Commonwealth v. Reaves
Commonwealth v. Reaves
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from the judgment of sentence of the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, Criminal Divi
On March 2, 1979 a juvenile petition was filed against the defendant alleging that on December 19, 1978 he committed the offense of burglary at Kauffman Cleaners in Steelton, Pa. On March 8, 1979, after a hearing thereon, the matter was transferred to the criminal division pursuant to Section 6355 of the Juvenile Act (42 Pa.C.S. 6355). Subsequently, a criminal information was drawn and filed against the defendant, he was arraigned on May 2, 1979 where he entered a not guilty plea to the offense, and on August 22, 1979, the defendant was adjudged guilty of the burglary following a non-jury trial and was sentenced as set forth above. On August 27, 1979, the defendant took this appeal. Defendant was 17 years of age at the time of the burglary.
On December 22, 1978 police questioned the defendant, in the presence of his mother, about the burglary. During the course of the questioning the defendant gave oral inculpato-ry statements to the police which implicated him in the burglary. These statements were later reduced to writing which the defendant signed. Prior to trial the defendant filed a suppression motion seeking to have the statements suppressed as the product of unlawful questioning in violation of his Miranda rights.
Prior to the actual interrogation of the defendant, he was given the Miranda warnings in various forms. The police first read him his rights from a card which contained the statement that “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law” (Emphasis-ours). Shortly thereafter the statement which defendant claims misled him was read to the defendant and his mother and was signed by the defendant’s mother. The police then gave the defendant and his mother the opportunity to confer privately with each other. Following this conference the Miranda warnings were read to the defendant a third time. This Miranda statement was given to the defendant in essentially the same form as the first one. Defendant then gave the inculpatory statement. He now claims that the Miranda warnings given to him were defective because they misled him into believing that he would be subjected only to juvenile proceedings and that therefore his statements were not given voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently. We do not agree.
At the outset we note that the defendant was given the Miranda warnings three times. It was only during the second reading of his rights that the words “juvenile proceeding” were used. The defendant was also given the opportunity to consult with an interested adult (his mother) in private prior to giving the incriminating statement. Therefore, the requirements that a juvenile be permitted to consult with a parent, attorney or other interested adult
Defendant cites the case of Commonwealth v. Dixon, 475 Pa. 17, 379 A.2d 553 (1977) in support of his proposition. In that case the court held that a defendant’s waiver of her Miranda rights was ineffective because she misapprehended which of two offenses the police were investigating when she was questioned. The defendant thought that she was being questioned about her failure to make restitution in connection with a malicious mischief charge when instead the questioning concerned a murder. During the questioning the defendant admitted killing her son and was charged with that murder. The Supreme Court held that defendant’s statement in which she admitted killing her son to the police was inadmissible at trial because the defendant was not aware of the nature of the investigation at the time she waived her rights. Dixon, supra, therefore, stands for the proposition that an accused must be aware of the nature of the investigation at the time of the questioning before a waiver of Miranda rights can be held to be effective. It does not mean that an accused must be aware of all the consequences which might flow from a waiver of his Miranda rights before he can effectively waive them. A suspect, therefore, need not have knowledge of the “technicalities” of the criminal offense involved; rather it is necessary only that he be aware of the “transaction” involved. Commonwealth v. Dixon, supra; Commonwealth v. Richman, 458 Pa. 167, 320 A.2d 351 (1974). We also hold that a defendant need not be aware of every conceivable consequence which might flow from a waiver of his Miranda rights in order to effectuate such a waiver as it is impossible to foresee every such possible consequence. We merely hold that the defendant must be informed that his statements can and will be used against him in a court of law as required in Miranda. Since the defendant was informed of this we hold that his waiver was effective and we refuse to hold that because he was also informed that his statements could be used against him in a juvenile proceeding that such warning constituted a promise to him that he would be handled as a juvenile.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).
Concurring Opinion
concurring:
I agree that under the circumstances of this case appellant validly waived his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). I express no opinion regarding any other circumstances in which a suspect may validly waive his Miranda rights. Accordingly, I concur in the affirmance of the judgment of sentence.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Anthony Ray REAVES, Appellant
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published