State v. Davis

• Court: Iowa Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: UHLENHOPP; Blackman
• Citation: State v. Davis, 328 N.W.2d 301 (Iowa 1982)
• Decision Date: 22 December 1982
• Docket Number: No. 67922,67922
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. William Frederick DAVIS, Appellant.

Page 301

328 N.W.2d 301

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. William Frederick DAVIS, Appellant.

No. 67922.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Dec. 22, 1982.

Francis C. Hoyt, Jr., Appellate Defender, and Linda Del Gallo, Asst. Appellate Defender, Des Moines, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Atty. Gen., Teresa Baustian, Asst. Atty. Gen., and William E. Davis, Scott County Atty., for appellee.

Considered by LeGRAND, P.J., and UHLENHOPP, HARRIS, McGIVERIN, and CARTER, JJ.

UHLENHOPP, Justice.

In this appeal we consider several legal problems in a prosecution for first-degree kidnapping and second-degree sexual abuse under sections 710.1, .2, 709.1, and .3 of the Iowa Code of 1979.

The jury could find the following from the evidence. A young woman returned to her apartment alone in Davenport, Iowa, at about 3:00 a.m. on October 4, 1980. She unlocked the garage door and drove in. As she got out of her car defendant William Frederick Davis put his arm around her neck from the rear, held a knife to her throat, and told her to get back into the car. She did so, and defendant got in and drove the car. Defendant had his trousers unzipped and lowered, and required the woman to keep her head down and have oral sex as he drove out of the garage. Defendant drove to a wooded area in Illinois, where he told the woman to remove her clothing. She complied, and defendant forced her to have sexual intercourse. She viewed defendant briefly on two occasions while in the car.

After the intercourse defendant told the woman to get out of the car before he hurt her. She was able to grab her sweater and pants, and she ran to the highway. Defendant left the car in a parking area near the woman's apartment.

The woman flagged down a truck and later received help from a law officer who took her to a hospital. She was unable to identify her assailant from mug shots but later did identify him from photographs, and she identified him in court. Two latent fingerprints on her car door were found to be those of defendant.

Illinois law officers later arrested defendant for an unrelated rape in that state, charged him, and placed him in jail there. Defendant obtained an attorney who spoke with him at the jail for about an hour. The attorney told defendant not to talk with the officers, and told the officers on duty he did not want defendant questioned.

The same evening an Illinois state's attorney authorized law officers to charge defendant with a rape in Illinois, which they did. They informed defendant of the additional charge, and he became distraught and stated he wanted to talk with someone. They asked if he wanted to talk with them, he said he did, and they took him to an interview room and gave him the Miranda warning.

The record contains a conflict of testimony regarding the conversation which is common in such cases. The officers testified to conduct which would lead to the conclusion that defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his rights and voluntarily related the circumstances of the Davenport incident and others; defendant testified to conduct which would lead to a contrary conclusion. For reasons which will appear, we find no necessity to resolve this conflict.

Defendant told the officers about five separate sex incidents, the fifth being the present one. He was allowed to speak with his wife after asking to do so. The conversation with the officers then resumed, this time with a tape recorder. The taped conversation was transcribed. The next day defendant read the transcription, made corrections to it, and signed each page of it.

The Scott County Attorney charged defendant with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree sexual abuse, and second-degree theft. The theft charge was subsequently dropped. Prior to trial defendant moved to suppress the statement he gave the officers; he asserted constitutional grounds which included involuntariness. During the hearing on the motion, the following transpired:

The Court: Your motion is self-explanatory. I think that the State's brief in resistance to that point correctly sets forth the applicable law concerning the custodial situation of the defendant and the right of the State to at that time procure fingerprints and other non-testimonial identification, and the motion to suppress the fingerprints or testimony in relation thereto is overruled. Now, it's also my understanding, Mr. Davis [prosecutor], that you do not intend to use the statement of the defendant in your case in chief, is that right?

Mr. Davis: That's correct, your Honor.

The Court: And only you would be using it for the purpose of impeachment in the event the defendant took the stand?

Mr. Davis: That's correct.

The Court: Well, quite apart from the position taken by the State, it is the Court's opinion that in reviewing the totality of the circumstances in this case, the defendant was apprised of his Fifth Amendment Miranda Rights on a continuing basis, did understand them, and there is no question in the Court's mind with respect to the voluntariness of the statement made at the time that it was taken. With respect to the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel, which I believe you are also raising that, Mr. Feuerbach [defense attorney].

Mr. Feuerbach: Yes, Your Honor.

The Court: I think the burden is on the State to show that that is a right which is understood by the defendant and that he waived the same, and I think that is a high burden on the State. A review of the circumstances in this case would reveal that this was the fourth in a series of statements given by the defendant. In fact, they were given twice, once orally and once on tape with some interval between times. It is also the Court's understanding of the evidence that between the oral statement and the one that was taped, the defendant had an opportunity to speak with his wife. It is also noted that the defendant's attorney, Mr. Jamison, did pass on some information to certain police officers of the propriety of interrogating his client, but those were not the officers who were doing the interrogating in this instance. Each of the exhibits which have been submitted to the Court, the transcripts of the four statements taken, go to great lengths to demonstrate that the investigating officers, questioning officers, were quite aware that the defendant was represented by counsel and asked him about his representation and reminded him that he was represented by counsel, and at each instance, the defendant responded that it was his desire to talk with the police officers at that time. I think that factor and the other factors I've mentioned weigh heavily in favor of the State having sustained their burden to show that the waiver of his attorney at the time that this statement was given was a voluntary waiver, and for each of those reasons, the motion to suppress the statement previously given is overruled. Is there anything else pending?

Mr. Feuerbach: No, there is no other motions pending.

The Court: All right. That's fine.

At the subsequent trial the State did not use defendant's statement in its case in chief. After the State rested and the trial court overruled defendant's motion for acquittal, the following occurred:

Mr. Feuerbach: Your Honor, at this time defense would like to make a record in regard to--decision has been made in this case regard to the defendant William Frederick Davis not testifying. I would state to the Court that the defendant and I have discussed the matter of whether or not he would testify in his own behalf in this trial and that the defendant is aware that it is his decision whether or not he chooses to testify. We have discussed this matter at various times during the preparation of this case. We have also discussed it earlier today. The defendant is aware of the Court's ruling in regard to the statements previously given by him, and the defendant is aware that if he would choose to testify, that the State would have the opportunity to use those statements for the purpose of impeaching any testimony that he would give, and for this reason and for other reasons that we have discussed, Mr. Davis chooses not to testify. Is that correct? We have discussed those matters?

The Defendant: Yes.

Mr. Feuerbach: And it is your choice now at this time not to testify in your own behalf?

The Defendant: Yes, it is.

Defense counsel renewed the motion for acquittal and the court overruled it. Defendant then rested as did the State. The statement was never used.

The jury found defendant guilty as charged. After sentencing, defendant appealed.

I. Defendant's statement. Defendant's first proposition in the appeal is that the district court erred in overruling his motion to suppress his statement. The determinative question here is whether defendant sustained prejudice and properly raised error.

The State did not use defendant's statement in its case in chief. Therefore defendant sustained no harm in that respect. The State could have used the statement for impeachment, however, if defendant had taken the stand and testified differently in material respects, but only if the statement was voluntarily given. Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 397, 98 S.Ct. 2408, 2416, 57 L.Ed.2d 290, 303 (1978).

We will assume for purposes of this appeal the district court erred in its ruling on defendant's motion to suppress by finding that his statement was voluntary. If, after the State rested, (1) defendant had taken the stand and had testified differently from the statement in material respects, (2) the State had sought to use the statement to impeach defendant's testimony, (3) defendant had objected that the statement could not be so used because it was involuntary, (4) the court had overruled the objection, and (5) the State had used the statement to impeach, defendant would have demonstrated prejudice and raised error with respect to the court's ruling that the statement was voluntary. Under this record, defendant might have demonstrated...