State v. Filemon V.
State v. Filemon V.
Opinion
I. INTRODUCTION
{1} In this case we reexamine a juvenile's right to be free from self-incrimination, as secured by the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Basic Rights provision under the Delinquency Act of the Children's Code, NMSA 1978, Section 32A-2-14 (2009). The State appeals the suppression of two statements made by sixteen-year-old Filemon V.
{2} Filemon made the first statement to his probation officers. We hold that, absent a valid waiver, Section 32A-2-14(C) precludes the admission of Filemon's statement to his probation officers while in investigatory detention. We affirm the district court's order suppressing the use of the statement in a subsequent prosecution.
{3} The second contested statement was elicited by police officers at the Silver City Police Department. Filemon was at this point in custody, and entitled to be warned of his
Miranda
rights. At issue is whether the midstream
Miranda
warnings were sufficient to inform Filemon of his rights. We conclude that the warnings were insufficient under
Missouri v. Seibert
,
II. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
{4} This case comes to this Court on interlocutory appeal from the Sixth Judicial District Court. Pursuant to Rule 12-201(A)(1)(a) NMRA, the State appeals the district court's order to suppress two statements, one elicited at the juvenile probation office and the other at the Silver City Police Department.
{5} Filemon was on probation for committing a delinquent act and expected to come to the probation office to pick up a travel permit. Filemon arrived at the probation office with his mother and stepfather. When he entered the lobby, Supervisor Rachel Medina greeted Filemon and asked if he was there to pick up the travel permit. Filemon responded that he "just shot Chugie and Eric." 1 Supervisor Medina asked what Filemon was talking about, and Filemon's mother interjected, stating that he was there "to turn himself in." At that point, Filemon's probation officer, Cody McNiel, entered the lobby. Filemon again said that he was there to "turn[ ] himself in," this time adding, "for murder, I guess."
{6} Prior to Filemon's arrival, McNiel had been informed of a shooting and was helping to locate a potential suspect-Filemon's co-defendant in another case. Thus, McNiel knew what Filemon was talking about. McNiel told Filemon to "go ahead and come in and ... we'll go to my office and ... we'll discuss it."
{7} McNiel escorted Filemon through a locked door and a hallway, to Supervisor Medina's office. McNiel shut the door. Filemon's parents told McNiel and Supervisor Medina that Filemon wanted to turn himself in to New Mexico State Police Officer Michael Dunn, because "that's who he trusts." McNiel stepped out and asked another probation officer to call the police, identifying Filemon as "the shooter."
*1092 {8} Inside Supervisor Medina's office, McNiel asked if Filemon was there "to confess [to] the drive-by shooting." Filemon responded, "[I]t wasn't a drive-by." McNiel persisted, "[O]kay ... why don't you go ahead and tell me the story then." Filemon responded with the first contested statement. McNiel continued to speak to Filemon until police arrived.
{9} Supervisor Medina later testified that Filemon arrived at the probation office of his own volition, and neither she nor McNiel questioned Filemon. According to McNiel, however, McNiel "wanted to keep him talking until ... law enforcement got there so that they could take him into custody." Filemon's mother "[did] most of the talking" and "Filemon said very little." Neither probation officer advised Filemon of his
Miranda
rights or his right to remain silent under Section 32A-2-14.
See
Javier M.
,
{10} Several police officers arrived at the probation office, including Officer Dunn and Sergeant Joseph Arredondo. Sergeant Arredondo had been present at the hospital with the victims prior to his dispatch and knew Filemon was a suspect. Supervisor Medina told at least one police officer what Filemon had said. According to Supervisor Medina, the parking lot of the juvenile probation office looked "like Christmas" due to the number of police units and flashing lights.
{11} Sergeant Arredondo informed Filemon that "detectives needed to speak with him" and transported Filemon and his mother to the Silver City Police Department, where he turned Filemon over to Captain Javier Hernandez. Captain Hernandez met Filemon and his mother in the parking lot and asked if they would come inside. Captain Hernandez had been actively questioning an eyewitness to the shooting, and knew that the likely shooter was short, named "Fil," and had a "peanut-shaped" head, which matched Filemon's appearance.
{12} Seeing that the interview room was occupied with another suspect, Captain Hernandez took Filemon and his mother to his office. Captain Hernandez summoned the case agent assigned to the murder investigation, Detective Pat Castillo. Captain Hernandez later testified that he intended for Detective Castillo "to sit there and listen to what [Filemon] had to say because the other witness ... wasn't cooperating with us." Captain Hernandez turned on his belt recorder and asked Filemon "how old he was" and "if he was going to tell me what happened today." Filemon responded, "What [do] you want to know?" Captain Hernandez answered, "Everything." Filemon proceeded to give a full statement.
{13} At no time did Captain Hernandez advise Filemon of his constitutional rights. When asked why he did not advise Filemon of his constitutional rights, Captain Hernandez said, "I didn't really think about it. I wasn't sure what his involvement was ... if he was the shooter or if he wasn't the shooter. I just wanted to see what information he had." Once he obtained Filemon's statement, Captain Hernandez told Filemon that he would be detained. The State concedes that the statement elicited by Captain Hernandez is inadmissible.
{14} Captain Hernandez then asked Filemon to make a statement to Detective Castillo. Detective Castillo took Filemon and his mother to the interview room, where he read Filemon his Miranda warnings. Before continuing the interview, Detective Castillo told Filemon that he was "finishing up." Detective Castillo characterized the Miranda warnings as a "formality," and instructed Filemon and his mother to sign the written waiver of rights, which they did. Detective Castillo explained that their conversation would "go the same way" as the conversation with Captain Hernandez, but in greater detail. Detective Castillo did not inform Filemon that the statement he had just given to Captain Hernandez would not be admissible at trial. Detective Castillo then obtained a second statement, which included the same content as the statement elicited by Captain Hernandez.
{15} At the conclusion of the suppression hearing, the district court determined that the statement in Supervisor Medina's office was inadmissible because Filemon was not advised of his statutory right against self-incrimination and did not knowingly, voluntarily
*1093
and intelligently waive his rights under Section 32A-2-14(D). The district court also suppressed both statements elicited at the Silver City Police Department, finding that the pre-
Miranda
, unwarned statement was inadmissible; Detective Castillo's midstream
Miranda
warnings were constitutionally inadequate under
Seibert
,
{16} The State appeals the district court's order to suppress two statements: (1) the statement in Supervisor Medina's office; and (2) the post-warning statement to Detective Castillo. On appeal, the State contends that Section 32A-2-14 does not preclude the admission of the statement and that Section 32A-2-14 applies only when law enforcement places a child in investigatory detention. The State also contends that the post-
Miranda
statement to Detective Castillo is admissible because it was voluntary, uncoerced, and made subject to a valid waiver. Because the charges expose Filemon to a potential sentence of life imprisonment, we have jurisdiction to decide the appeal under Rule 12-102(A)(1) NMRA.
State v. Smallwood
,
III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
{17} An appeal of a district court's suppression ruling raises a mixed question of fact and law.
State v. Wyatt B.
,
IV. DISCUSSION
{18} In determining the admissibility of the statements, we begin with the fundamental principles against self-incrimination. The right against self-incrimination is borne of the Fifth Amendment and applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
See
Malloy v. Hogan
,
{19} In
Miranda v. Arizona
, the United States Supreme Court adopted a warnings-based approach for determining the admissibility of statements elicited in police custody.
See
{20} In addition to the constitutional protections against self-incrimination, Section 32A-2-14 provides a statutory right against self-incrimination to children suspected of delinquent conduct.
Javier M.
,
No person subject to the provisions of the Delinquency Act who is alleged or suspected of being a delinquent child shall be interrogated or questioned without first advising the child of the child's constitutional rights and securing a knowing, intelligent and voluntary waiver.
In
Javier M.
, we explained that " Section 32A-2-14 is not a mere codification of
*1094
Miranda
, but was intended instead to provide children with greater statutory protection than constitutionally mandated."
Javier M.
,
{21} Questioning officials must exercise greater vigilance with child suspects due to their "[l]ack of experience, perspective, and judgment," and their diminished "ability to recognize and avoid various choices detrimental to them."
State v. Rivas
,
A. Section 32A-2-14 Prohibits the Admission of an Unwarned Statement to Probation Officers in a Subsequent Prosecution
{22} The question of whether a child's unwarned statement in response to questioning by his probation officer is admissible under Section 32A-2-14 is a matter of statutory interpretation to be reviewed de novo.
See
Antonio T.
,
{23} With respect to these minimal constitutional guarantees, the
Miranda
warnings are typically required in circumstances of custodial interrogation.
Id.
¶¶ 14-15. Our cases hold that "[a]n individual is subject to custodial interrogation when he or she lacks the freedom to leave to an extent equal to formal arrest."
Id.
¶ 18. The threshold question in determining whether a person is in custodial interrogation is whether there were "any words or actions on the part of the police ... that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect."
Rhode Island v. Innis
,
{24} While the United States Supreme Court has yet to consider the Fifth Amendment rights of juvenile probationers, it considered the rights of adult probationers in
Murphy
,
{25} Unlike
Miranda
, " Section 32A-2-14 does not require that a child be subject to custodial interrogation in order for the protections of the statute to come into force."
Javier M.
,
{26} Investigatory detentions are "substantially less coercive than custodial interrogations ." Id. ¶ 19. For example, a traffic stop is an investigatory detention because it is brief, temporary, and "not so inherently coercive" as to compel a typical person to self-incriminate. Id. We first determined that a child was subject to an investigatory detention in the context of police questioning. See id. ¶ 40. In Javier M ., a police officer removed a child from a party to question him about underage drinking. Id. ¶¶ 2-4, 20. There was no custodial interrogation because the encounter was not coercive and the child was not "overpowered by police presence." Id. ¶¶ 20-21. Nevertheless, the child was (1) suspected of a delinquent act; (2) questioned; and (3) not free to leave. Id. ¶ 20. Given these circumstances, we determined that the child was in investigatory detention and entitled to be advised of his right to remain silent. Id. ¶ 38.
{27} In addition to being less coercive than custodial interrogations, investigatory detentions are less adversarial.
Id.
¶ 22. Unlike custodial interrogations, investigatory detentions are not "police dominated" and the child is not "overpowered by police presence."
Id.
¶ 21 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). There is no requirement that the child be "swept from familiar surroundings into police custody, surrounded by antagonistic forces, and subjected to the techniques of persuasion ... so that the individual feels under compulsion to speak."
Antonio T.
,
{28} While the district court did not expressly recognize that Filemon was in an investigatory detention in Supervisor Medina's office, it did find that McNiel was "holding" Filemon until police arrived, that McNiel was actively investigating Filemon, and that the statement was elicited. There was substantial evidence to support these findings, which lead us to conclude that Filemon was in investigatory detention. The district court also concluded that Section 32A-2-14 is not limited to statements elicited by police officers. We agree.
{29} Filemon was suspected of committing a new offense, other than that for which he was on probation.
See
Javier M.
,
{30} Once in Supervisor Medina's office, Filemon was questioned about a new offense.
*1096
See
Antonio T.
,
{31} Filemon was not free to leave Supervisor Medina's office.
Javier M.
,
{32} While Filemon entered the probation office of his own volition, the nature of the encounter changed when he made the initial voluntary statements in the lobby. The probation officers isolated Filemon by escorting him through a locked door and down a hallway to a supervisor's office in the interior of the building.
See
Javier M.
,
{33} Section 32A-2-14 is not limited to police questioning, as the State asserts. The presence of a police officer is relevant, but not dispositive, to determining whether a child is in investigatory detention.
See
Antonio T.
,
{34} The Court of Appeals held that a child's unwarned statements to his probation officer were admissible for the limited purpose of a probation revocation proceeding in
Taylor E.
,
{35} We conclude that Filemon was subject to an investigatory detention for purposes of Section 32A-2-14, and the unwarned statement to his probation officers cannot be used to prosecute a new offense. The absence of a police officer does not bar this result where the statements were elicited in an investigatory detention and offered in a new criminal case. For this reason, we affirm the district court's suppression of the statement.
B. The Post- Miranda Statement Is Inadmissible Under Seibert
{36} Filemon was transported from the juvenile probation office to the Silver City Police Department. At the police department, Captain Hernandez was informed that Filemon was there to speak to him. Captain Hernandez turned on his recorder and escorted Filemon and his mother to his office, where he proceeded to interview Filemon in the presence of the detective assigned to the case, Detective Castillo. Captain Hernandez did not inform Filemon of his Miranda rights. Once Captain Hernandez elicited a full, detailed statement from Filemon, he informed Filemon that he was going to be detained. Immediately following this interview, Captain Hernandez directed Filemon to repeat the statement to Detective Castillo. Detective Castillo took Filemon and his mother into the interview room, gave Filemon his Miranda warnings, and obtained a second, detailed statement.
{37} The district court suppressed both statements elicited at the police department. The State appeals the suppression of the post-
Miranda
statement. We affirm the district court's suppression of the statement because the midstream
Miranda
warning was ineffective in informing Filemon of his
Miranda
rights.
Seibert
,
{38} It is well established that before any person is the subject of a custodial police interrogation, the suspect must be advised of his or her
Miranda
rights.
{39} It is undisputed that Filemon was subject to a custodial interrogation when Captain Hernandez interviewed him, triggering the requirement of
Miranda
warnings.
See
{40} We disagree. First, the State places improper emphasis on the voluntariness of the statements elicited at the police station.
See
Dickerson
,
{41} The United States Supreme Court has decided two cases relevant to the discussion of whether a warned statement is admissible following an unwarned statement: Elstad and Seibert .
{42} The question in
Elstad
was whether a suspect's post-
Miranda
statement was admissible after the suspect had already made an incriminating statement to a police officer.
{43} The Court revisited the question of whether a second, warned statement was admissible after a first, unwarned statement in
Seibert
.
{44} In distinguishing Seibert 's facts from Elstad 's, the Court listed facts relevant to determining whether midstream Miranda warnings are effective in informing a suspect of his or her constitutional rights:
the completeness and detail of the questions and answers in the first round of interrogation, the overlapping content of the two statements, the timing and setting of the first and second [rounds of interrogation], the continuity of police personnel, and the degree to which the interrogator's questions treated the second round as continuous with the first.
Seibert
,
*1099
{45} In distinguishing the
Seibert
interrogation from the interrogation in
Elstad
, the
Seibert
Court noted that the
Elstad
questioning was "a new and distinct experience," such that "the
Miranda
warnings could have made sense as presenting a genuine choice whether to follow up on the earlier admission."
Seibert,
{46} This case bears notable similarities to
Seibert
. Like
Seibert
, Filemon was questioned extensively and gave a full confession before he was given his
Miranda
warnings. After Detective Castillo gave Filemon the
Miranda
warnings, Detective Castillo told Filemon to "start from the beginning like you did a while ago," asking him to repeat his prior confession, and ensuring that the content of the second statement completely overlapped with the content of the first statement. The lack of break between the first and second interviews, and the fact that Detective Castillo was present for both, further contributed to the continuous nature of the two interviews. Additionally, rather than taking any curative measures to ensure that Filemon understood that the pre-
Miranda
confession he gave to Captain Hernandez was inadmissible, Detective Castillo did the opposite and told Filemon and his mother that the
Miranda
warnings were merely a "formality." The
Seibert
Court recognized that "when
Miranda
warnings are inserted in the midst of coordinated and continuing interrogation, they are likely to mislead and deprive a defendant of knowledge essential to his ability to understand the nature of his rights and the consequences of abandoning them."
{47} Given the manner in which the interview was conducted, it would have been unreasonable for Filemon to believe that he had a genuine right to remain silent. While Filemon's mother was present, there is no evidence that she herself understood the midstream
Miranda
warnings. She did not counsel or advise Filemon during either of the interviews and left it up to him to decide whether he wanted to answer the officers' questions. Filemon had already made a full confession to Captain Hernandez before he was advised of his rights. Furthermore, when Detective Castillo began to interview Filemon, he told Filemon that he was "gonna go the same way" as Captain Hernandez and that he was just "finishing up" where Captain Hernandez left off, giving the impression that the interview was just a continuation of the interview conducted by Captain Hernandez. Detective Castillo did not make it clear that Filemon could stop talking. Because of the coercive tactics employed by Captain Hernandez and Detective Castillo, Filemon was not provided with a "real choice between talking and not talking."
See
{48} The
Miranda
warnings are not a mere formality.
Miranda
warnings given after a confession are likely to be "ineffective in preparing the suspect for successive interrogation, close in time and similar in content."
{49} We affirm the district court's suppression of the two contested statements and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
{50} IT IS SO ORDERED.
WE CONCUR:
JUDITH K. NAKAMURA, Chief Justice
PETRA JIMENEZ MAES, Justice
EDWARD L. CHÁVEZ, Justice
CHARLES W. DANIELS, Justice
We do not assess the admissibility of the statements in the lobby. The district court found that these statements were spontaneous and unsolicited and Filemon does not contest that finding on appeal.
See
State v. Javier M.
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. FILEMON v. Defendant-Appellee.
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published