Jackson v. Com.

• Decision Date: 23 March 2006
• Docket Number: No. 2004-SC-0319-MR.,No. 2004-SC-0118-MR.,2004-SC-0118-MR.,2004-SC-0319-MR.
• Parties: Keith JACKSON, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee. and Daron Haydon, Appellant, v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

187 S.W.3d 300

Keith JACKSON, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee. and Daron Haydon, Appellant, v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Appellee.

No. 2004-SC-0118-MR.

No. 2004-SC-0319-MR.

Supreme Court of Kentucky.

March 23, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Frank Wm. Heft, Jr., Louisville, for Appellant Haydon.

Bruce P. Hackett, Deputy Appellate Defender, Louisville, for Appellant Jackson.

Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General, Ken W. Riggs, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Attorney General, Criminal Appellate Division, Frankfort, for Appellee.

Opinion of the Court by Justice GRAVES.

Appellants, Daron Haydon and Keith Jackson, entered conditional guilty pleas to four counts each of attempted murder and first-degree robbery, and one count each of first-degree assault. Jackson was additionally charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and tampering with physical evidence. Appellants were sentenced for each crime and ordered to serve a total of twenty years imprisonment. Because both Appellants have appealed the same issues to this Court as a matter of right, we have consolidated the appeals for review. Ky. Const. § 110(2)(b). For the reasons set forth herein, we vacate Appellants' convictions and sentences and remand for further proceedings.

The above crimes stem from an incident which occurred on March 16, 2002. The Commonwealth alleged that Appellants, who were each armed with a gun, approached a truck that was sitting at a carwash in Louisville, Kentucky. With their guns drawn, Jackson, who was masked, came upon the passenger side of the vehicle and Haydon, who was unmasked, appeared at the driver's side. The four male occupants were ordered to get out of the truck, to empty their pockets, and to get on the ground. As one of the men, J. Louis Nance, got out of the truck, he pulled a gun and struggled with Haydon. In the ensuing struggle, both Nance and Haydon were shot.

During police investigation into the matter, both Appellants made incriminating statements to the police. After indictment, Appellants moved to suppress their statements and for separate trials. In the alternative, each Appellant moved to redact his co-defendant's statement. The trial court denied Appellants' motions to suppress statements and for separate trials. Upon these denials, Appellants entered conditional pleas of guilty pursuant to RCr 8.09, reserving the right to appeal the following issues: (1) the trial court's denial of their motions to suppress statements made to police; (2) the trial court's denial of their motions to redact their co-defendant's statements; and (3) the trial court's denial of their motions for separate trials. We now address Appellants' arguments as a matter of right. Ky. Const. § 110(2)(b).

I. Motions for Separate Trials

Appellants first argue it was error for the trial court to deny their motions for separate trials pursuant to RCr 9.16. "RCr 9.16 requires the trial court to grant severance if it appears that a defendant will be prejudiced by a joint trial." Skinner v. Commonwealth, 864 S.W.2d 290, 294 (Ky.1993). The standard of review when a trial court denies such a motion is abuse of discretion. Id.

At the hearing on their motions, Appellants argued that separate trials were necessary to comply with the requirements of Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968). In Bruton, the United States Supreme Court held that it was a violation of the Confrontation Clause of the United States Constitution to admit unredacted out-of-court hearsay statements made by a non-testifying defendant at trial if those statements implicate a co-defendant unless that co-defendant has a fair chance for cross-examination. Id. at 125, 88 S.Ct. 1620. The Commonwealth argued that the incriminating out-of-court hearsay statements in this case constituted an exception to the Bruton rule because these statements contained "particularized guarantees of trustworthiness." Citing Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 100 S.Ct. 2531, 65 L.Ed.2d 597 (1980) and Gabow v. Commonwealth, 34 S.W.3d 63 (Ky.2000), the trial court agreed and accordingly, denied Appellants' motions for separate trials.

Since the trial court's ruling on the above matter, the United States Supreme Court has overruled those portions of Ohio v. Roberts, supra, and Gabow v. Commonwealth, supra, which hold that out-of-court hearsay statements made by witnesses which are testimonial in nature may be admitted against a defendant if they (1) fall under a "firmly rooted hearsay exception" or (2) bear "particularized guarantees of trustworthiness." See Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 60-61, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 1369-70, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004). While the Supreme Court "left for another day any effort to spell out a comprehensive definition of `testimonial,"' it held that "[w]hatever else the term covers, it applies at a minimum to ... police interrogations." Id. at 68, 124 S.Ct. 1354.

The Commonwealth makes no attempt to distinguish this case on its facts or to argue that Crawford v. Washington, supra, does not function to abrogate the reasoning supporting the trial court's decision in this case. Furthermore, the Commonwealth does not dispute Appellants' contention that the statements considered by the trial court were testimonial in nature. Instead, the Commonwealth presumes error and argues that any error committed by the trial court was harmless error beyond a reasonable doubt. See Caudill v. Commonwealth, 777 S.W.2d 924, 926 (Ky.1989) (applying harmless error analysis for Confrontation Clause errors). It urges this Court to consider the evidence they would have presented at trial in order to prove that the error was harmless in this case. Id. at 925 (must consider a "host of factors" which reflect on the "overall strength of the prosecution's case" in order to determine whether harmless error exists).

We reject the Commonwealth's argument as misplaced. The harmless error doctrine does not apply to hypothetical trial scenarios. First, such an inquiry would be entirely too speculative to satisfy constitutional standards. Second, applying the doctrine outside of an actual trial would misconceive its purpose, which is to ensure that fair trials are not overturned on mere technicalities. See Quarels v. Commonwealth, 142 S.W.3d 73, 81 (Ky. 2004) (citing Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U.S. 279, 307-09, 111 S.Ct. 1246, 113 L.Ed.2d 302 (1991)) (harmless error doctrine is meant to focus on errors which occurred during the presentation of the case to the jury). Since no actual trial was held in this case, we reject the Commonwealth's argument that the harmless error doctrine may be applied in this instance.

Rather, the real question to be determined in this instance is whether the presumed error constituted an abuse of discretion. Gill v. Commonwealth, 7 S.W.3d 365, 369 (Ky.1999) ("A trial court's decision to deny a motion for separate trials is reviewed for abuse of discretion.") While there is no doubt that the trial court ruled according to valid and accepted law at the time of its ruling, that law has been radically altered by Crawford v. Washington, supra. Since the trial court relied principally on reasoning which has been abrogated by a higher court, we must assume an abuse of discretion and vacate the trial court's sentence. See Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 314, 328, 107 S.Ct. 708, 716, 93 L.Ed.2d 649, 661 (1987) (newly declared constitutional rule in criminal cases is applied not only to prospective and pending cases, but also to those cases that are pending on direct appeal at the time of the change). Appellants shall be allowed to withdraw their guilty pleas pursuant to RCr 8.09 and upon such withdrawal, the trial court is ordered to reexamine its determination to deny separate trials or redact their statements in light of Crawford v. Washington, supra.

II. Motions to Suppress Statements

Appellants next argue the trial court erred when it denied their motions to suppress certain statements made to police because the statements were obtained in violation of their constitutional rights. When reviewing a trial court's denial of a motion to suppress, we utilize a clear error standard of review for factual findings and a de novo standard of review for conclusions of law. Welch v. Commonwealth, 149 S.W.3d 407, 409 (Ky.2004).

A. Appellant Haydon

Appellant Haydon argues that statements made by him on March 18, 2002, should be suppressed because these statements were obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). On that day, police came to interview Haydon in the hospital where he was recovering from the gunshot wound he received at the scene of the attempted robberies. While the police administered Miranda warnings immediately before eliciting the taped statements at issue, Haydon claims they violated his Fifth Amendment rights because (1) they refused to stop the interview at the point when he asked for an attorney, (2) they questioned him during a time when he was unable to make free and rational choices, and (3) they utilized a "question-first" technique that has since been invalidated by Missouri v. Seibert, 542 U.S. 600, 124 S.Ct. 2601, 159 L.Ed.2d 643 (2004). The Commonwealth counters that (1) Haydon's request for an attorney was not clear and unequivocal and thus, did not function as a valid request pursuant to Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981), (2) the evidence supports the trial court's conclusion that Appellant was coherent and able to understand the full import of his decisions at the time he was interviewed, and (3) Missouri v. Seibert, supra is distinguishable from this case.

We are compelled to note that the threshold issue in this case (and in any case involving a perceived violation of Miranda rights) is whether the defendant was subject to a...