Craig v. State

• Decision Date: 09 January 1980
• Docket Number: No. 1176S393,1176S393
• Citation: 398 N.E.2d 661,272 Ind. 388
• Parties: Clifton CRAIG, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Page 661

398 N.E.2d 661

272 Ind. 388

Clifton CRAIG, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.

No. 1176S393.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

Jan. 9, 1980.

Barrie C. Tremper, Public Defender of Allen County, Thomas L. Ryan, Deputy Public Defender, Fort Wayne, for appellant.

Theodore L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., Rollin E. Thompson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

DeBRULER, Justice.

Appellant was convicted of first degree murder in the burglary-shooting death of Miss Rose DeWood in her house in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His appeal from that conviction was first considered by this Court and reported as Craig v. State, (1977) 267 Ind. 359, 370 N.E.2d 880. All alleged errors were there resolved against appellant save one. Appellant at trial had objected to the introduction of his inculpatory statements given to police during custodial interrogation and was erroneously denied a discrete hearing outside the presence of the jury on the objection. Jackson v. Denno, (1964) 378 U.S. 368, 84 S.Ct. 1774, 12 L.Ed.2d 908; Wainwright v. Sykes, (1977) 433 U.S. 72, 97 S.Ct. 2497, 53 L.Ed.2d 594. We, therefore, held the appeal in abeyance and remanded to the trial court for a hearing to determine whether appellant made a voluntary and knowing waiver of rights prior to making such statements. Following a remand Judge Moellering was selected to conduct the hearing and following it he concluded that appellant's waiver was constitutionally valid and the statements admissible. This is the appeal from that determination. Appellant with counsel fully participated in the hearing below.

The evidence given at the hearing below may be summarized. On November 19, 1975, appellant was seen by a detective of the Fort Wayne Police Department during a morning surveillance and was shortly thereafter arrested by county warrants officers on a warrant for failure to pay a fine on a misdemeanor conviction. At the time appellant was twenty-one years of age, employed by a private security company as a guard, and was well-acquainted with one Sgt. Woods of the department through whom he had sought information about joining the police department.

On the same day at 1:15 p. m., while in custody awaiting appearance in court, appellant was approached by one Detective O'Leary who expressed a desire to interview him. Appellant agreed and the detective began to read a rights advisement to him as required by Miranda v. Arizona, (1966) 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694. Appellant inquired why he was being read his rights since he was only under arrest for failure to pay a fine. The detective replied that he wished to ask him about two separate crimes under investigation and that he could not reveal the nature of those crimes without first giving a rights advisement and receiving a waiver. Appellant then stated that he would like to see Sgt. Woods who owed him a favor. Woods was summoned whereupon appellant in the presence of O'Leary and Woods signed a waiver of rights.

At this time according to the testimony of O'Leary appellant had a cast on his right arm but did not appear to be in pain. He made no complaint that he was in pain. He did not appear to be intoxicated or under drugs, and did not appear to be under severe emotional strain. No threats or outwardly coercive acts directed toward appellant took place. During the ensuing one and a half hours he was questioned about the DeWood killing and another case involving the shooting of an elderly man and provided little if any inculpatory information.

Shortly before 3:00 p. m. the interrogating officer suggested that appellant take a lie detector test after which he could go home. Appellant agreed and was again advised of his Miranda rights by the machine operator, Russell, and executed another written waiver form. He was then questioned about involvement in the two shootings. At the completion of the examination the operator said that he was holding something back and was not telling the truth. Appellant then admitted the fact that he shot Miss DeWood as she was screaming because he was afraid that she would be heard in the neighborhood and that he would be arrested.

The next day, November 20, 1975, one Officer Brunkhart at about 10:15 a. m. approached appellant, advised him of his Miranda rights, and asked him further questions regarding the shooting of the elderly man. After about an hour of questioning the officer procured appellant's lunch for him and accompanied him to a holding cell behind the court room where appellant was to appear in answer to the misdemeanor matter for which he had been arrested. While there appellant again admitted the DeWood killing under continued questioning by Brunkhart. Appellant's inculpatory admissions to Russell and to Brunkhart of the DeWood killing were admitted at trial over appellant's objection.

Appellant at the hearing below testified that at the time of the waiver of rights on the 19th he had pain in his arm and was bleeding from an infection under the foreskin of his penis and that his interrogators refused to get him a doctor. He testified further that he was under the influence of marijuana, codeine cough medicine and pain pills, and feared for the welfare of his family. He also stated that he had been tricked by the police officers when they told him that if he took the lie detector test he could then go home.

The trial court conducting the hearing below resolved the conflict in the testimony and concluded that the waiver of right by appellant had been voluntary and knowing and that the confession was properly admitted.

Appellant contends that his waiver of Miranda rights was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment and therefore the subsequent confession was inadmissible. At the time of his interrogation appellant was under arrest and in custody on a warrant for having failed to pay a fine arising from an unrelated misdemeanor charge. Appellant does not contend that the warrant or his arrest upon the warrant was illegal, but that there was no probable cause to conduct an interrogation into the circumstances of a homicide and that such interrogation was completely outside the scope of a custodial arrest and detention for a failure to pay a misdemeanor fine. Appellant relies upon cases which impose Fourth Amendment restrictions upon the processes of making arrests and searches. Wong Sun v. United States, (1963) 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441; Go-Bart v. United States, (1931) 282 U.S. 344, 51 S.Ct. 153, 75 L.Ed. 374; Cardwell v. Lewis, (1974) 417 U.S. 583, 94 S.Ct. 2464, 41 L.Ed.2d 325. None of these cases or others of which we are aware, directly or by analogy, can reasonably be read to erect a right to be free from custodial interrogation during lawful confinement...