State v. Saldierna

• Decision Date: 21 December 2016
• Docket Number: No. 271PA15,271PA15
• Citation: 794 S.E.2d 474
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: State of North Carolina v. Felix Ricardo Saldierna

794 S.E.2d 474

State of North Carolina

v.Felix Ricardo Saldierna

No. 271PA15

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Filed December 21, 2016

Roy Cooper, Attorney General, by Kimberly N. Callahan, Assistant Attorney General, for the State-appellant.

Goodman Carr, PLLC, Charlotte, by W. Rob Heroy, for defendant-appellee.

EDMUNDS, Justice.

Defendant, a juvenile, asked to telephone his mother while undergoing custodial questioning by police investigators. The call was allowed, after which the interrogation continued. The trial court denied defendant's motion to suppress the statements he made following the call. We conclude that defendant's request to call his mother was not a clear invocation of his right to consult a parent or guardian before proceeding with the questioning. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals that reversed the trial court's order denying the motion to suppress.

After several homes around Charlotte were broken into on 17 and 18 December 2012, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police arrested defendant on 9 January 2013. At the time, defendant was sixteen and one-half years old. The arresting officers took defendant to a local police station where Detective Kelly (Kelly) interrogated him. Before beginning her interrogation, Kelly provided defendant with both English and Spanish versions of the Juvenile Waiver of Rights Form routinely used by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to explain the protections afforded juveniles under N.C.G.S. § 7B–2101. These forms advised defendant that he had the right to remain silent; that anything he said could be used against him; that he had the right to have a parent, guardian, or custodian present during the interview; that he had the right to speak to a lawyer and to have a lawyer present to help him during questioning; and that a lawyer would be provided at no cost prior to questioning if he so desired. Kelly also read these rights in English to defendant, pausing after each to ask if defendant understood. Defendant initialed the English form beside each enumerated right and the section that noted:

I am 14 years old or more and I understand my rights as explained by Officer/Detective Kely [sic]. I DO wish to answer questions now, WITHOUT a lawyer, parent, guardian, or custodian here with me. My decision to answer questions now is made freely and is my own choice. No one has threatened me in any way or promised me special treatment. Because I have decided to answer questions now, I am signing my name below.

The words "I DO wish to answer questions now" on the form are circled. Only after defendant signed the form did Detective Kelly begin the interrogation.

Kelly had gone no further than noting the time and date for the audio recording when defendant asked, "Um, can I call my mom?" Detective Kelly offered her cellular telephone to defendant and allowed him to step out of the booking room to make the call. Detective Kelly could hear defendant but was not sure if he placed one call or two. Defendant did not reach his mother but did speak to someone else. However, because defendant spoke Spanish while on the phone, Kelly could not provide any details concerning the nature of the conversation. Upon defendant's return to the booking area, Kelly resumed her questioning. Defendant did not object and made no further request to contact anyone. During the ensuing interview, defendant confessed that he had been involved in the break-ins.

Defendant was indicted, inter alia , for two counts of felony breaking and entering, conspiracy to commit breaking and entering, and conspiracy to commit common law larceny after breaking and entering. On 9 October 2013, defendant moved to suppress his confession, arguing that it was illegally obtained in violation both of his rights as a juvenile under N.C.G.S. § 7B–2101 and of his rights under the United States Constitution. After conducting an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the motion in an order entered on 20 February 2014, finding as facts that defendant was advised of his juvenile rights and, after receiving forms setting out these rights both in English and Spanish and having the rights read to him in English by Kelly, indicated that he understood them. In addition, the trial court found that defendant informed Kelly that he wished to waive his juvenile rights and signed the form memorializing that wish. Although defendant then unsuccessfully sought to contact his mother, the court found:

17. That Defendant did not at that time or any other time indicate that he changed his mind regarding his desire to speak to Detective Kelly. That Defendant did not at that time or any other time indicate that he revoked his waiver.

18. That Defendant only asked to speak to his mother.

19. That Defendant did not make his interview conditional on having his mother present or conditional on speaking to his mother.

20. That Defendant did not ask to have his mother present at the interview site.

21. That, upon review of the totality of the circumstances, the Court finds that Defendant's request to speak to his mother was at best an ambiguous request to speak to his mother.

22. That at no time did Defendant make an unambiguous request to have his mother present during questioning.

23. That Defendant never indicated that his mother was on the way or could be present during questioning.

24. That Defendant made no request for a delay of questioning.

Based on those findings, the trial court determined that the interview was conducted in a manner consistent with N.C.G.S. § 7B–2101 and did not violate any of defendant's state or federal rights. The court concluded as a matter of law that the State met its burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that defendant "knowingly, willingly, and understandingly waived his juvenile rights."

On 4 June 2014, defendant entered pleas of guilty to two counts of felony breaking and entering and two counts of conspiracy to commit breaking and entering, while reserving his right to appeal from the denial of his motion to suppress. The court sentenced defendant to a term of six to seventeen months, suspended for thirty-six months subject to supervised probation.

The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's order denying defendant's motion to suppress, vacated the judgments entered upon defendant's guilty pleas, and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings. State v. Saldierna , ––– N.C.App. ––––, ––––, 775 S.E.2d 326, 334 (2015). The Court of Appeals recognized that the trial court correctly found that defendant's statement asking to telephone his mother was ambiguous at best. Id. at ––––, 775 S.E.2d at 331. However, it went on to conclude that, unlike the invocation of Miranda rights by an adult, a juvenile need not make a clear and unequivocal request in order to exercise his or her right to have a parent present during questioning. Id. at ––––, 775 S.E.2d at 333–34. Instead, the Court of Appeals held that when a juvenile between the ages of fourteen and eighteen¹ makes an ambiguous statement that potentially pertains to the right to have a parent present, an interviewing officer must clarify the juvenile's meaning before proceeding with questioning. Id. at ––––, 775 S.E.2d at 334. The Court of Appeals based this distinction on the fact that Miranda rights are rooted in the United States Constitution, while the right to have a parent present during custodial interrogations is an additional statutory protection for juveniles who, by virtue of their age, lack the life experience and judgment of an adult. Id. at ––––, 775 S.E.2d at 333.

This Court granted the State's petition for discretionary review. We review an opinion of the Court of Appeals for errors of law. N.C. R. App. P. (16)(a). "The standard of review in evaluating the denial of a motion to suppress is whether competent evidence supports the trial court's findings of fact and whether the findings of fact support the conclusions of law." State v. Biber , 365 N.C. 162, 167–68, 712 S.E.2d 874, 878 (2011) (citing State v. Brooks , 337 N.C. 132, 140–41, 446 S.E.2d 579, 585 (1994) ). Findings of fact are binding on appeal if supported by competent evidence, State v. Cooke , 306 N.C. 132, 134, 291 S.E.2d 618, 619 (1982) (citations omitted), while conclusions of law are reviewed de novo, State v. Ortiz–Zape , 367 N.C. 1, 5, 743 S.E.2d 156, 159 (2013) (citing Biber , 365 N.C. at 168, 712 S.E.2d at 878 ), cert. denied , ––– U.S. ––––, 134 S.Ct. 2660, 189 L.Ed. 2d 208 (2014).

In evaluating whether the trial court correctly denied defendant's motion to suppress, we first must consider the threshold question of whether defendant invoked his right to have his mother present during the custodial interview. We must also consider whether defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights under section 7B–2101 of the North Carolina General Statutes and under the constitutions of North Carolina and the United States, thus making his confession admissible. We begin with the former inquiry.

The State argues that defendant's request to call his mother was not an invocation of his right to have a parent present under N.C.G.S. § 7B–2101(a)(3). The State points out that defendant simply asked to call his mother, which the detective readily permitted. He never requested his mother's presence or indicated that he wished to suspend the interview until he could reach her. The State contends that when a juvenile's statement is ambiguous, law enforcement officers have no additional duty to ascertain whether the juvenile is invoking his statutory rights or whether they may continue questioning the minor.

In response, defendant argues that, according to the plain language of N.C.G.S. § 7B–2101, the interview should have ceased until defendant spoke with his mother or indicated his desire to proceed without her, even though the precise import of his question to the detective was unclear. Should we disagree with this statutory interpretation, defendant...