State v. Davis

• Decision Date: 18 October 1989
• Docket Number: No. 88-1252,88-1252
• Citation: 446 N.W.2d 785
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellant, v. George H. DAVIS, Appellee.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 785

446 N.W.2d 785

STATE of Iowa, Appellant, v. George H. DAVIS, Appellee.

No. 88-1252.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Oct. 18, 1989.

Thomas J. Miller, Atty. Gen., Sheryl A. Soich, Asst. Atty. Gen., Brent D. Heeren, County Atty., and Richard R. Vander Mey, Asst. County Atty., for appellant.

John S. Livingston, Gladbrook, for appellee.

Considered by McGIVERIN, C.J., and HARRIS, SCHULTZ, NEUMAN and SNELL, JJ.

SCHULTZ, Justice.

In this criminal action, we granted the State's application for discretionary review of the trial court's pretrial ruling suppressing defendant's oral confession and the fruits of a warrant search resulting from those statements. The State concedes that it has the burden to show the statements were voluntarily made. It disputes the trial court's ruling that it must also show that the statements were knowingly and intelligently made. As we agree with the State's position, we reverse and remand.

Defendant challenges the confession and the evidence seized on constitutional grounds. Since the issue involves a constitutional right, we review the record de novo. State v. Aldape, 307 N.W.2d 32, 36 (Iowa 1981).

On February 2, 1988, defendant George Davis told a deputy sheriff at the Tama County Courthouse that the gun used by his brother-in-law, who was under arrest for terrorism, was his and that he wanted it back. The deputy subsequently learned that Davis was a convicted felon whose right to have firearms had not been restored. He then asked another deputy sheriff to first read Davis his Miranda rights and then to interview him regarding the gun and to tape-record their conversation. The approximately twenty-minute interview occurred at Davis' home. Davis signed a written Miranda waiver form. During the course of this interview, Davis told the deputy sheriff that he owned the 12 gauge shotgun used in his brother-in-law's case and that he had additional firearms in his possession as well. Davis then volunteered to show the deputy a 410 gauge shotgun.

This information was used to obtain a search warrant, and the firearms were subsequently seized. Davis was then charged with two counts of possession of firearms by a felon.

Defendant moved to suppress the tape-recorded conversation and all the items of physical evidence seized as a result of that conversation. The trial court adopted a two-step test of admissibility of defendant's statements by requiring that they must not only be voluntary but knowingly and intelligently made. The court cited Davis' poor education, the technical nature of the crime with which he was eventually charged, and the fact that he was not told that he was suspected of criminal activity as support for its conclusion that the State had not established that the statements were knowingly and intelligently made. It is the State's position that the statements need only be voluntary. It urges that an analysis of "knowledge" and "intelligence" is only required in determining the validity of a waiver of Miranda rights. With these contentions in mind, we examine principles concerning the admissibility of inculpatory statements by a criminal defendant.

I. Admissibility of Inculpatory Statements. For over a century this court has recognized that the admissibility of inculpatory statements by an accused is dependent upon the State showing that the statements were voluntarily made. State v. Chambers, 39 Iowa 179, 182 (1874); State v. Fidment, 35 Iowa 541, 542 (1872). In order for a statement to be considered free and voluntary, "it must not be extracted by any sort of threats, nor obtained by any direct or implied promises, however slight, nor by the exertion of any improper influence." Chambers, 39 Iowa at 182. We were concerned about the credibility and accuracy of the statements. See, e.g., State v. Mullin, 249 Iowa 10, 16-17, 85 N.W.2d 598, 601-02 (Iowa 1957); State v. Thomas, 193 Iowa 1004, 1016, 188 N.W. 689, 694 (1929).

More recently, constitutional concerns entered into our decisions involving voluntariness. The U.S. Supreme Court held that a confession obtained by police through the use of threats is violative of due process. Lynumn v. Illinois, 372 U.S. 528, 534, 83 S.Ct. 917, 920, 9 L.Ed.2d 922, 926 (1963). Thus, if an accused's statements have been obtained by methods offensive to due process, where the suspect clearly had no opportunity to exercise a free and unconstrained will, the statements are inadmissible. Haynes v. Washington, 373 U.S. 503, 514-15, 83 S.Ct. 1336, 1343-44, 10 L.Ed.2d 513, 521 (1963); accord State v. Cooper, 217 N.W.2d 589, 597 (Iowa 1974).

The Supreme Court placed new burdens upon the State in seeking the admission of inculpatory statements in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Miranda requires the suppression of many statements that would have been admissible under traditional due process analysis by presuming that statements made while in custody and without adequate warnings were coerced and as such violated the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution. Oregon v. Elstad, 470 U.S. 298, 304, 105 S.Ct. 1285, 1290, 84 L.Ed.2d 222, 229 (1985). While obviously voluntary statements taken in violation of Miranda must be excluded from the prosecution's case-in-chief, the presumption of coercion does not prohibit their use for impeachment purposes on cross examination. Harris v. New York, 401 U.S. 222, 224-25, 91 S.Ct. 643, 645, 28 L.Ed.2d 1, 4 (1971); State v. Hatter, 414 N.W.2d 333, 338 (Iowa 1987). On the other hand, any use in a criminal trial of an involuntary statement is a denial of due process requiring automatic reversal. Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 397-98, 98 S.Ct. 2408, 2416, 57 L.Ed.2d 290, 303 (1978); State v. Hrbek, 336 N.W.2d 431, 435 (Iowa 1983); State v. Ware, 205 N.W.2d 700, 704 (Iowa 1973).

The teaching of these cases indicates that since Miranda, we have a dual test in determining the admissibility of inculpatory statements by a criminal defendant. First, we ascertain whether or not Miranda warnings are required and if so, whether they were properly given. Second, we determine whether the statement is voluntary and satisfies due process.

II. Miranda Warnings. In Miranda the Supreme Court mandated that during custodial interrogation, an accused be advised of certain constitutional rights. 384 U.S. at 444-45, 86 S.Ct. at 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d at 706-07. A defendant may waive these rights, however, provided that the waiver is made voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently. Id.

A Miranda inquiry is not triggered, however, unless there is both custody and interrogation. Id.; see, e.g., State v. Brown, 341 N.W.2d 10, 16 (Iowa 1983); State v. Cook, 330 N.W.2d 306, 312 (Iowa 1983); State v. Kyseth, 240 N.W.2d 671, 673 (Iowa 1976). In Kyseth we adopted the Miranda Court's definition of custodial interrogation as the "questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom in any way." 240 N.W.2d at 673 (quoting Miranda 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d at 706).

On the record before us, we find that Davis was not in custody while he was interrogated by the deputy sheriff. The atmosphere during the defendant's interview was not coercive or threatening nor was his freedom restrained. In fact, the trial court found that the atmosphere was "most pleasant." He was not deprived of his freedom in any way. He was not placed under arrest and was interviewed in his home. While he was a suspect, this status does not trigger the requirement of Miranda warnings. Oregon v. Mathiason, 429 U.S. 492, 495, 97 S.Ct. 711, 714, 50 L.Ed.2d 714, 719 (1977). The harm that Miranda was to eradicate was the "incommunicado interrogation ... in a police dominated atmosphere." State v. McDonald, 190 N.W.2d 402, 404 (Iowa 1971). The ultimate inquiry is whether there is an arrest or a restraint on freedom of movement of a degree associated with an arrest. Mathiason, 429 U.S. at 495, 97 S.Ct. at 713-14, 50 L.Ed.2d at 719. In both McDonald and Cook, the defendant was interviewed at home, and no custody was found. McDonald, 190 N.W.2d at 404; Cook, 330 N.W.2d at 312. Therefore, we conclude there was no requirement that the Miranda warnings be given. Because Miranda is not implicated, it is not necessary for us to analyze whether the defendant's waiver of those rights was made voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently.

III. Voluntariness. Our second inquiry addresses the issue of voluntariness. In prior cases we have noted the difference between voluntary waivers of Miranda rights and voluntary statements. State v. Hodges, 326 N.W.2d 345, 347 (Iowa 1982); State v. Snethen, 245 N.W.2d 308, 311 (Iowa 1976); State v. Hilpipre, 242 N.W.2d 306, 309 (Iowa 1976). We have noted that they are separate issues. Snethen, 245 N.W.2d at 311.

Even if there had been the need to effectively waive defendant's Miranda rights, the State must still prove that the accused's subsequent incriminatory statements were voluntarily given. Hilpipre 242 N.W.2d at 309. We cited Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 223-26, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2045-47, 36 L.Ed.2d 854, 860-62 (1973), for the proposition that the inculpatory statements must be the product of a "rational and free will" in order to be admitted into evidence. Id.

The district court held, however, that in order for a statement to be admissible, it must not only be voluntary, but knowingly and intelligently made. The defendant cites State v. Jacoby, 260 N.W.2d 828, 832 (Iowa 1977) and State v. Winfrey, 221 N.W.2d 269, 273 (Iowa 1974), as support for the district court's conclusion. A close analysis of the relevant cases demonstrates that while our court used the words cited by the district court, we clearly only analyzed whether the admissions were voluntary and not whether they were knowingly and intelligently made. See, e.g., State v. Davidson, 340 N.W.2d 770, 771-72 (Iowa 1983); Fryer v. State, 325...