U.S. v. Mejia, 94-50406
| Citation | 69 F.3d 309 |
| Decision Date | 26 October 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 94-50406,94-50406 |
| Parties | 95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8329, 95 Daily Journal D.A.R. 14,391 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jario A. MEJIA, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) |
Callie A. Glanton, Deputy Federal Public Defender, Los Angeles, California, for defendant-appellant.
Erica Kelly Martin, Assistant United States Attorney, Los Angeles, California, for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Before: McKAY, * REINHARDT, and FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by Judge REINHARDT; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge FERNANDEZ.
Jario Mejia entered a conditional guilty plea to the charge of possessing counterfeit currency, after the district court denied his motions to suppress (1) statements he made while in custody and (2) counterfeit currency seized from his home. The principal issue on appeal is whether the district judge committed a reversible error in refusing to continue the suppression hearing for one court day to permit two key witnesses to testify before him in person. We conclude that the refusal to grant a continuance requires vacation of the denials of the motions to suppress. Thus, under Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2), we must remand to permit Mejia to withdraw his guilty plea if he elects to do so.
After being arrested on an unrelated charge, Mejia admitted to possessing counterfeit currency and consented to a search of his home. During the search the currency was recovered. The issues at Mejia's suppression hearing were: (1) whether Mejia voluntarily consented to the search of his home; and (2) whether he received Miranda warnings before making incriminating statements to detectives. Resolution of each of these issues hinged on credibility--specifically, on whether Mejia's version of post-arrest events should be credited or that of the Los Angeles Police Department officers who interrogated him.
The government and the defendant do not dispute the circumstances precipitating Mejia's arrest. Mejia negotiated the sale of a substance he said was cocaine to a confidential informant and an undercover officer. After Mejia produced the substance, which was later determined to be plaster of paris mixed with a minute quantity of cocaine, several officers with their guns drawn arrested him. 1 Immediately following his arrest, he was transported to a Los Angeles police station and placed in an interview room.
Mejia and the government agree that Detectives Decesare and Barba of the Los Angeles Police Department interviewed Mejia at the police station. However, as sometimes happens, the account of the interview offered by the defendant differs sharply from that offered by the LAPD investigating officers.
According to Mejia's version of what transpired at the police station, he was handcuffed to a chair throughout the interview. Soon after he was placed in the interview room, Detective Decesare entered and began asking him questions about the aborted drug sale in Spanish, the defendant's primary language. A few minutes later, Detective Barba appeared on the scene. The detectives then asked Mejia whether he had anything illegal in the house. Before he could answer, they told him that if he did not consent to a search of his home they would obtain a warrant, that they could do so in 20 to 30 minutes, and that they would bring charges against his wife if they found anything illegal in the house. Mejia stated that, because he did not want his wife to be charged with any crime, he felt that he had no alternative but to sign the consent form.
Mejia signed the form and told the detectives that he had counterfeit currency at the house. The detectives then stated that they would not bother to search his home since they were interested in drugs and not counterfeit monies. At that point, Mejia ripped up the consent form. 2 The detectives continued to question him, pressuring him for information regarding his drug contacts. Decesare and Barba informed him that he was looking at 12 to 16 years in prison on the drug charges if he did not cooperate with the police; on the other hand, the detectives stated that, if he turned in two people, they would see that his sentence was reduced to one to two years. The detectives also told him that he should sign the consent form because it was not a good idea to have counterfeit currency in his home.
Afraid that the officers would obtain a search warrant and arrest his wife if he failed to cooperate--and that he faced a long prison term--Mejia signed a second consent form. After he signed this form, Mejia was informed by Detective Decesare that he would also have to sign a written statement to prove that he was cooperating with them. Decesare wrote the statement in English, verbally translating only the beginning into Spanish for Mejia. Decesare, Barba, and Mejia all signed the statement. No Miranda warning was ever given.
Decesare and Barba provided a version of the facts markedly different from that of Mejia. According to Decesare, Mejia's handcuffs were removed when he was first placed in the interview room. Decesare informed Mejia that he faced narcotic charges for selling six kilograms of cocaine and that he faced a stiff fine. Decesare did not mention prison time to Mejia. Decesare told Mejia that "it made no difference to me whether or not he spoke to me." Mejia nevertheless expressed a willingness to speak, so long as the conversation was taped. Decesare responded that it would first be necessary to read him his Miranda rights. Before doing so, Decesare left the room to wait for Barba.
When Decesare returned to the room a few minutes later, accompanied by Barba, Mejia immediately stated his desire to confess. At this point, Decesare read Mejia his Miranda rights in Spanish and Mejia verbally waived those rights. Neither detective made any reference to the length of prison time Mejia faced or promised him a reduced sentence if he cooperated--in fact, neither Decesare nor Barba knew the length of sentences for the amount of cocaine Mejia purported to sell. Barba explained to Mejia that the charging decision was for the prosecutors to make.
Mejia voluntarily confessed to making the plaster of paris mixture and to possessing counterfeit money at his house. The detectives asked him for permission to search his house, informing him that he did not have to consent, but that they would attempt to obtain a search warrant if he chose not to. Neither detective at any time threatened to arrest Mejia's wife if he declined to consent to a search.
Without further discussion, Mejia signed a form consenting to the search. This was the only consent form presented to Mejia or signed by him; no form was torn up. Decesare then wrote out a statement of cooperation, which Mejia and the detectives signed.
The parties do not dispute the events following the interrogation. Several officers, including Barba, escorted Mejia to his home. Upon arrival, Mejia told his wife, Denise, where the money was located. Barba and Mark McKee, a special agent of the United States Secret Service, followed her to retrieve the counterfeit currency and McKee took possession of it. The next day, Mejia wrote and signed a declaration in Spanish stating that he had counterfeit money, that he had told the police the previous day that the money was at his house, and that he was cooperating with both the police and the United States Secret Service.
Mejia was indicted for possession of counterfeit money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 472, and the case was assigned to Judge Richard A. Gadbois, Jr. Mejia filed, along with supporting declarations, a motion to suppress the counterfeit currency and a motion to suppress his statements to the detectives. The government opposed both motions, and filed supporting declarations from Decesare and Barba.
On May 9, 1994, Judge Gadbois heard testimony on the motions from Denise Mejia, Detective Decesare, and Detective Barba. The testimony consisted of both direct and cross-examination. The direct testimony was partly live and partly in the form of declarations. The hearing was then continued until May 25, 1994, so that the government could present the testimony of one additional witness, Special Agent McKee, and cross-examine Mejia.
During the intervening period Judge Gadbois became ill and the case was temporarily assigned to Judge Manuel Real. Judge Real conducted a hearing commencing on Thursday, May 26. He announced at the outset that the hearing would be conducted from scratch. The government stated that Decesare and Barba were on vacation for the Memorial Day weekend and were therefore unable to testify that day, but that both detectives would be available to testify on the following Tuesday (Monday being a legal holiday). The defendant then requested a continuance, so that he could obtain a transcript of the proceedings before Judge Gadbois for the purpose of impeaching the detectives. In response to the defendant's request, Judge Real stated: When defense counsel tried to explain why she wanted the transcript, Judge Real disagreed, stating: 3
The hearing then began, as the earlier, aborted version had, with the testimony of Denise Mejia. When she finished, the government called Special Agent Mark McKee, to testify as to the events...
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