State v. Falby

• Decision Date: 04 May 1982
• Parties: STATE of Connecticut v. Edward FALBY.
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court

Page 213

444 A.2d 213

187 Conn. 6

STATE of Connecticut v. Edward FALBY.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued Jan. 12, 1982.

Decided May 4, 1982.

Richard T. Meehan, Jr., Bridgeport, with whom, on the brief, was Kathleen M. VanDerAue, law student intern, for appellant (defendant).

Richard F. Jacobson, Asst. State's Atty., with whom, on the brief, were Donald A. Browne, State's Atty., and Eugene J. Callahan, Asst. State's Atty., for appellee (state).

Before SPEZIALE, C. J., and PETERS, HEALEY, ARMENTANO and SHEA, JJ.

PETERS, Associate Justice.

This appeal from a conviction for murder questions the validity of a confession obtained from a suspect with regard to a crime entirely unrelated to the crime for which he was arrested. The defendant, Edward Falby, was arrested on a warrant for third degree burglary in violation of General Statutes § 53a-103 and subsequently confessed to murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a(a). He claims error in the trial court's denial of a motion to suppress his confession, in various evidentiary rulings, and in jury instructions.

The events surrounding the defendant's confession are substantially undisputed and were set forth by the trial court in a lengthy finding of facts. On June 10, 1978, the defendant was arrested in Westport during the commission of a burglary and was scheduled for arraignment on a charge of burglary in the third degree before the Court of Common Pleas on June 20, 1978. A local attorney, Jerrold Engelman, agreed to represent the defendant at his arraignment subject to payment of a retainer on the 20th; Engelman did not enter an appearance for the defendant until June 19.

On June 13, 1978, the body of a nine year old girl was discovered in a wooded area approximately one quarter of a mile from the defendant's home. A child who had walked through the area earlier in the afternoon described to the police an encounter with a slender, red-haired young man, and a composite drawing of the suspect appeared in local newspapers. On June 16 the child identified the defendant from a photo display as the young man he had spoken to. The defendant at that time was eighteen years old and had red hair.

Following this identification, Lieutenant William Smith of the Westport police department and Inspector Ernest Draper of the state's attorney's office obtained two warrants: a bench warrant for the defendant's arrest on the third degree burglary charge and a search and seizure warrant for the defendant and his home in relation to the murder investigation. Together with a sizable contingent of police officers, Smith and Draper proceeded to the defendant's home late in the afternoon of June 16; Smith had a tape recorder in his pocket and recorded his conversations with the defendant and his family. The defendant was not at home when the police arrived but was arrested shortly thereafter outside the house and twice informed of his Miranda rights before reaching the police station, where he was again informed of his rights. The defendant did not enter his home and was not shown the search and seizure warrant, although a copy was left with Barbara Falby, the defendant's mother.

At the Westport police station the defendant was questioned by Smith and Draper from approximately 5:45 p. m. to 7 p. m., until the arrival of attorney Michael Cantore, who had been sent to police headquarters by Barbara Falby. In the course of his interrogation the defendant confessed to killing the nine year old girl, and that confession was recorded on tape; the defendant did not subsequently sign a written statement. The defendant was arrested on a bench warrant for murder at approximately 10 p. m. that night and taken to the Bridgeport Correctional Center at approximately 11:30 p. m., where a corrections officer once again advised the defendant of his rights pursuant to General Statutes § 54-43. At his jury trial for murder, the defendant's confession was, over his objection, admitted in evidence.

The defendant's principal claim of error on appeal is the denial of his motion to suppress his confession. He bases that claim on several grounds: the failure of the police to inform him that he was a murder suspect; the absence of counsel during interrogation; improper police tactics in arresting the defendant for an unrelated crime and promising him psychiatric help in return for a murder confession; and technical errors in obtaining the burglary warrant and executing the murder warrant. The defendant also raises two additional evidentiary claims of error: that the trial court erred (1) in admitting the testimony of a young girl concerning an attack on her by the defendant a year prior to the murder and (2) in failing to exclude expert testimony tainted by a violation of the court's sequestration order. Finally, the defendant claims error in the trial court's jury instructions because the court (1) explained to the jury that the state was not seeking capital punishment but failed to explain the consequences of a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity; (2) rejected the defendant's proposed instruction on two lesser included offenses; and (3) instructed the jury improperly concerning the defendant's decision not to testify at his trial. We find error only in the trial court's instruction on lesser included offenses but will review those of the defendant's other claims that may arise again upon a retrial.

I

The defendant's first claim of error concerning the admissibility of his confession argues that the principles of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), require the suppression of his confession because he was not told, at the time when he was apprised of his Miranda rights, that he was suspected of the crime of murder. The trial court, in its memorandum of decision denying his motion to suppress, held, as a matter of law, that Miranda v. Arizona does not require the police to inform a defendant of the exact nature of the charges against him; the court furthermore found, as a fact, that the defendant knew, at the time of his arrest, that he was a prime suspect in the Westport murder.

The principles of Miranda v. Arizona are well established and undisputed. In order to assure that a confession is voluntary, and to protect a suspect's constitutional privilege against self-incrimination, ¹ the police are obligated to observe certain formalities before attempting to elicit a confession from a suspect who is in custody. Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 478-79, 86 S.Ct. 1629, 1630; ² State v. Stankowski, --- Conn. pp. ---, ---, 439 A.2d 918 (42 Conn.L.J., No. 46, pp. 5, 10) cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 596, 70 L.Ed.2d 588 (1981); State v. Derrico, 181 Conn. 151, 161, 434 A.2d 356, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1064, 101 S.Ct. 789, 66 L.Ed.2d 607 (1980). The defendant does not deny that he was given the requisite Miranda warnings immediately upon his arrest on the burglary warrant. ³ He maintains, however, that the police were, in addition, obligated to inform him that, although he was under arrest for burglary, he was a prime suspect in, and would be interrogated about, the Westport murder. When the burglary arrest was, as he alleges, a mere pretext for the murder interrogation, he argues that Miranda requires disclosure of the police agenda before a waiver of Miranda rights can be knowing and intelligent. Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. 475, 86 S.Ct. 1628.

The record in this case, which includes a complete transcript of all conversations between the police and the defendant from the moment of his arrest to the arrival of Attorney Cantore, lends considerable support to the defendant's allegation that his arrest for burglary was indeed unrelated to the custodial interrogation which followed. The record reveals a striking and sustained reluctance on the part of the police to articulate the subject of their concern. Repeatedly, the police evaded the defendant's specific inquiries about why he was being taken into custody and questioned. ⁴ At the hearing on the motion to suppress, Officers Smith and Draper testified that the defendant was never directly informed that he was a murder suspect. They further testified that their reason for requesting a burglary bench warrant was concern that the defendant would flee the jurisdiction once the search warrant alerted him to police suspicion about his involvement in the murder. Draper testified that at the time of the initial arrest he did not believe that he had sufficient evidence for a murder warrant. Another police officer testified, without contradiction, that the authorities had no need for further questioning about the burglary because they already possessed sufficient evidence against the defendant. There was also testimony by the police, amply confirmed by the transcript of the defendant's interrogation, that in fact he was asked no questions about the burglary. In light of this testimony, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that the burglary bench warrant was a convenient pretext for custodial interrogation of the defendant concerning a murder, at a time when inadequate grounds existed to arrest him for the more serious crime.

It is clear that the guidelines of Miranda do not, per se, limit police interrogation to the crime with which a suspect has been explicitly charged. Ordinarily, Miranda warnings permit the police to extend their questioning of one who is in custody to include crimes other than the very case under investigation. See Michigan v. Mosley, 423 U.S. 96, 104-105, 96 S.Ct. 321, 326-327, 46 L.Ed.2d 313 (1975); Mathis v. United States, 391 U.S. 1, 4-5, 88 S.Ct. 1503, 1504-1505, 20 L.Ed.2d 381 (1968). Good faith inquiry into the possible commission of one crime may legitimately unearth grounds for pursuing evidence of guilt for another crime. We are asked today to rule whether these principles permit the police deliberately to withhold from a suspect, at the time of...