Bryan v. State

• Citation: 571 A.2d 170
• Parties: Ransford H. BRYAN, III, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE of Delaware, Plaintiff Below, Appellee. . Submitted:
• Decision Date: 06 July 1989
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Delaware

Page 170

571 A.2d 170

58 USLW 2561

Ransford H. BRYAN, III, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE of Delaware, Plaintiff Below, Appellee.

Supreme Court of Delaware.

Submitted: July 6, 1989.

Decided: March 2, 1990.

Rehearing Denied March 20, 1990.

John M. Sandy, Georgetown, Jack B. Rubin (argued), and Lee Gordon, Baltimore, Md., of counsel, for appellant.

William L. George, Jr. (argued), and Lillian M. Moore, Dept. of Justice, Wilmington, for the State.

Before CHRISTIE, C.J., HORSEY, MOORE, WALSH and HOLLAND, JJ., constituting the Court en banc.

MOORE, Justice.

Ransford H. Bryan, III, was convicted by a jury of murder in the first degree, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, and theft of over $500 by false pretenses. Bryan contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress a confession made to police during a custodial interrogation despite his attorney's repeated admonitions not to question the defendant in the absence of counsel. Moreover, the interrogation of Bryan commenced despite the fact that counsel for Bryan had contacted the police investigators following Bryan's arrest and had specifically warned the police not to question the suspect in his absence.

Bryan raises several issues on appeal, but we address only one: Whether a knowing waiver of the right to counsel, guaranteed in Delaware by article I, § 7 of the Constitution of 1897, ¹ can occur when the State prevents counsel, whom the State knows has been designated and retained to represent the defendant, from rendering effective legal assistance to his client during a custodial interrogation. In our opinion such police conduct is thoroughly incompatible with fundamental principles of the Delaware Constitution. Accordingly, we reverse.

I.

The defendant was an 18 year old youth who had had no previous dealings with the criminal justice system. He had just graduated from high school and was living with a friend, Douglas Brockway, Jr.

On October 13, 1987, Brockway told his mother that he believed someone had been stealing money from his bank account using his Money Access Card (MAC). She advised him to contact his bank. The next day, October 14, Brockway went to the bank with his father and signed an affidavit of forgery alleging that money had been withdrawn from his account without his permission on four separate occasions, totaling $810. ² Later that day, Bryan's mother observed Brockway holding Bryan against a wall and threatening him; he said "If I find out that you are--that you did this, it is going to be between you and me."

The following day, October 15th, Bryan and Brockway told Brockway's mother that they intended to go squirrel hunting. The boys took a twenty-gauge shotgun with them. There is a dispute as to how the gun was removed from the house. Bryan claims that Brockway's gun was passed through the bedroom window, however, Brockway's mother claims that she saw Brockway carrying Bryan's shotgun with shells in hand out of the front door. In any event, the boys left the house together at approximately 6:30 p.m. About 45 minutes later Bryan returned home, alone.

Immediately upon returning Bryan told Brockway's mother that her son had a drug habit and owed $2,000 to a drug dealer. He also stated that he had made the withdrawals from Brockway's account as part of a conspiracy between Brockway and himself to defraud the bank in order to obtain money to pay off the drug debt. He said that Brockway intended to go to the bank and complain about the theft, get reimbursed, and use the proceeds to pay off the drug debt. He further claimed that Brockway had solicited his help to make the withdrawals in an effort not to alert Brockway's mother. During this discussion Bryan also stated that he and Brockway had not gone squirrel hunting, but had instead gone to a shopping center where Brockway, carrying $1,200, met a Mexican drug dealer. Bryan claimed that Brockway talked to the drug dealer, and then told Bryan that he was leaving with him. Bryan said that he saw Brockway drive off with the drug dealer in a red Pontiac.

The mother claimed that after this discussion she asked Bryan where the shotgun was and he showed her the gun which was in his car. The victim's mother and sister later searched the car. They found nothing except Bryan's wallet in the glove box which contained $300 that was later traced to a Sussex Trust MAC machine. When later confronted with this fact by Brockway's sister, the defendant denied any knowledge of the $300 found in his wallet in the glove box.

Detective Warrington of the Delaware State Police began an investigation into the disappearance of Brockway on October 19th. He interviewed the victim's mother, father and Bryan at the victim's house. Bryan participated in this interview voluntarily. During the interview Bryan related the Mexican-drug-dealer story. The interviews left Detective Warrington with some suspicions. Specifically, he was concerned first about the inconsistency concerning the removal of the shotgun from the house. Second, he wondered why Bryan related the drug story to the victim's mother and recanted the squirrel hunting story if the purpose of the squirrel hunting story was to cover up the alleged drug involvement. Third, he was concerned about Bryan's denial of knowledge of the $300 of Sussex Trust MAC money found in his wallet.

The following day, October 20th, Detective Warrington reinterviewed Bryan and Brockway's family, inquiring into the particular inconsistencies in the defendant's story. Detective Warrington also asked Bryan directly at this time if he knew where Brockway was or had any more information regarding his whereabouts. Bryan denied any such knowledge. However, about this time the police received photographs from Brockway's bank showing Bryan withdrawing money from its MAC machine. The last photo showed defendant withdrawing $300 on October 13th. Detective Warrington attempted to get Bryan to take a polygraph test, but his mother stated that retained counsel had advised against it, and that Bryan would not take the test.

On October 21st, Bryan's retained counsel, Jack Rubin, (Rubin) a Baltimore lawyer, called Detective Warrington and told him that Bryan would not submit to a polygraph, and that he was not to interrogate Bryan unless there was a warrant for his arrest. Both Bryan and his mother were in Rubin's office during the call. Detective Warrington then told Rubin that he did in fact have a warrant for Bryan's arrest on charges of theft. Rubin then arranged for Bryan to turn himself in the following day and clearly stated to Detective Warrington that he was not to question Bryan and was to deal with the defendant only through counsel.

The following day, October 22, Bryan turned himself in on the theft warrant and was arraigned by a Justice of the Peace. Bryan was accompanied by a local Delaware attorney, who was co-counsel with Rubin. Detective Warrington did not request to question Bryan on this occasion. However, some time later, Detective Warrington telephoned Bryan's Delaware attorney and stated that, as a part of his investigation into Brockway's disappearance, he wanted more information from Bryan. Bryan's Delaware attorney advised Detective Warrington to contact Rubin concerning that request.

Thereafter, Detective Warrington spoke to Rubin, stressing his need for more information. Rubin stated that he would speak with Bryan. On October 27, Detective Warrington called Rubin to see if he had obtained any additional information concerning the whereabouts of Brockway. During that telephone call, Rubin and Detective Warrington scheduled a meeting in Delaware, at the State Police barracks near Lewes, for the following day. At the meeting Rubin again informed Detective Warrington that the police were not to question Bryan and that all contact between the police and Bryan was to be through Rubin.

In the meantime, a preliminary hearing on the theft charge had been scheduled for October 29. Rubin was becoming concerned that the theft charge and arrest were being used to coerce Bryan into giving a statement regarding the disappearance of Brockway. On October 29, Bryan, who was accompanied by his Delaware attorney and Rubin, appeared and waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Following Bryan's waiver of a preliminary hearing, Rubin confronted Warrington with his concern. Warrington acknowledged that the theft charge and investigation into Brockway's disappearance were "all interrelated." Consequently, while they were still in the Sussex County Courthouse, Rubin again told Warrington, in Bryan's presence, that Bryan had asserted his right to remain silent and wished to deal with the police only through counsel.

During the following week police continued their investigation and attempted to verify Bryan's story about the Mexican drug dealer and his assertions that Brockway was heavily involved in drugs. They were unsuccessful.

On November 6th two deer hunters found a body in a wooded area near Route 277. The body was clad in a green and white tee shirt matching the description of the tee shirt Brockway was wearing at the time of his disappearance. There were holes in the upper torso of the body consistent with multiple shotgun wounds.

Later that afternoon Detective Warrington and another police officer went to the defendant's father's residence and informed him that Brockway's body had been found and that they intended to arrest Bryan for murder. Bryan's father was asked to come with them. The reason for this is unclear, however, Detective Warrington testified that Bryan's father agreed to go, and he felt that the father's presence might help "the truth come out." Detective Warrington also testified that "[W]e needed to get the truth out and know exactly what happened that day." When Bryan's father asked Warrington to call Bryan's mother, who had been responsible for hiring Bryan's attorney earlier in the...