People v. Williams

• Decision Date: 30 October 1970
• Docket Number: Gen. No. 53650
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ruben WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 901

264 N.E.2d 901

131 Ill.App.2d 149

PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ruben WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.

Gen. No. 53650.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, First Division.

Oct. 30, 1970.

Edward V. Hanrahan, State's Atty., Chicago, for plaintiff-appellee; Robert A. Novelle

Anthony M. Montemurro, Lawrence J. Bolon, Asst. State's Attys., Chicago, of counsel

Gerald W. Getty, Public Defender of Cook County, Chicago, for appellant; William J. Martin, James B. Haddad, Theodore A. Gottfried, Asst. Public Defender, Chicago, of counsel.

BURMAN, Presiding Justice.

The defendant, Ruben Williams, was indicted and convicted of the murder of Robert Fleming on October 15, 1967. The defendant was sentenced to serve a minimum of thirty-five and a maximum of fifty years in the Illinois State Penitentiary.

On appeal, the defendant contends (1) that the trial court erred in admitting each of five statements elicited from the defendant in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), (2) that the admissible evidence does not prove that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, (3) that the prosecutor's statement of personal opinion in the closing argument constitutes reversible error, and (4) that the sentence imposed was grossly excessive.

We first consider the admissibility of two oral statements made by the defendant to Kenneth Fowler, an Indiana State Trooper. On October 15, 1967, Fowler investigated a traffic accident on the Indiana Tollway in which the defendant was involved. At the time of the accident the defendant was driving the automobile of the deceased, Robert Fleming. As a routine part of the investigation Trooper Fowler asked the defendant for identification. The defendant, who did not present a driver's license, gave Fowler a registration card bearing the name of Robert Fleming. After further questioning the defendant gave Fowler a credit card which also bore the name of Robert Fleming. Fowler then took the defendant to a police station for a breathalizer test. At the station Fowler read the following warning and waiver to the defendant.

WARNING AND WAIVER

Warning as to Rights

Before we ask you any questions, it is our duty as police officers to advise you of your rights and to warn you of the consequences of waiving your rights.

You have the absolute right to remain silent.

Anything you say to us can be used against you in court.

You have the right to talk to an attorney before answering any questions and to have an attorney present with you during questioning.

You have this same right to the advice and presence of an attorney whether you can afford to hire one or not. We have no way of furnishing you with an attorney, but one will be appointed for you, if you wish, if and when you go to court.

If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time. You also have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney.

Waiver

I have read the above statement of my rights, and it has been read to me. I understand what my rights are. I wish to make a voluntary statement, and I do not want an attorney. No force, threats or promises of any kind or nature have been used by anyone in any way to influence me to waive my rights. I am signing this statement after having been advised of my rights before any questions have been asked of me by the police.

X _ _

Mark Witnessed

Certification

I hereby certify that the foregoing warning and waiver were read by me to the person who has affixed his (her) signature above, and that he (she) also read it and signed it in my presence this 18th day of Oct. 1967, at 1:00 o'clock P.M. at LaPorte, Indiana.

_ _

Signature--Police Officer

Witness

After the defendant read the warning and waiver, he signed the waiver by marking an 'x' on it in the presence of Fowler. Subsequently the defendant was taken before a justice of the peace and was jailed in lieu of fines under the name of Robert Fleming, on charges of reckless driving and driving without a license.

Trooper Fowler met with the defendant again on October 20, 1967. Prior to any questioning, Fowler read to the defendant the same warning and waiver which he had read to the defendant on October 15, 1967. The defendant refused to sign the second warning and waiver. According to Fowler the defendant then admitted in response to various questions that his name was Ruben Williams, that he had borrowed Robert Fleming's automobile, that he had met Fleming in a bar, that he and Fleming had gone to a hotel where they had had a relationship as a man and woman, and that he and Fleming had had a disagreement. At this point the defendant refused to answer further questions and Fowler ceased questioning him.

The defendant points to the sentence in the warning, 'We have no way of furnishing you with an attorney, but one will be appointed for you, if you wish, if and when you go to court' and contends that he was inadequately informed of his right to have appointed counsel present during the interrogation because the above quoted sentence in the warning negates the idea that a lawyer will be appointed prior to any questioning.

The rule in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 at 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602 at 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, is that

* * * Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed.

Law enforcement officials need not use any particular set of words and phrases to inform an accused of his rights as long as the words used impart to the accused a clear and understandable warning of all his rights. We agree with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals when it wrote while considering the adequacy of similar Miranda warnings in Coyote v. United States, 380 F.2d 305 at 308 (10th Cir., 1967):

Surely Miranda is not a ritual of words to be recited by rote according to didactic niceties. What Miranda does require is meaningful advice to the unlettered and unlearned in language which he can comprehend and on which he can knowingly act. We will not indulge semantical debates between counsel over the particular words used to inform an individual of his rights. The crucial test is whether the words in the context used, considering the age, background and intelligence of the individual being interrogated, impart a clear, understandable warning of all his rights.

The warnings which were read to the defendant informed him (1) that he had a right to remain silent, (2) that anything he said could be used against him in court, (3) that he had a right to talk to a lawyer before and during questioning, (4) that he had a right to a lawyer's advice and presence even if he could not afford to hire one, (5) that a lawyer would be appointed for him, if and when he went to court, and (6) that he had a right to stop answering questions at any time until he talked to a lawyer. The defendant by signing the waiver acknowledged that he had read the warning and that he understood his rights. The above warnings when read in combination, clearly and understandably informed the defendant that he was entitled to appointed counsel prior to questioning. Other jurisdictions have considered the adequacy of warnings identical or substantially similar to the warnings given to the defendant. We agree with the conclusions of Jones v. State, 252 N.E.2d 572 (Ind., 1969) (identical warning), People v. Swift, 32 A.D.2d 183, 300 N.Y.S.2d 639 (1969) (substantially similar warning), and Steel v. State, 246 Ark. 74, 436 S.W.2d 800 (1969) (substantially similar warning). We note too, that Fendley v. United States, 384 F.2d 923 (5th Cir., 1967) (substantially similar warning), Lathers v. United States, 396 F.2d 524 (5th Cir., 1968) (similar, but the warning did not state that the defendant was entitled to appointed counsel prior to interrogation), and Square v. State, 283 Ala. 548, 219 So.2d 377, (1969) (substantially similar warning) reach contrary conclusions.

The defendant next contends that his oral statement to Trooper Fowler on October 20, 1967, was improperly admitted because the evidence in the record does not demonstrate that he knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights prior to making the statement. The defendant did refuse to sign the written waiver on October 20, 1967, but a refusal to sign a written waiver is not by itself proof that a subsequent statement is involuntary. People v. Dewey, 42 Ill.2d 148, 246 N.E.2d 232 (1969). The voluntariness of a statement must be determined by an evaluation of the 'totality of the circumstances,' surrounding the giving of a statement. Fikes v. Alabama, 352 U.S. 191, 77 S.Ct. 281, 1 L.Ed.2d 246; People v. Bey, 259 N.E.2d 800 (Ill.1969).

The defendant had made incriminating statements prior to his arrest and custodial interrogation when on October 15, 1967, he presented the deceased's registration card and credit card as identification to Trooper Fowler who was conducting a routine accident investigation. After the defendant was taken into custody on October 15, 1967, he was adequately warned of his rights. He signed a waiver of his rights and he made a short statement. On October 20, 1967, he was again informed of his rights. He answered questions about his true identity and about the reason that he possessed an automobile owned by another person. He exercised his right to remain silent when the questioning turned to possible conflicts with Robert Fleming. The 'totality of the circumstances' surrounding the giving of the statement to Trooper Fowler on October 20, 1967, demonstrates that the defendant was adequately informed of his rights, that the defendant knew his rights, and that the defendant voluntarily made the...