State v. Kirkpatrick
State v. Kirkpatrick
Opinion of the Court
Jonathan Kirkpatrick appeals his conviction for murder in the first degree. He claims ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney failed to assert a violation of the court rule requiring access to an attorney “[a]t the earliest opportunity.” CrR 3.1(c)(2). We hold that the counsel’s performance was deficient, but we affirm because Kirkpatrick has failed to demonstrate prejudice.
FACTS
Larry and Joyce Robertson owned and operated a conve
The State’s medical examiner determined that Ms. Robertson died from a wound inflicted by a gun fired at Ms. Robertson’s left eye from six inches away. Detectives recovered a casing and bullet from a 9mm Ruger at the crime scene. According to investigators, information regarding Ms. Robertson’s eye wound and the type of weapon used in the crime was not released to the public.
Lewis County Detective Steve Hamilton and Lewis County Deputy Keith Ivie arrested Jonathan Kirkpatrick at the Port Angeles Police Department in July 1993. Detective Hamilton advised Kirkpatrick of his Miranda
During the four-hour drive to Lewis County, Kirkpatrick initiated three conversations with Detective Hamilton. The detective reminded him that he had asked for an attorney and that the detective could not talk to him, but Kirkpatrick said he did not want an attorney and wanted to talk about the case. Kirkpatrick then described the crime and admitted shooting the clerk, but said that Peter Hawkins made him do it.
During the suppression hearing, Kirkpatrick’s attorney asked Deputy Ivie if any efforts had been made to connect Kirkpatrick with an attorney. The State objected, contending the question was irrelevant because the officers had “no duty to do that.” Kirkpatrick’s attorney countered that it was relevant “to inquire if any efforts were made to allow Mr. Kirkpatrick a phone call to contact a lawyer.” He continued: “There was no testimony that there was a telephone even in the room, so the officers had to do something for him to be allowed to make connection with an attorney.” The court sustained the State’s objection. The court ultimately concluded that all of Kirkpatrick’s statements were admissible because he had waived his right to counsel by “re-initiat[ing]” each conversation. The court later admitted the taped statement at trial.
During the trial, Arthur Jensen testified that he sneaked out of his work release facility to go with Kirkpatrick and Peter Hawkins to see a friend in Winlock. During the drive, Jensen saw Kirkpatrick with a 9mm handgun. The three eventually visited Ms. Robertson’s convenience store because Hawkins wanted to buy beer and cigarettes. Hawkins went in to the store by himself but returned without beer, complaining that the clerk would not sell him beer that early in the morning. Kirkpatrick, who had finished consuming “a hit of dope,” grabbed his pistol and said he was going to get some beer. Jensen then saw Kirkpatrick shoot the woman in the head and run out of the store with a sack of money. Jensen admitted that he had previously told a different story to police—where he heard but did not see the shooting—but said the second version was the truth. He explained that he gave inconsistent stories because he was afraid of being sent back to prison.
Kirkpatrick’s friend, Michael Matt Slifer, testified that in May 1994, Kirkpatrick told him he had killed a woman in Winlock: “He said that she worked in a little convenience store and that the reason being—the reason that he did it is there was some sort of conflict of her kicking him off the property or some sort of conflict of interest and he had shot her with a 38 in the face.” When asked if the gun could have been a different caliber, he answered, “It could have been, I’m not sure.”
Tom Crybleskey, an acquaintance of Kirkpatrick, testified that Kirkpatrick wanted to work for him as an “enforcer” in illegal drug deals. Crybleskey recounted a conversation in February or March of 1994 during which Kirkpatrick admitted he had murdered someone: “He said him and Pete [Hawkins] and Arthur [Jensen] were on the way back from Portland. They stopped to get the beer and cigarettes, the lady wouldn’t sell it to him and he shot her [in the eye].”
Michelle Davis testified that in September 1994, Kirkpatrick told her that he had “killed people.” Davis continued: “He wanted cigarettes and beer, that’s what they went there for. And she said something that upset him and he shot her [in the head].”
Kirkpatrick offered an alibi, calling several co-workers who testified that he had been working in Port Angeles the night before the robbery. He also called a counselor from Jensen’s work release facility who said it would have been difficult for Jensen to have left the center unnoticed. Finally, Kirkpatrick took the stand and accused Hawkins of committing the crime. He admitted that he told Ridgeway, Crybleskey, and Slifer that he shot Ms. Robertson, but he only did it to impress them and “be cool.” But he denied telling Davis. When asked about his self-incriminating statements during the initial interview in Port Angeles and the drive to Lewis County, Kirkpatrick said, “I said what I said so I could get out.” He claimed that he was afraid of Hawkins because Hawkins had shot at him a few times and he “had seen [Hawkins] kill people several times in Tacoma.” Therefore, he was protecting himself “[b]y protecting Peter Hawkins from the law.”
ANALYSIS
Kirkpatrick claims his counsel was ineffective during the suppression hearing. To establish ineffective assistance of counsel, Kirkpatrick must demonstrate deficient performance and prejudice. State v. Glenn, 86 Wn. App. 40, 44, 935 P.2d 679 (1997). Counsel’s performance is deficient when it “falls below a minimum objective standard of reasonable attorney conduct.” Glenn, 86 Wn. App. at 44.
At issue is CrR 3.1(c)(2): “At the earliest opportunity a person in custody who desires a lawyer shall be provided access to a telephone, the telephone number of the public defender or official responsible for assigning a lawyer, and any other means necessary to place the person in communication with a lawyer.”
While CrR 3.1(c)(2) appears similar to the Miranda warning, it actually serves a different purpose. CrR 3.1(c)(2) is designed “to provide a meaningful opportunity to contact a lawyer.” American Bar Association Froject on Minimum Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating
We conclude that Detective Hamilton and Deputy Ivie did not follow the clear language of CrR 3.1(c)(2). Although the rule does not require the officers to actually connect the accused with an attorney, it does require reasonable efforts to do so. E.g., City of Bellevue v. Ohlson, 60 Wn. App. 485, 487, 803 P.2d 1346 (1991) (officer made six attempts to telephone arrestee’s attorney); City of Seattle v. Wakenight, 24 Wn. App. 48, 49-50, 599 P.2d 5 (1979) (officer telephones public defender and gives arrestee phone book and access to phone). But here, the officers made no effort to contact an attorney when Kirkpatrick first requested one at the Port Angles Police Department. Had they done so, we presume a lawyer would have told Kirkpatrick to remain silent: “[A]ny lawyer worth his salt will tell the suspect in no uncertain terms to make no statement to police under any circumstances.” Watts v. Indiana, 338 U.S. 49, 59, 69 S. Ct. 1357, 93 L. Ed. 1801 (1949) (Jackson, J., concurring).
We further conclude that Kirkpatrick did not waive his rights under CrR 3.1(c)(2). It is true a defendant
State v. Wade, 44 Wn. App. 154, 721 P.2d 977 (1986), is distinguishable. There, the defendant invoked his Miranda rights and asked for counsel immediately after his arrest. The officers stopped their questioning and took him to the station, where an officer asked the defendant if he would consent to a search of his vehicle. The defendant said no and again requested an attorney. When the booking process was completed, still less than an hour after the defendant was first contacted, he signed a waiver and confessed. Only after the defendant gave a taped confession did officers provide him with a list of public defenders Wade, 44 Wn. App. at 157. Division Three of this court concluded that the defendant waived his “right to counsel before the police had an opportunity to provide him with access to the phone and a list of attorneys who could possibly defend him.” Wade, 44 Wn. App. at 159 (emphasis added).
Here, the police first contacted Kirkpatrick more than three hours before he confessed, and Kirkpatrick first asked for an attorney several hours before confessing. Moreover, Kirkpatrick’s request came during normal working hours and at a police station, where presumably procedures exist for contacting defense counsel. Thus, the record demonstrates that the “earliest opportunity” to put Kirkpatrick in touch with an attorney was immediately after his request. As recognized in Wade, a valid waiver must have occurred before this “earliest opportunity.” See Wade, 44 Wn. App. at 159 (suggesting that waiver would not have been valid if the police had opportunity to provide access to telephone and did not do so). To hold otherwise would al
While we hold that Kirkpatrick’s counsel erred when he did not pursue an argument under CrR 3.1(c)(2), we conclude that, within a reasonable probability, the verdict would have been the same even if the error had not been made. First, Slifer, Crybleskey, Ridgeway, and Davis testified that Kirkpatrick told them he had killed a woman. Slifer, Crybleskey, and Davis knew that the victim was a female store clerk and that she was shot in the face or head in a dispute. Crybleskey testified that Ms. Robertson was shot in the eye, a detail never revealed by the authorities. And Crybleskey and Davis knew the dispute involved cigarettes or beer. Second, Jensen and Hawkins testified that they saw Kirkpatrick shoot Ms. Robertson. And their stories contained corroborating facts. For example, both knew the location of Ms. Robertson’s wound, the distance of the shot, the caliber of Kirkpatrick’s weapon, and that money was stolen from the till. In addition, they both agreed that Kirkpatrick shot Ms. Robertson over beer. Furthermore, the store’s register recorded one sale of less than a dollar, supporting Hawkins’s claim that he purchased some water. And deputies noticed freshly brewed coffee, supporting Hawkins’s claim that Ms. Robertson offered him coffee instead of beer. Finally, Kirkpatrick admitted, before asking for an attorney, that he was in the parking lot when the clerk was shot—an admission that substantially eroded his alibi defense.
We affirm.
Houghton, C.J., concurs.
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 10 A.L.R.3d 974 (1966).
In the event of a valid Miranda waiver, police are not required to advise defendants of their rights under CrR 3.1(c)(2). This is because the rule is activated only after a defendant requests an attorney.
“The various parts of Rule 3.1 were extracted from and are almost identical to standards suggested by the . . . ABA’s Project on Minimum Standards for Criminal Justice in Providing Defense Services . . . .” Criminal Rules Task Force, Wasiungton Proposed Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 3.1 gen. cmt. at 15 (West Publ’g Co. 1971).
Concurring Opinion
(concurring) — I agree that the officers violated CrR 3.1(c)(2), and I agree that if there was error, it
Jonathan Kirkpatrick clearly waived his right to counsel under Miranda
Additionally, three factors are significant when considering if there was error: (1) no harm resulted from the officers’ violation of CrR 3.1(c)(2) because no statement was made by Kirkpatrick at the officers’ initiation, insistence, or suggestion before Kirkpatrick waived his right to counsel by initiating conversation; (2) Kirkpatrick did invoke his right to counsel, which demonstrated his intelligence and his knowledge and understanding of the right; and (3) the advice of counsel to invoke his rights, which the majority says he was denied, would have been redundant since that is precisely what he did.
Once Kirkpatrick waived his Miranda rights, he also waived his rights under CrR 3.1(c)(2). State v. Wade, 44 Wn. App. 154, 721 P.2d 977, review denied, 107 Wn.2d 1003
Review denied at 135 Wn.2d 1012 (1998).
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 10 A.L.R.3d 974 (1966).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The State of Washington, Respondent, v. Jonathan M. Kirkpatrick, Appellant
- Cited By
- 17 cases
- Status
- Published