State v. Cramer, Unpublished Decision (3-10-2004)
State v. Cramer, Unpublished Decision (3-10-2004)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 3} On June 18, 2003, Cramer filed a motion to suppress oral statements she made during the course of a police investigation. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court granted Cramer's motion, on the ground that her statements were taken in violation of Miranda v. Arizona (1966),
{¶ 4} Cramer is the mother of Jamie Wagner and Renee Leonard. On the evening of April 7, 2003, detectives from the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department took a statement from Jamie Wagner, who implicated Cramer in the killing of an elderly woman, Gysberta Boer. This statement prompted an investigation of Cramer.
{¶ 5} Later that evening, Renee Leonard, accompanied by officers from the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department and the Portage County Sheriff's Department, went to Cramer's home, with the purpose of obtaining an incriminating statement from her. Leonard agreed to wear a concealed wire transmitter, in order to permit the police to monitor and record her conversation with her mother. Leonard entered the home alone and spoke with Cramer, who made several statements regarding the death of Gysberta Boer. Cramer did not receive Miranda warnings prior to making these statements.
{¶ 6} Remaining outside and concealed from Cramer, the police officers surrounded the home. The officers carried with them a signed complaint charging Cramer with aggravated murder, as well as a warrant for Cramer's arrest. The officers did not intend for Cramer to leave her home freely. After Leonard left the home, the officers arrested Cramer.
{¶ 7} After concluding that Leonard acted as an agent for the police, and emphasizing the police officers' intentions to arrest Cramer, the trial court determined that Cramer's statements were obtained in a manner "tantamount to custodial interrogation." Therefore, concluded the court, the statements were taken in violation of Cramer's Miranda rights and, consequently, were inadmissible.
{¶ 8} The State timely appealed, asserting one assignment of error.
{¶ 9} In its sole assignment of error, the State maintains that the trial court erred by determining that Cramer's statements were obtained in violation of her Miranda rights. We agree.
{¶ 10} A trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress evidence presents a mixed question of law and fact to the reviewing court. State v. Long (1998),
{¶ 11} The State does not dispute the trial court's findings of fact, but challenges its legal conclusion that Cramer's statements were taken in violation of her Miranda rights.
{¶ 12} Law enforcement officials are obligated to administerMiranda warnings only to those who are interrogated while "in custody." Oregon v. Mathiason (1977),
{¶ 13} The uncommunicated, subjective intentions of law enforcement officials have no bearing on the determination of whether a defendant is in custody. Berkemer v. McCarty (1984),
{¶ 14} In its analysis, the trial court focused upon the subjective intentions of the police officers involved in Cramer's arrest, emphasizing their aim to arrest her. The trial court did not make findings relevant to the pertinent perspective: a reasonable person in Cramer's position.
{¶ 15} The record is devoid of any indication that, at any time prior to or during her conversation with her daughter, Cramer was aware that the officers were surrounding her home and intended to arrest her. At the time she made the statements, then, Cramer was in her own home, speaking to her daughter, and unaware of the presence of the police. A reasonable person in this position would not have believed that she was not free to leave. See State v. Perry (Oct. 9, 1996), 9th Dist. No. 17754. Therefore, Cramer was not in custody and was not entitled to receive Miranda warnings prior to making her oral statements.
{¶ 16} It is well settled that "a reviewing court is not authorized to reverse a correct judgment merely because erroneous reasons were assigned as the basis thereof." Joyce v. Gen.Motors Corp. (1990),
{¶ 17} The
{¶ 18} Cramer maintains that her
{¶ 19} Appellant's assignment of error is sustained.
Judgment reversed, and cause remanded.
Slaby, P.J., Batchelder, J., Concur.
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