decision and the testimony at the suppression hearing, the defendant was brought to an interview room at the Stamford police department, and, when he got to the door of the room, he directed an expletive at Sergeant Paul Guzda, one of several police officers in the vicinity, and initially refused to enter the room. Guzda and Officer Timothy Dolan had been waiting in the room for the defendant. Once the defendant was seated in the room, he was handcuffed to a chair. Guzda then informed the defendant that he was going to be booked on charges including felony murder and that Guzda wanted to give him an opportunity to tell his side of the story. Although the defendant had not been advised of his Miranda rights, the defendant responded to Guzda by stating that he did not want to say anything and that he wanted an attorney. In response, Guzda told the defendant to sit there and that he would be booked shortly. Guzda and Dolan ended their conversa
I begin my analysis by noting the portions of the majority opinion with which I agree. First, in light of the state’s concession at oral argument that Guzda’s initial statement amounted to interrogation, I do not contest the majority’s conclusion that Guzda’s initial statement was “interrogation” within the meaning of that term as defined in Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300-301, 100 S. Ct. 1682, 64 L. Ed. 2d 297 (1980).
I disagree, however, with the majority’s conclusion that the interrogation did not cease when the defendant invoked his rights to remain silent and to counsel, and its conclusion that the officers did not honor the suspect’s invocation.
I
WHETHER THE INITIAL, IMPROPER INTERROGATION CEASED
Miranda and subsequent cases make it clear that the police must immediately stop interrogating a suspect if he invokes his right to remain silent. Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. 473-74 (“Once warnings have been given, the subsequent procedure is clear. If the individual indicates in any manner, at any time prior to or during questioning, that he wishes to remain silent, the interrogation must cease.”); see also Michigan v. Mosley, 423 U.S. 96, 104, 96 S. Ct. 321, 46 L. Ed. 2d 313 (1975) (when suspect invokes right to remain silent, statements in response to further interrogation are admissible only if suspect’s request to remain silent was “scrupulously honored” [internal quotation marks omitted]). Furthermore, if a suspect invokes his right to an attorney, the police may not engage in any further interrogation without an attorney present unless the suspect himself initiates the encounter and validly waives his constitutional rights. Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 485, 101 S. Ct. 1880, 68 L. Ed. 2d 378 (1981) (“it is inconsistent with Miranda and its progeny for the authorities, at their instance, to reinterrogate an accused in custody if he has clearly asserted his right to counsel”); see also Smith v. Illinois, 469 U.S. 91, 98, 105 S. Ct. 490, 83 L. Ed. 2d 488 (1984) (“Edwards set
Case law establishes that the cessation of questioning or its functional equivalent is all that is necessary to demonstrate that any interrogation has stopped once a suspect has invoked his rights. See, e.g., State v. Canales, 281 Conn. 572, 587-89, 916 A.2d 767 (2007) (concluding that interrogation ceased when suspect invoked her rights to remain silent and to counsel and police did not ask further questions about alleged murder); see also Simpson v. Jackson, 615 F.3d 421, 430-31 (6th Cir. 2010) (upon invocation of rights, police officers need only stop questioning suspect); United States v. Muhammad, 196 Fed. Appx. 882, 886 (11th Cir. 2006) (police “scrupulously honored” suspect’s rights simply by ceasing questioning about crime), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1235, 127 S. Ct. 1315, 167 L. Ed. 2d 126 (2007). The police need not exit an interrogation room after the suspect invokes his rights in order for an interrogation to cease. See, e.g., Simpson v. Jackson, supra, 431 (“[I]t is permissible for the officers still to be in the same room with the [suspect] for at least some period of time after he invokes his right to remain silent. The officers need not immediately leave the room; they simply may not continue questioning or badgering the suspect.”); see also United States v. Muhammad, supra, 885-86 (presence of police in interview room after suspect invoked his right to remain silent did not render statements subsequently volunteered by suspect inadmissible). Nor must they explicitly inform the suspect that
Applying the foregoing principles to the present case, I would conclude that the initial interrogation had ceased when the defendant invoked his rights to remain silent and to counsel and that the officers were honoring the defendant’s invocation of his rights at the time the defendant made his first and second statements. The facts demonstrate that, when the defendant invoked his rights to remain silent and to consult with an attorney, Guzda (1) acknowledged the invocation, (2) responded by telling the defendant what was expected of him at that point and what would happen next, (3) ceased any questioning, (4) went so far as to attempt to silence the defendant when he tried to speak, and (5) specifically told the defendant that any conversation had ended. Although Guzda initially stated to the defendant that he wanted to give the defendant an opportunity to tell his side of the story, and the defendant had not been read his Miranda warnings, the defendant immediately responded by stating that he did not want to say anything to the police and that he wanted to speak with
The fact that the officers did not leave the room or did not attempt to get the defendant an attorney or tell him that they would obtain one for him does not indicate that the interrogation had not ceased or that the officers had failed to honor the defendant’s invocation of his rights. Although these actions may be sufficient to terminate an interrogation, neither this court nor the United States Supreme Court ever has stated that such actions by the police are necessary. Indeed, this court previously has determined that an interrogation had ceased when the suspect invoked her rights to remain silent and to an attorney, and the officer, in response, simply ceased any questioning about the alleged crime. State v. Canales, supra, 281 Conn. 587-89.
WHETHER THE DEFENDANT’S STATEMENTS MUST BE SUPPRESSED
Although I would not exclude the statements from evidence for the reasons stated in the majority opinion, I must separately consider whether the statements are admissible or whether they must be suppressed on a different basis. Because the defendant’s second statement—that he was not a murderer and that he and his accomplice went to Stamford on the day in question only to look for work—repeated everything that the defendant said in his first statement—that he was not a murderer—and because I would conclude that the second statement is admissible, it is unnecessary to analyze the defendant’s first statement separately. I therefore analyze only the admissibility of the defendant’s second statement and his narrative statement. For the reasons that follow, I would conclude that the defendant’s second statement is admissible but that his narrative statement should be suppressed.
A
Second Statement
The admissibility of the defendant’s second statement depends on whether the statement resulted from an improper interrogation and whether the statement was voluntarily made by the defendant. If the police engage in custodial interrogation of a suspect without first providing the warnings required by Miranda, a court must presume that any statement obtained from the suspect as a result of the unwarned interrogation was compelled, and the statement must be suppressed. See, e.g., Oregon v. Elstad, 470 U.S. 298, 307, 105 S. Ct. 1285, 84 L. Ed. 2d 222 (1985); cf. Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. 475-76. If, however, a suspect makes a subsequent statement that is not in response to an improper interro
The admissibility of a suspect’s voluntary statements following statements taken in violation of Miranda is not “tainted” or affected by the prior, improper interrogation when the police do not actually coerce or compel the subsequent statements. See Oregon v. Elstad, supra, 470 U.S. 307-10; see also Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428, 441, 120 S. Ct. 2326, 147 L. Ed. 2d 405 (2000). It is important to note that the exclusionary rule and the related “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine,
Furthermore, courts have declined to apply the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine to Miranda violations when there is no evidence of actual coercion or intentional police misconduct because suppression of a suspect’s subsequent, voluntary statements would not serve the two primary goals of the Miranda decision: to deter police misconduct and to ensure the trustworthiness of evidence at trial. See, e.g., Oregon v. Elstad, supra, 470 U.S. 308 (“the absence of any coercion or improper tactics undercuts the twin rationales—trustworthiness and deterrence—for a broader rule”); cf. United States v. Pettigrew, 468 F.3d 626, 635 (10th Cir. 2006) (concluding that goals of Miranda require that “[t]he unwarned confession taken in violation of Miranda ... be suppressed” but that “it does not necessarily follow that every subsequent voluntary statement made by a suspect must be suppressed as well”), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1242, 127 S. Ct. 1343, 167 L. Ed. 2d 138 (2007).
Applying these principles, courts deciding cases with facts similar to those of the present case have admitted
In light of these principles, I would conclude that the defendant’s second statement is admissible. The trial court in the present case expressly found that (1) the officers were not “trying to . . . use any psychological ploys,” (2) “[a]ll of the statements of the defendant were of his own mind and volition, and not the result of anything [the officers] did,” and (3) “[t]here was no compulsion . . . .” The record adequately supports these findings, and the foregoing requirements are met in this case. First, although the officers violated Miranda by not giving the required warnings to the defendant, there is no evidence that the officers engaged in any coercive conduct or intentional misconduct when telling the defendant that they wanted to give him an opportunity to tell his side of the story. Second, the defendant’s initial response to the improper interrogation, that is, that he wanted to remain silent and to consult with an attorney, was freely given and resulted from the defendant’s own desire not to speak with the officers. Third, it is clear that when the defendant made his second statement, he was under no compulsion to speak, and, therefore, this statement was voluntary and not the product of any interrogation. By the time the defendant made his second statement, he had invoked his rights to remain silent and to consult with an attorney, the officers had acknowledged the defendant’s invocation and told him that he would be booked soon, and the officers had ceased questioning. Furthermore, the officers did not ask the defendant any further questions, and, when the defendant tried to speak by making his first statement, the officers specifically instructed him to “be quiet,” that they could
Although I recognize that the second statement was made in close temporal proximity to the improper interrogation, this fact does not alter my conclusion that the trial court properly found that the defendant’s second statement was voluntary. Because an improper interrogation does not taint subsequent statements when there is no evidence of compulsion or intentional misconduct by the police, the passage of time between an improper interrogation and the subsequent statements is only one factor of many that a court may consider in reviewing the totality of the circumstances. In light of the other facts of the present case, including the absence of any coercion, the fact that the defendant readily invoked and then breached his desire to remain silent, and the fact that the police attempted to silence the defendant when he chose to forgo his right to remain silent, it was not clearly erroneous for the trial court to conclude that the defendant’s second statement was voluntary and not a product of interrogation. See, e.g., United States v. Daniels, United States District Court, Docket No. 09-569-01 (E.D. Pa. May 27, 2010) (admitting subsequent, voluntary statements made only minutes after statements made in response to improper interrogation during continuous encounter with police); United States v. Richardson, 700 F. Sup. 2d 1040,1053-54 (N.D.
B
Narrative Statement
I would conclude, however, that the defendant’s narrative statement resulted from improper police conduct, in violation of Miranda and Edwards. For this reason, I agree with the majority’s conclusion that the defendant’s narrative statement must be suppressed. Because I disagree, however, with the majority’s conclusion that the initial, improper interrogation never ceased, I reach my conclusion on a different basis.
The Edwards rule is implicated when the suspect (1) invokes his right to counsel, and (2) is subjected to “further interrogation” by the police. Id., 484. The defendant’s narrative statement in the present case implicates this doctrine. By the time the defendant made his narrative statement, he previously had invoked his right to counsel. After the defendant made his first and second statements, the officers told the defendant that they would like to speak with him and asked whether he wanted to waive his rights and to speak with them without counsel. The police also asked whether the defendant minded if they wrote down what the defendant would say. The record demonstrates that these statements were posed to the defendant in a manner that indicated that the officers desired to question him to obtain a statement about the murder and conveyed their desire that he waive his rights. Because these questions were reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response, I would conclude that the defendant made his narrative statement after further interrogation, which occurred after he had invoked his right to counsel. Therefore, to admit the defendant’s narrative statement, the state must demonstrate that there was compliance with Edwards.
Finally, I agree with the majority’s conclusion that the admission of the defendant’s narrative statement constituted harmful error, and this is not altered by my previous conclusion that the defendant’s second statement was properly admitted. Although the defendant admitted in his second statement that he had gone to Stamford, presumably on the day of the murder, to look for work, it did not contain the kind or degree of detailed information that the defendant provided in his narrative statement. Significantly, the second statement did not contain the specific admission by the defendant that he had gone to the victim’s home on the day of the murder, as he had admitted in his narrative statement. In view of the fact that the state relied heavily on the
Accordingly, I concur in the majority opinion insofar as the majority reverses the defendant’s conviction and remands the case for a new trial, concludes that the defendant’s constitutional right against double jeopardy was not violated and concludes that the defendant’s narrative statement should have been suppressed. I dissent from the majority opinion insofar as the majority concludes that the officers did not honor the defendant’s invocation of his rights, that the improper interrogation never ceased, and that the defendant’s first and second statements should have been suppressed.
I note that not every situation in which an officer makes a similar prefatory statement necessarily must be construed as interrogation. Such a deter
I further disagree with the manner in which the majority characterized the claims of the state regarding the statements at issue. In its opinion, the majority describes the state’s claims as being that the improper interrogation in the present case “produced no statements” and that the defendant’s statements were made “independent[ly] of the improper interrogation.” Footnote 11 of the majority opinion. The state is not claiming that the interrogation produced no statements. Indeed, the interrogation produced one statement: that the defendant did not want to speak to the officers and that he wanted an attorney. The state’s argument is, more precisely, that the improper interrogation ended and that the contested statements were not a product of any interrogation by the police and, therefore, are admissible.
The majority attempts to explain away Guzda’s instruction to the defendant to “be quiet” by contending that this instruction was “meaningless to the defendant because he had not been advised that, pursuant to Miranda, anything further that he said could be used against him.” Footnote 13 of the majority opinion. I cannot agree with this statement for two reasons. First, I strongly disagree that this instruction could have been meaningless to the defendant. Nothing in the record suggests that the defendant was unable to understand the English language or that he was in any way unable to hear or comprehend this instruction as a result of a mental or physical impairment. I cannot accept the majority’s suggestion that an unimpaired, English speaking adult could not have understood the meaning of the command, “be quiet,” simply because the police did not also explain his Miranda rights. A more reasonable reading of the record is that the defendant understood Guzda’s command but nevertheless voluntarily chose to disobey it. When a suspect’s voluntary statement results from his own will and not from interrogation, the fifth amendment, which bars only compelled self-incriminaüon, simply is not implicated. See Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384
The majority attempts to distinguish Canales, in which this court concluded that interrogation ended when the police stopped questioning a defendant about the crime; see State v. Canales, supra, 281 Conn. 587-89; from the present case on the basis that the defendant in Canales (1) was advised of her rights under Miranda, (2) initiated the discussion, and (3) waived her rights. See footnote 13 of the majority opinion. These factors, however, are irrelevant to an analysis of whether the police have interrogated a suspect. Whether the police are engaging in interrogation depends only on whether the actions or words of the police are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect and does not depend on whether the suspect was aware of or waived his rights. See Rhode Island v. Innis, supra, 446 U.S. 300-301. The fact that the defendant in Canales was advised of her Miranda rights and subsequently waived them by making incriminating statements had nothing to do with our conclusion in that case that the interrogation had ceased. Instead, we concluded that the interrogation in Canales had ceased as soon as the defendant invoked her rights and the
Furthermore, I note that Miranda does not require a suspect to waive his rights before making a voluntary statement that is not the product of interrogation because Miranda does not prohibit a suspect from making voluntary statements after invoking his rights; rather, it only prohibits the police from engaging in further interrogation of the suspect unless the suspect waives his rights. See Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. 473-74, 478. Because I would conclude that the defendant in the present case was not being interrogated when he made his first and second statements, it is unnecessary for the state to show that the defendant waived his rights before making those voluntary statements.
1 respectfully note that, although the majority concludes that the interrogation in the present case never ceased, the majority cites no authority to support its conclusion, does not explain what is necessary to demonstrate that an interrogation has ended, and does not provide any rule or principle to guide courts when addressing this issue. The majority concludes that the defendant’s “request to remain silent was not scrupulously honored because no steps were undertaken to conclude the interrogation or belatedly advise the defendant of his Miranda rights.” Text accompanying footnote 12 of the majority opinion. The majority does not, however, explain how the actions of the officers after the defendant invoked his rights amounted to interrogation. Although the majority states that “the officers, in response to the defendant’s attempt to invoke his right[s] to remain silent and [to] have counsel present, simply told the defendant to sit there and [to] wait to be booked, and then stared at the defendant in silence”; footnote 13 of the majority opinion; the majority does not explain how the fact that the officers continued to sit with the defendant in silence was something that the police should have reasonably known was likely to elicit an incriminating response.
Furthermore, although the majority concludes that the interrogation in the present case never ceased, the majority does not explain what the officers were required to do to end the interrogation. Moreover, the majority fails to explain or provide any authority to demonstrate why the cessation of questioning, together with the admonition to “be quiet” and the statement to the defendant that any conversation was over, was insufficient to demonstrate to the defendant that the interrogation had ended. It strains reason to conclude that Guzda’s statements informing the defendant that he was not to speak and that the conversation was over were reasonably likely to elicit a response or somehow meant that the conversation was continuing. Instead, the case law previously discussed demonstrates that the police simply must cease any interrogation—and nothing more—to demonstrate that an interrogation has ended. Insofar as the majority departs from the case law on this issue, it gives no explanation for doing so. For these reasons, the majority, in my view, does not give adequate guidance to courts or to law enforcement officials as to what is required to end an interrogation and inserts unnecessary confusion into the jurisprudence on this subject.
The exclusionary rule is intended to “make effective the fundamental constitutional guarantees of sanctity of the home and inviolability of the person . . . (Citation omitted.) Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 484, 83 S. Ct. 407, 9 L. Ed. 2d 441 (1963). To protect this interest, the exclusionary rule requires the suppression of all evidence obtained as a result of an illegal search and “is calculated to prevent, not to repair. Its purpose is to deter ... by removing the incentive to disregard it.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590, 599-600, 95 S. Ct. 2254, 45 L. Ed. 2d 416 (1975).
In reaching this conclusion, I am mindful of the prophylactic nature of the Edwards rule, which was intended to prevent the police from undermining or interfering with a suspect’s invocation of his right to counsel by subsequently influencing him to change his mind. See Smith v. Illinois, supra, 469 U.S. 98 (explaining that Edwards rule was designed to prevent police from engaging in any “ ‘badger[ing]’ or ‘overreaching’—explicit or subtle, deliberate or unintentional—[that] might otherwise wear down the accused and
Because the state clearly cannot meet its burden on this issue, it is unnecessary to examine whether the defendant had reinitiated the discussion.
Reference
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- State of Connecticut v. Harry Gonzalez
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