State v. Ezell
State v. Ezell
Opinion of the Court
¶ 1. Marie Ezell appeals from convictions arising out of her attempt to deliver contraband to a prisoner. Prison correctional officers who were informed that Ezell was carrying contraband questioned her at the prison without Miranda
Facts
¶ 2. While monitoring prisoner phone calls, prison staff overheard a conversation in which they believed Ezell was using coded language to indicate that she would carry in contraband for her boyfriend, a prisoner, on her next visit to the prison. When Ezell arrived, as she was waiting in line with her mother and another woman who had come with her, two correctional officers who wore supervisors' uniforms with badges and handcuffs approached and asked "Ma'am, would you come and talk with us?" Ezell came with them. They led her through locked doors into a windowless conference room where they were joined by an additional officer. There the officers confronted Ezell
¶ 3. Ezell said she was carrying "two balloons of K2."
¶ 4. Ezell was then transported to a hospital for a body search. The search turned up six balloons rather than the two Ezell had admitted to carrying. The police officer stated to Ezell that there was more contraband than she had admitted to carrying; Ezell then admitted she had been carrying four balloons of marijuana and two of K2. She was charged with possession with intent to deliver THC and delivery of illegal articles to an inmate.
¶ 5. Ezell moved to suppress her statements and all the evidence derived from them on grounds that she
¶ 6. The circuit court concluded that Ezell was not in custody for Miranda purposes when questioned at the prison. The court therefore denied the motion to suppress Ezell's statements made at the prison and the evidence recovered from her body after that questioning. On the other hand, the court determined that the police officer's comments at the hospital about the recovery of more contraband than Ezell had admitted carrying were designed to elicit information and thus were custodial interrogation; Ezell's responses to the officer would be suppressed. Ezell pled no contest and now appeals.
Analysis
¶ 7. Whether evidence should be suppressed due to an alleged violation of Miranda is a question of constitutional fact. State v. Knapp, 2005 WI 127, ¶ 19, 285 Wis. 2d 86, 700 N.W.2d 899. We uphold the circuit court's factual findings unless the court clearly erred, but we review independently whether the facts satisfied the constitutional standard. Id.
¶ 9. As for physical evidence, however, in the absence of "actual coercion]," the United States Constitution does not require suppression of physical evidence obtained as a consequence of unwarned interrogation. United States v. Patane, 542 U.S. 630, 643-44 (2004). The Wisconsin Constitution does require suppression of physical evidence obtained "as a direct result of an intentional violation of Miranda," but in the absence of coercion or intentional violation of the suspect's rights, there is no basis for suppressing physical evidence. Knapp, 285 Wis. 2d 86, ¶ 83.
¶ 10. The first issue in this appeal is whether Ezell was subjected to custodial interrogation when she was questioned by correctional officers in the conference room at the prison. The test for whether a subject is in custody for purposes of triggering Miranda warnings is an objective one that asks whether a reasonable person in the subject's position would have considered himself or herself to be in custody. Torkelson, 306 Wis. 2d 673, ¶ 13. Custody means a restriction of the
¶ 11. The circuit court concluded that in view of all the circumstances Ezell was not in custody. The State points out on appeal that Ezell voluntarily entered a prison, voluntarily went with the officers when they asked her to come to another room, and "was free to leave the conference room at any time during her interview with the correctional officers" (though she was admittedly not informed of that freedom).
¶ 12. As Ezell points out, however, other aspects of the circumstances would have led a reasonable person in Ezell's position to conclude she was in custody. The correctional officers who approached Ezell and asked her to leave her companions and come with them to talk were wearing uniforms with badges and carrying handcuffs. To reach the conference room, they had to pass through a doorway that was remotely buzzed open for them and closed behind them with an audible click. The officers took Ezell to a windowless room and seated her at a table where one officer began questioning her while two others stood nearby. The officer handling the questioning identified himself and his colleagues by name and rank and told Ezell that she had been overheard discussing her plans to carry in contraband. When Ezell denied carrying contraband,
¶ 13. In these circumstances — having been requested by uniformed prison officers with handcuffs to move from a common area through a locked door into an interior, windowless room; being questioned about suspected crimes; and being told police are on the way — a reasonable person would consider herself to be in custody. A government employee who is not a law enforcement officer may still violate Miranda by engaging in questioning designed to elicit incriminating information for law enforcement purposes. See United States v. D.F., 115 F.3d 413, 420 & n.9 (7th Cir. 1997).
¶ 14. In addition to the factual circumstances that would have suggested to a reasonable person that he or she was in custody, the department of corrections' (DOC) own administrative rules require warnings to be given before visitors are subjected to inspection or search:
Before an inspection or search is conducted... staff shall inform the visitor orally and in writing, either by a sign posted in a prominent place or on a notice, that the visitor need not permit the inspection or search....
Wis. Admin. Code § DOC 306.18(6) (Aug. 2014). In view of this rule and the rest of the circumstances, we conclude that Ezell was subjected to custodial interrogation when correctional officers interrogated her about her suspected possession of contraband.
¶ 15. However, while Ezell's statements to the correctional officers should have been suppressed, her conviction is still supported by the physical evidence found during the search of her body, which was admis
¶ 16. Ezell expresses disbelief that "experienced correctional officers would not know that they were required" to give the warnings, but in fact the officer who testified about the interrogation stated that while he had "heard of' the Miranda warnings, "we don't ever use them." Ezell also speculates that the officers had no reason to call police if they were not trying to get Ezell to incriminate herself, but we note that administrative rules require correctional institutions to refer contraband violations to law enforcement. See Wis. Admin. Code § DOC 306.18(8) (Aug. 2014). Once the correctional officers learned from the phone conversation that Ezell was planning to carry in contraband, law enforcement was already going to be involved.
¶ 17. On this record, while the correctional officers did make a mistake by not following DOC protocol, it is farfetched to speculate that the correctional officers intentionally violated Miranda. As the administrative rules tell us, custodial interrogation of visitors to the prison is not part of a correctional officer's job description. Suppressing the contraband would not deter what amounts to negligent violation of Miranda.
By the Court. — Judgment affirmed.
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
A statement given by the attorney general concerning the enactment of Wisconsin's ban on synthetic cannabinoids, 2011 Wis. Act 31, lists "K2" as one of the common names for synthetic cannabinoids. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, New Law Should Stop Sales of Synthetic Drugs in Wisconsin Communities (June 24, 2011), available at http://www.doj.state.wi.us/media-center/2011-ag-columns/newlaw-should-stop-sales-synthetic-drugs-wisconsin-communities ("Synthetic cannabinoids are often referred to as synthetic marijuana, K2, Spice, etc."). In Ezell's case, the police officer's affidavit attached to the criminal complaint describes K2 as "a synthetic controlled substance" and states "upon information and belief' that it is "banned" and "considered contraband" at the prison.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Marie A. Ezell
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published