State v. Goebel
| Citation | 725 N.W.2d 578,2007 ND 4 |
| Decision Date | 11 January 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 20060147.,20060147. |
| Parties | STATE of North Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee v. Brian Q. GOEBEL, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of North Dakota |
Terry W. Elhard, State's Attorney, Ashley, ND, for plaintiff and appellee.
Loren C. McCray, Bismarck, ND, for defendant and appellant.
[¶ 1] Brian Q. Goebel appealed from a criminal judgment entered after a jury found him guilty of two counts of gross sexual imposition. Goebel argues that the district court erroneously denied his motion to suppress incriminating statements, that the charges were time barred by the statute of limitations, and that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. We affirm.
[¶ 2] In June 2005, Goebel was charged with gross sexual imposition under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-20-03(2)(a) for allegedly having sexual contact with his nephew and his niece, J.G. and D.G., when they were both less than fifteen years old. At trial, J.G. testified that during a visit to his grandparents' house when he was six or seven years old, Goebel engaged in sexual contact with him. Specifically, J.G. stated that he was taking a bath when Goebel entered the bathroom and removed him from the tub. According to J.G.'s testimony, Goebel then touched J.G.'s penis with his hands and mouth. Additionally, J.G. testified that later that same evening Goebel took him down to the basement and forced him to engage in anal sex.
[¶ 3] At trial, the State also presented evidence that Goebel had engaged in two separate instances of sexual contact with D.G. when she was about seven or eight years old. D.G. testified that the first instance occurred in the basement of her grandparents' house, where Goebel forced her to engage in vaginal intercourse. According to D.G., the second instance occurred around Christmas time while her family was watching television at her grandparents' house. In particular, she testified that Goebel reached into her pants and digitally penetrated her vagina while they sat together covered by a blanket on the couch.
[¶ 4] On appeal from the judgment of conviction, Goebel raises three major issues. First, he argues the district court erroneously denied his motion to suppress incriminating statements he made during an interview with law enforcement. Second, he claims the two charges against him were barred by the statute of limitations and should have been dismissed. Third, Goebel contends the evidence presented by the State was insufficient to support his conviction. We consider each of these arguments in turn.
[¶ 5] Several months before trial, Goebel moved to suppress all statements he made during an interview with law enforcement on May 10, 2005. At the suppression hearing, the district court heard testimony about the circumstances of that interview. Prior to the interview, law enforcement officers had been in contact with J.G. and D.G. regarding their allegations that Goebel had sexually abused them as children. On May 10, 2005, in the course of investigating these allegations, McIntosh County Sheriff Paul Peters drove to Goebel's place of employment and asked him to come to the Wishek Police Department. Shortly thereafter, Goebel drove in his own vehicle to the police station, where Sheriff Peters and Special Agent Calvin Dupree of the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation were waiting for him.
[¶ 6] The interview took place in the one-room office of the police department, which is in the city hall building. The only door to the office was closed, but not locked, during the interview. Sheriff Peters testified that the door was closed because he did not want the other city employees working in the building to hear the interview. Goebel and the two officers sat in chairs facing each other, with Goebel sitting in the chair closest to the door. Sheriff Peters testified that after he introduced Goebel and Agent Dupree, he informed Goebel that he would not be placed under arrest and would be able to leave that day, regardless of the outcome of the interview. However, Goebel testified the officers never told him that he could leave.
[¶ 7] Agent Dupree began the interview by informing Goebel that J.G. and D.G. had made allegations of sexual abuse. At that point, Agent Dupree verbally informed Goebel of his Miranda rights and provided him with a written copy of the rights as well. Goebel then signed a waiver of rights form. At the hearing, Goebel testified that he remembered being read his Miranda rights and signing something, but that he did not know what he was signing. There was conflicting testimony at the suppression hearing about whether Goebel ever asked for an attorney during the interview. Sheriff Peters and Agent Dupree both testified that Goebel never asked for an attorney, and if he had, the interview would have ceased immediately. On the other hand, Goebel testified that he asked for an attorney sometime during the interview.
[¶ 8] After Goebel signed the Miranda waiver, Agent Dupree questioned him for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Although Goebel initially denied the allegations, he eventually admitted that he had some sexual contact with J.G. and D.G. After about an hour of questioning, Agent Dupree tape-recorded the last fifteen minutes of the interview. At the suppression hearing, Agent Dupree testified that he does not use a tape recorder at the beginning of an interview because he wants the subject to speak freely. Rather, Agent Dupree stated that he uses the tape recorder to take a taped statement from the subject near the end of an interview.
[¶ 9] After hearing all the testimony, the district court denied Goebel's motion to suppress the statements he made during the interview. The district court found that Goebel was free to leave and therefore not in custody during the interview. Additionally, the district court found that Goebel was read his Miranda rights, that he signed a waiver of rights form, and that he did not ask for an attorney.
[¶ 10] Goebel contends his incriminating statements should have been suppressed on three different grounds. He claims that the statements were obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, that his confession was involuntary, and that the North Dakota Constitution gives criminal defendants the right to have their custodial interrogations electronically recorded.
[¶ 11] When reviewing a district court's ruling on a motion to suppress, we defer to the district court's findings of fact and resolve conflicts in testimony in favor of affirmance. State v. Graf, 2006 ND 196, ¶ 7, 721 N.W.2d 381. We recognize that the district court is in a superior position to assess the credibility of witnesses and weigh the evidence. State v. Woinarowicz, 2006 ND 179, ¶ 20, 720 N.W.2d 635 (citations omitted). Generally, a district court's decision to deny a motion to suppress will not be reversed if there is sufficient competent evidence capable of supporting the district court's findings, and if its decision is not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. Id. Questions of law are fully reviewable on appeal, and whether a finding of fact meets a legal standard is a question of law. Graf, at ¶ 7.
[¶ 12] Goebel argues the statements he made during the interview were obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Goebel claims he was in custody during the interview, and therefore he was entitled to Miranda warnings. Additionally, Goebel argues his Miranda rights were violated because he asked for an attorney during the interview, but the officers did not cease questioning him at that point.
[¶ 13] A law enforcement officer is required to give Miranda warnings only when a person is subject to custodial interrogation. State v. Genre, 2006 ND 77, ¶ 23, 712 N.W.2d 624. A person is "in custody" if there is a formal arrest or restraint on his freedom of movement to the degree associated with a formal arrest. Id. In this case, we need not decide whether Goebel was in custody for Miranda purposes. It is undisputed that Goebel was informed of his Miranda rights both verbally and in writing prior to the start of the interview. It is also undisputed that Goebel signed a waiver of rights form at that time. Therefore, even if he was in custody during the interview, the officers complied with the requirements of the Fifth Amendment in that respect.
[¶ 14] Furthermore, we conclude Goebel's claim that he exercised his Fifth Amendment privilege during the interview by asking for an attorney is without merit. While it is well established that if a person asks for an attorney during custodial interrogation the interrogation must cease until an attorney is present, see State v. Greybull, 1998 ND 102, ¶ 15, 579 N.W.2d 161 (citing Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 473-74, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966)), here, the district court specifically found that Goebel did not invoke his right to counsel during the interview based on the testimony of Sheriff Peters and Agent Dupree. There is sufficient competent evidence supporting the district court's findings. The district court did not err in concluding that Goebel's Fifth Amendment rights were not violated and denying the motion to suppress on that ground.
[¶ 15] Goebel also contends the district court erroneously denied his motion to suppress because his confession was involuntary. In support of this claim, Goebel points in particular to his low intelligence level and "bad motives" on the part of law enforcement.
[¶ 16] When a confession is challenged on due process grounds, the ultimate inquiry is whether the confession was voluntary. State v. Norrid, 2000 ND 112, ¶ 18, 611 N.W.2d 866. A confession is voluntary if it is a product of the defendant's free choice rather than a product of coercion. Id. To assess voluntariness, we look at the totality of the circumstances. State v....
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..., 294 A.D.2d 850 (N.Y. App. Div. 2002) North Carolina State v. Thibodeaux , S.E.2d 501 (N.C. 1995) NorthDakota State v. Goebel , 725 N.W.2d 578 (N. D. 2007) Ohio State v. Smith , 684 N.E.2d 668 (Ohio 1997) Oklahoma Chambers v. State , 724 P.2d 776 (Okla. Crim. App. 1986) Pennsylva......
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