Guyette v. State

• Decision Date: 29 February 1968
• Docket Number: No. 5360,5360
• Citation: 84 Nev. 160,438 P.2d 244
• Parties: Harold Chester GUYETTE, Appellant, v. STATE of Nevada, Respondent.
• Court: Nevada Supreme Court

Page 244

438 P.2d 244

84 Nev. 160

Harold Chester GUYETTE, Appellant, v. STATE of Nevada, Respondent.

No. 5360.

Supreme Court of Nevada.

Feb. 29, 1968.

James W. Johnson, Jr., James F. Sloan, Reno, for appellant.

Harvey Dickerson, Atty. Gen., Carson City, Dennis E. Evans, Churchill County Dist. Atty., Fallon, for respondent.

OPINION

THOMPSON, Chief Justice.

A jury convicted Harold Chester Guyette of first degree murder and directed his imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole. Judgment and sentence have been entered upon the verdict. On this appeal he contends that evidence obtained in violation of the Fifth (Miranda v. State of Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966)) and Sixth (Escobedo v. State of Illinois, 378 U.S. 478, 84 S.Ct. 1758, 12 L.Ed.2d 977 (1964)) Amendments was used to convict him. Other claims of error concerning the reception of evidence relevant to the case, but without constitutional implications, also are pressed. We turn first to consider the claims of constitutional error.

1. Guyette was charged with the March 12, 1966, murder of one Dean Briggs, at Briggs' Sav'n Sam's Service Station forty miles north of Fallon, Nevada. Mrs. Briggs, the mother of Dean Briggs, also was found dead. The trial below, however, concerned only the killing of Mr. Briggs. On April 1, 1966, Guyette was arrested at Elkhart, Indiana, pursuant to a city court warrant for failing to appear in court regarding a prior traffic accident. The arresting officers also suspected that he might be the person who, according to an all points bulletin, had committed a double murder near Fallon, Nevada. Guyette has been in custody since his arrest.

The claim that the federal protections of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments were not honored is directed to a series of in-custody interrogations conducted by Indiana and Nevada law officers, and was presented to the trial court in the absence of the jury. The thrust of his contention is that required warnings were not given to assure awareness of constitutional rights. He does not assert that his response to interrogation was coerced or forced from him except to the extent that the failure to fully warn him bears upon that subject. In line with Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368, 84 S.Ct. 1774, 12 L.Ed.2d 908 (1964), and Sims v. Georgia, 389 U.S. 404, 88 S.Ct. 523, 19 L.Ed.2d 634 (1967), the lower court made specific findings. It ruled that the warnings met constitutional standards, and that all statements of the suspect were voluntarily given without coercion, actual or psychological.

All interrogations occurred after the Escobedo decision but before Miranda was handed down. However, the trial itself was post-Miranda. It is within this framework that we must evaluate the legal consequences flowing from the series of interrogations which we shall now summarize.

A. The Indiana interrogations.

1. On the day of arrest, April 1, Guyette was questioned for about one and one half hours concerning the Nevada killings. Before questioning, the officer advised him that he had the right to talk to an attorney if he wished; the right to remain silent; and that anything he said could and would be used in court against him. He was not advised that he had the right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed. The interrogation and responses, however, do not appear in the record before us. The prosecution did not offer that evidence.

2. On the following day, April 2, he was again examined for about one hour. The record does not reflect that warnings were given before questioning. Neither does the record show the questions or responses. It reveals only the fact that interrogation took place.

3. On April 3, the record is the same as the April 2 occurrence, and shows only the fact of interrogation.

4. On April 4, another interrogation occurred. Again, the substance is not disclosed. About 15 minutes before the end of that session the suspect indicated that perhaps he should consult an attorney. He was handed a phone book and left alone with a phone to use. He did not use it. Questioning was resumed. He was not told that he had the right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed.

5. On April 5, Guyette was questioned once more. The trial record does not tell us about that session; only that it happened. It is likewise silent with respect to warnings.

6. The next day, April 6, at still another interrogation, the suspect made an incriminating statement which was received as trial evidence. When asked about the killings in Nevada, Guyette said that he would be willing to admit 'this thing' if his wife would. Before questioning started on this day, he was warned that he had the right to use the phone and consult with a lawyer; the right to remain silent; and that if he did respond, his statements could be used against him. He was not told that he had the right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed.

7. On April 7, Guyette was taken before the court in connection with extradition proceedings. After explanatory remarks by the Judge, guyette waived the appointment of counsel at that time, and also signed a waiver of extradition. While being transported from court back to jail, he volunteered incriminating information to the transporting officer. So far as the trial record shows, there was no questioning at all. The officer's immediate task was to transport, not interrogate. During this trip, Guyette stated, among other things, that he didn't have anything to worry about since they didn't have the gun in Nevada, and that his wife was the only witness and she could not testify against him. These statements were received in evidence at trial.

8. By April 14, the district attorney from Churchill County, Nevada, had arrived at Elkhart, Indiana. He wished to interview Guyette. Before doing so, he told Guyette that anything he said could be used against him; that he need not say anything and could remain silent; that he had the right to an attorney; that if he wished an attorney the interview would cease. The prisoner was not told that he had the right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed. Guyette said, 'I want to tell you my story.' He did so, and the story he told concerned his trip across Nevada. No mention was made of killing anyone, or that he had been at Briggs' Service Station on March 12. The scene now shifts to Nevada.

B. The Nevada interrogations.

1. On April 19, the sheriff met Guyette at Lovelock, Nevada, and took him by patrol car to the scene of the crime. He there questioned him, asking whether he had ever been there before, and if he had ever seen Mr. and Mrs. Briggs whose photograph was submitted to Guyette for study. He denied ever having been there, and did not recognize the persons in the photo. The record does not show that the sheriff warned Guyette of his rights before inquiring of him.

2. On April 27, at the district attorney's office, Guyette gave a statement which was recorded by longhand, typed, read by Guyette and then signed. The statement is a confession of guilt. In it he related that he got 'an urge to kill, shot the man when he was in the bathroom, got scared, turned around and shot the mother.' The circumstances preceding the giving of the statement are significant. Guyette had been allowed to visit with his wife alone in the district attorney's office. The visit lasted about one-half hour, after which Guyette advised the district attorney that 'he wished to make a statement.' He was told that he need not do so unless he had an attorney present, and that anything he said regarding the case could be used in court against him. Notwithstanding that advice, his confession followed.

3. The defendant testified at the trial. He detailed his trip through Nevada in March mentioning stops and occurrences at various places. He denied the killings and denied being at Briggs' Station on March 12. Much of his tale was corroborated by other witnesses who had seen or spoken to him at those places on the dates specified. In rebuttal, the State offered still another conversation between the accused and an officer which occurred on June 14 while awaiting trial. The officer first asked whether he had been informed of his rights, to which he answered yes. During that conversation Guyette inquired about the state prison, dress, work, whether the prison had a school for barbering, etc., and stated that he was going to plead guilty. The officer told him that he had better contact his attorney, and Guyette replied that it would do no good. Guyette then confessed that he had done some crazy things, 'shoplifting, now murder,' and proceeded to tell the officer how and why he had killed Mr. and Mrs. Briggs.

The foregoing is a fair summary of the evidence offered, and to which the claim of constitutional error is directed.

In evaluating the sufficiency of the warnings given from time to time throughout the many interrogations we must bear in mind that Miranda had not yet been decided. Only Escobedo had been announced. There exist basic differences between the two cases. For example, Escobedo rests squarely upon the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and Miranda upon the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Escobedo concerns the right to consult with retained counsel prior to interrogation. Miranda, on the other hand, speaks in terms of the presence of counsel, either retained or appointed, in order to protect the privilege against self-incrimination. There are, of course, other differences unrelated to the warning problem now confronting us.

None of the warnings given in this case satisfies Miranda. Guyette was never told that he had the right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed, and to this extent, his privilege against self-incrimination was not fully protected. Notwithstanding this fact, it strikes us that warnings sufficient to...