State v. Robinson
State v. Robinson
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
We granted the petition of the Attorney General of Maryland asking us to review the decision of the Court of Special Appeals in order to determine whether that Court, in reversing convictions for armed robbery of Ronald Andre Jackson and James Edward Robinson in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, had erred in applying the rule of Miller v. State, 231 Md. 215, and Cooper v. State, 231 Md. 248, that evidence that an accused in police custody had remained silent in the face of an accusation of his guilt by another is inadmissible against him. We conclude that the Court of Special Appeals did err and will reverse its judgment and affirm the judgments of the Criminal Court of Baltimore.
The State’s evidence included testimony that on March 21, 1970 in Baltimore Robinson was driving a black sedan with Jackson on the passenger’s side of the front seat. They picked up Lewis Barber and his friend Conyers, who wished to be transported to an intersection some blocks away. Robinson did not stop at the intersection but drove into Druid Hill Park where he stopped the car and pointed a gun at Barber and obtained from him money, whiskey and a watch. (Barber says he gave the loot to Jackson at Robinson’s direction.) Robinson handed the gun to Jackson and told him to hold it on Barber and Conyers, and then started to drive on. After they had gone a short distance, Robinson noticed a police car behind them and told Jackson to throw the gun out of the window and Jackson did so. About fifty yards from where Jackson threw the gun, Robinson stopped the car.
Officer Maher testified for the prosecution that then he
Officer Pereny next testified. He said without objection that he and Officer Maher approached the Robinson car, Maher going to the driver’s side and he to the other side, and that “we opened the doors of the vehicle, and the subjects on my side of the car remained in the car, and the ones on Officer Maher’s side began to get out. Mr. Barber had gotten out of the back seat. I could just barely hear him say to my partner that ‘we have been robbed’ and something to the effect ‘they have a gun’ * * * on the right hand side of the driver’s seat was the defendant, Mr. Jackson * *
Barber, who was the first witness for the State, testified that all four men got out of the car and put their hands up in response to a command from the police and immediately he told the police that “they” had just robbed him and that they had thrown a gun out of the car. Judge O’Donnell admitted his statement over objection as part of the res gestae.
When Jackson testified, he said on direct examination that the pistol was his and he threw it out of the window of the car because he was on parole. He said, too, that Barber did not tell the police he had been robbed until everyone was out of the car but “no, he had told them as soon as the police pulled up.” On cross-examination he was asked: “What did you first say to the police when they pulled you over?” He answered: “I ain’t say nothing because they stopped him [Robinson], it was his
It is on this record that Judge DeWeese Carter, for the Court of Special Appeals, held that Jackson and Robinson were in custody when Barber said they had robbed him and that “the court erred in permitting in evidence Jackson’s answer that he remained silent in the face of Barber’s accusation.” Judge Carter further said that: “During cross-examination of the appellant Jackson, he was asked whether he said anything in response to Barber’s statement that they robbed him and had a gun, made after police custody attached.”
It is far from clear that police custody had attached when Barber said Jackson and Robinson had robbed him. Jackson himself testified that it was before and this was also the recollection of Officer Maher and in part that of Officer Pereny. But if it be assumed for the purpose of the decision that police custody had attached, Barnes and Burgess v. State, 1 Md. App. 123, 127, nothing else in Judge Carter’s statement of the question to be decided, or the answer, is warranted, or supported by the record.
There is nothing to show, or even suggest, that Barber’s statement and Jackson’s silence were connected in any way or that the State sought to connect them. Testi
If for the purpose of decision we waive the obvious waiver of Robinson and Jackson under the Rule, they are not helped. The record leaves no doubt that the purpose of the State in this aspect of its cross-examination of Jackson was to elicit from him the making of a spontaneous inculpatory statement that would not be within the ban or bar of the Miranda rule (Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436, 16 L.Ed.2d 694), and that everyone understood this. Judge O’Donnell’s ruling — permitting a question as to a “blurt” and forbidding a question as to answers to police interrogation — makes it clear that he so understood it.
We see no error in permitting an answer to a question seeking an inculpatory answer (which twice before had been answered without objection) as to whether Jackson had spontaneously said anything when he alighted from the car, particularly since no inculpation resulted.
We think it would be far-fetched to the point of unreason to hold that permitting Jackson to say that he said nothing when he first encountered the police, in answer to the question whether he had spoken spontaneously, had anything to do with the jury’s acceptance of strong evidence of the guilt of Jackson and Robinson.
Judgments reversed and case remanded for entry by the Court of Special Appeals of judgments of affirmance of the judgments of the Criminal Court of Baltimore.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE OF MARYLAND v. ROBINSON and JACKSON
- Status
- Published