Com. v. Jackson

• Decision Date: 15 February 1979
• Citation: 377 Mass. 319,386 N.E.2d 15
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. Sam Andrew JACKSON, Jr.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

Page 15

386 N.E.2d 15

377 Mass. 319

COMMONWEALTH v. Sam Andrew JACKSON, Jr.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Worcester.

Argued Oct. 3, 1978.

Decided Feb. 15, 1979.

Conrad W. Fisher, Worcester, for defendant.

Daniel F. Toomey, Asst. Dist. Atty., for the Commonwealth.

Before HENNESSEY, C. J., and QUIRICO, BRAUCHER, WILKINS and ABRAMS, JJ.

ABRAMS, Justice.

Convicted of murder in the second degree, the defendant, Sam Andrew Jackson, Jr., appeals to this court pursuant to G.L. c. 278, §§ 33A-33G. Although Jackson argues numerous assignments of error, we concern ourselves primarily with one ground asserted as error: the denial of a motion to suppress a statement made by Jackson to police because the police did not "scrupulously honor" Jackson's right to cut off questioning, and because the use of deceit "tricked" Jackson into a waiver of his constitutional rights. We reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial. We also address the issue of identification which may recur at trial.

We summarize the facts. On September 9, 1976, at approximately 10:30 P.M. Jackson was seen with a young woman and Dominic C. Gracia (Gracia) at the Holiday Inn in Worcester. The group entered the motel and went into the lounge. The motel's security guard, Richard Chestna, then saw Jackson and Gracia come from the lounge through the lobby to the front desk. Chestna observed Gracia and Jackson at the desk. Gracia sought to obtain cash from the clerk by charging the request against his credit card.

While the two men were at the desk in the lobby, the young woman left the motel. Chestna saw the young woman in the motel's parking lot, and he chatted with her. She told Chestna she was waiting for her boy friend.

Chestna returned to the lobby. After a few minutes Gracia's male companion Jackson came over to Chestna, and the two had a conversation. Jackson, who was identified by Chestna at trial as the man with Gracia and the man with whom he spoke, asked about his girl friend. Jackson described the girl and Chestna told him that she was in the parking lot. Chestna said the young woman wore a "red bandana." At approximately 11 P.M. Jackson went toward the motel's side door.

At 1 A.M. a security guard for another building found Gracia unconscious in the parking lot across the street from the motel. Gracia was taken to the hospital where he died from "a blow to the head which fractured the skull, subdural hematoma." Gracia had apparently been lying in the parking lot since approximately 11 P.M.

The next day Jackson was seen in possession of Gracia's wallet, his watch and his rings. Jackson sold one of the rings and the watch to a man who knew him personally. He gave the wallet and another ring to a friend.

As a result of a search pursuant to a warrant, police found in Jackson's apartment a red bandana similar to the one worn by the young woman. On September 12, 1976, Jackson and the young woman were questioned by the police and released.

Police learned that Jackson told some people that he (Jackson) "had hit the guy down at the Goodwill, Holiday Inn." ¹

Jackson was arrested by police on September 15. Jackson said that he and his girl friend had been with Gracia at the Holiday Inn. He also said that before leaving the motel he had a conversation with the motel security guard about his girl friend.

Jackson admitted to police that he punched Gracia and knocked him down but denied that he intended to kill him. Jackson also admitted that after knocking Gracia down he took Gracia's wallet and two rings.

Jackson was convicted of murder in the second degree and sentenced to life imprisonment. ²

1. The Motion to Suppress Statements Made to Police.

Prior to trial, the defendant moved to suppress statements which he made to police while in custody on September 15, 1976. He claims that police obtained his statements in violation of rights protected by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and that he did not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive his privilege against self-incrimination. After a hearing, the trial judge found that the "defendant waived his right to silence and made a statement inculpating himself intelligently, voluntarily and knowingly." The judge denied the defendant's motion to suppress his statement. We conclude that the statement should have been suppressed. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

We summarize the facts relating to the defendant's motion. On September 15 the police decided to arrest Jackson and his fifteen-year old girl friend. Two officers were ordered to bring the girl and her mother to the station. Two other officers were dispatched to arrest Jackson. The officers ordered to bring the girl to the station went to the residence of the girl's mother where the girl was arrested. Jackson was present at the arrest, but the officers did not recognize him. Jackson asked if he could accompany his girl friend and her mother to the station. The officers agreed.

When the group arrived at the police station at approximately 6:30 P.M., other officers recognized Jackson and arrested him. Jackson was separated from the girl and her mother and placed in an interrogation room. A police officer ³ told Jackson the crime for which he was arrested and read him the Miranda warnings. Jackson replied that he "didn't have anything to say." Jackson asked permission to call his parole officer.

Next the police officer and Jackson went to a telephone where the police officer tried at least four or five different numbers in an effort to reach the parole officer. After approximately twenty minutes of attempting to call the parole officer, Jackson and the police officer returned to the interrogation room. The police officer left the room and again tried to contact the parole officer a few more times, but was unsuccessful. ⁴ The police officer then returned to the interrogation room and found himself alone with Jackson for approximately ten minutes. What transpired during this ten-minute period is a matter of dispute and the judge made no subsidiary findings on this issue.

Counsel for the defendant sought to elicit from the police officer that the officer had in some form of words made a promise of leniency to Jackson while the two men were alone in the interrogation room. The officer's responses are best characterized as equivocal. The assistant district attorney attempted to clarify what occurred by eliciting from the police officer exactly what the police officer had said to Jackson.

In substance, the officer testified that he told Jackson that the officer knew that Jackson "had done it" (i. e. the crime); that the officer knew that Jackson "had committed the act"; that the officer knew Jackson "had committed a crime that occurred"; and that the officer "had good information that (Jackson) did it." The officer also recalled saying in substance "the more (I) checked the more the case is pointing to you (Jackson) as the man that did it." The officer informed Jackson that the police "had a watch and ring" and that the evidence "pointed to" Jackson. Jackson again said that he did not want to make a statement and the officer left the room.

We assume that the judge accepted as true the Commonwealth's version of what the police officer said to Jackson since the judge found that the defendant was not "threatened or cajoled into waiving his rights." We therefore accept the officer's version of the conversation and thus we do not discuss any allegation that there was a promise of leniency. ⁵

Moments later, at approximately 7 P.M., another police officer entered the interrogation room. The judge found that this officer had been with Jackson's girl friend prior to coming into the interrogation room. The officer told Jackson that his (Jackson's) girl friend had given the police a statement which implicated her in the crime. It is not disputed that this statement was made to Jackson, that at the time it was made it was false, and that the officer knew it was false. As soon as the false statement was made to Jackson he told police he would give them a statement.

After Jackson agreed to make a statement, the police had a third officer read the Miranda warnings to Jackson. Jackson said that he understood his rights and "wanted to give a statement about what happened," but before making the statement he wanted to talk to his girl friend. The police agreed and brought the girl and her mother into the interrogation room. The police left the room, and Jackson was alone with the girl and her mother.

Ten minutes later, the police returned and took the women out of the room. Jackson then made a statement which was typed and read to him. Jackson signed the statement. The typed statement indicates that the statement began at 7:15 P.M.

The statement signed by Jackson recites the Miranda warnings. Moreover, it states that Jackson was told he "could exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements," and that Jackson understood these rights and gave the "statement of (his) own free will." The judge concluded in part that there "is no credible evidence that the defendant was threatened or cajoled into waiving his rights." ⁶

We start by repeating that a judge's finding of waiver is "entitled to substantial deference by this court." Commonwealth v. Tabor, --- Mass. ---, --- ^A, 384 N.E.2d 191, 197 (1978), quoting from Commonwealth v. White, --- Mass. ---, --- ^B, 371 N.E.2d 777 (1977), aff'd, --- U.S. ----, 99 S.Ct. 712, 58 L.Ed.2d 519 (1978). Further, we will not disturb a judge's subsidiary findings where they are warranted by the evidence. However, "where the ultimate findings and rulings bear on issues of constitutional dimension, they are open for review. Our appellate function requires that we make our own independent determination on the correctness of the judge's 'application of constitutional principles to the facts as found.' " Commonwealth v....