Commonwealth v. Scoggins
| Decision Date | 11 April 2003 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH v. ALLEN SCOGGINS. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
Present: MARSHALL, C.J., GREANEY, COWIN, SOSMAN, & CORDY, JJ.
Jeffrey L. Baler for the defendant.
Kelly-Anne DeFao, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth.
In the early morning hours of May 16, 1997, Ishmael Lopez Rivera, a taxicab driver, was murdered in Brockton. The defendant, Allen Scoggins, was indicted for the murder. A jury in the Superior Court convicted Scoggins of murder in the first degree on the theories of deliberate premeditation and felony-murder (the underlying felony being attempted commission of an armed robbery). Represented by new counsel on appeal, Scoggins argues that his statements to police officers should have been suppressed. He also requests relief under G. L. c. 278, § 33E. In addition, while this appeal was pending, the defendant filed a pro se motion for a new trial that was denied without a hearing by another judge (the trial judge having retired). In his pro se submissions, the defendant raises additional arguments (that are not raised in his appellate counsel's brief): ineffectiveness of trial counsel for reasons including failure to argue for suppression of statements based on G. L. c. 276, § 33A, and failure to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence before the grand jury; insufficiency of the evidence at trial; and misconduct by the prosecutor in closing argument. We affirm the conviction and the denial of the motion for a new trial, and we perceive no basis for the exercise of our power under G. L. c. 278, § 33E.
1. Facts. The jury could have found the following facts. Just after 1:20 A.M. on May 16, 1997, as a result of gunshot wounds, the victim collapsed not far from the taxicab he had been driving. He was pronounced dead minutes later. His taxicab had rolled onto a lawn, where it stopped, its lights on and its engine still running. Circumstantial evidence tied the defendant to the crime. A man had telephoned the taxicab company asking to be driven from Wyman Street to West Elm Street in Brockton, and the victim was dispatched to this call at 1:09 A.M. The defendant was seen entering the taxi at the Wyman Street location at around 1:15 A.M., and evidence indicated that the defendant was the victim's last fare. In addition, the jury heard testimony that shortly after the shooting, the defendant appeared in South Carolina, where he boasted about committing a murder. He said he had telephoned for a taxicab and that he had intended to "stick up" the driver. The driver, however, "got scared," "tried to call the police," and "was going to jump out of the car," so the defendant shot him. As a result, the defendant joked, he could no longer take taxicabs. The defendant was arrested in South Carolina on October 7, 1997.
2. Motion to suppress. The defendant was interrogated by the Massachusetts authorities in South Carolina the day after his arrest and made a number of incriminating statements.1 He filed a motion to suppress those statements, claiming that they were taken in violation of his Miranda rights and were not voluntary. In addition, the defendant argued that the statements should be suppressed because his arraignment was unreasonably delayed. At a hearing on that motion, the evidence included an audiotape recording and transcript of the interrogation.
The motion judge made the following findings of fact, each of which was warranted by the evidence. The defendant was indicted for murder on June 9, 1997, but the police were unable to locate him. In August, 1997, the police learned that the defendant had fled to South Carolina. Considerable publicity was focused on the North Charleston area, but the authorities were not successful in locating the defendant at that time. Subsequently, police in South Carolina received information that the defendant was staying at a specific address and arrested him at about 10 A.M. on October 7. The defendant was brought to the local police station where he was read his Miranda rights and indicated that he understood them. At the time, he was nineteen years of age and had prior experience with the juvenile justice system at sixteen years of age. During the course of the morning, South Carolina police also presented the defendant with a "Waiver of Extradition" form and a "Prompt Arraignment Notification and Waiver" form (the latter had been sent by facsimile transmission from Massachusetts). The defendant signed both. Throughout this process, the defendant appeared calm and "nonchalant."2
Massachusetts State Trooper Leonard Coppenrath and Brockton Detective Mark Reardon traveled to South Carolina that evening. They arrived at the police station sometime after 11 A.M. the next morning, October 8, 1997, and introduced themselves to the defendant. Noticing that the defendant was shivering, they moved him to a warmer room, and Trooper Coppenrath gave the defendant his suit jacket so that the defendant would be comfortable. The officers asked the defendant if he would like any food or drink and provided him with water at his request. The defendant was not in handcuffs or otherwise restrained. The officers were in plain clothes. They informed the defendant he was under arrest for the murder of a Brockton taxicab driver and for intimidation of a witness (the latter charge arose from a different case involving the defendant's brother). The defendant said that he knew about the murder charge, but not about the intimidation charge. He said that he had a tenth grade education and could read and write, that he had no mental illness, and that he could understand English. There was no indication that the defendant was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. (By the time of the interview, he had been in custody for over twenty-four hours.)
The defendant was again informed of his Miranda rights and indicated that he understood those rights. He asked Trooper Coppenrath if he should have an attorney present, and the trooper explained that this was the defendant's decision to make. The interrogation proceeded, and the defendant did not request an attorney. The defendant was given the option of having his statements reduced to writing or proceeding with a tape-recorded interview. He chose the latter option, and the interrogation, which lasted about one and one-half hours, was recorded. When the recording began, the trooper again reviewed the Miranda waiver form with the defendant and had the defendant sign the form while the tape was recording. The interrogation began with questions about the witness intimidation charge (the defendant denied this charge) and proceeded to the murder charge.
Based on the evidence before him, the motion judge found that the defendant clearly understood the purpose of the interview; that the police did not coerce or intimidate the defendant; and that the defendant was not mistreated in any way. Thus, the judge concluded that the defendant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights and that his statements were voluntary. As for the argument that the defendant's arraignment was unreasonably delayed, the motion judge ruled that, even if the "safe harbor" rule of Commonwealth v. Rosario, 422 Mass. 48, 56-57 (1996), applied, the defendant validly waived his right to a prompt arraignment.
On appeal, the defendant advances a number of arguments that we consider in turn. In examining the denial of the defendant's motion to suppress, we give substantial deference to the judge's findings of fact and review his application of the law de novo. Commonwealth v. Beland, 436 Mass. 273, 279 (2002).
a. Miranda and voluntariness issues. The defendant first alleges that the police ignored his request for an attorney. See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 474 (1966). Rather than requesting an attorney, the defendant asked if he needed one. As the motion judge correctly concluded, a mere inquiry regarding the need for an attorney does not require the police to cease an interrogation. See Commonwealth v. Jones, ante 249, 258-259 (2003); Commonwealth v. Judge, 420 Mass. 433, 450 (1995); Commonwealth v. Todd, 408 Mass. 724, 726 (1990).
The defendant also claims that his statements must be suppressed because he did not voluntarily waive his Miranda rights. See Commonwealth v. Gaboriault, ante 84, 89 (2003) (). The defendant asserts that his age, his education, and his discomfort at the time of the interrogation combined to render his waiver involuntary.3 Although it is the Commonwealth's burden to establish the voluntariness of a Miranda waiver beyond a reasonable doubt, see id., the motion judge determined that that burden had been met, and we see nothing in the totality of the circumstances surrounding the waiver, see Commonwealth v. Rodriguez, 425 Mass. 361, 366 (1997), that would justify a contrary ruling. At the time of the interrogation, the defendant was an adult, able to read and understand English, and had previous experience with the justice system (albeit as a juvenile). There is no indication that the defendant had a mental disability, was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or was promised anything in exchange for his waiver. Although the defendant appeared to be shivering in the initial interview room, the officers moved him to a warmer room and gave him a jacket to wear before questioning him. There is, in short, no basis for the defendant's contention that he did not voluntarily waive his Miranda rights.
Our inquiry into the admissibility of the defendant's confession does not end with his Miranda waiver, however. The Commonwealth must also demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that any statements made after the defendant waived his rights were made voluntarily. See Commonwealth v. Beland, supra at 279. We examine the voluntariness of the defendant's statements...
To continue reading
Request your trial