State v. Holman
| Decision Date | 23 August 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 23783.,23783. |
| Citation | 721 N.W.2d 452,2006 SD 82 |
| Parties | STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Lenny Rae HOLMAN, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | South Dakota Supreme Court |
Lawrence E. Long, Attorney General, Gary Campbell, Assistant Attorney General, Pierre, South Dakota, Attorneys for plaintiff and appellee.
Steven R. Binger, Binger Law Office, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Attorney for defendant and appellant.
[¶ 1.] Lenny Holman (Holman) appeals his convictions for first degree robbery and first degree burglary. Because the circuit court erred in failing to suppress Holman's confessions, we reverse and remand for a new trial.
[¶ 2.] On September 21, 2003, a man entered the Gold Nugget Casino in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and used a sawed off shotgun to force the clerk to turn over approximately $7,800 dollars. Neither the clerk nor her boyfriend, who was playing video lottery, was able to identify the perpetrator because he was wearing a ski mask at the time of the robbery. The robbery remained unsolved for almost six months.
[¶ 3.] In early March, 2004, Detective Robert Harrison (Harrison) of the Sioux Falls Police Department received a tip that Holman may have been involved in the robbery. Harrison met Holman on a prior occasion when Harrison was investigating a stolen trailer. Harrison described Holman's reluctance to cooperate with the police during the prior interview as "he [Holman] would [not] even give us the time of day."
[¶ 4.] Harrison learned that Holman was incarcerated at the Pierce County, Nebraska jail, on charges of possession of methamphetamine. Harrison spoke with Pierce County Deputy Sheriff Joshua Bauermeister (Bauermeister) and arranged for an interrogation session with Holman. On March 10, Harrison and two other Sioux Falls detectives1 traveled to Nebraska to interrogate Holman. Harrison did not believe Holman would be cooperative based on the prior interview in regards to the stolen trailer. At the time of the interview, Holman had been incarcerated for approximately ten days.
[¶ 5.] Holman had court-appointed counsel on the Nebraska charges. However, neither Harrison nor any of the other officers inquired into any allegations of criminal conduct that occurred outside of South Dakota. Holman did not request the assistance of counsel in regards to the South Dakota charges.
[¶ 6.] The interrogation took place in the Pierce County Sheriff's office. Harrison, Holman, Bauermeister, and two other Sioux Falls detectives were present. Harrison began the interview by explaining to Holman that he was investigating numerous charges including two armed robberies a stolen trailer, stolen tools, alteration of the trailer serial number, and alteration or falsifying the title of the trailer.
[¶ 7.] The initial part of the conversation between Harrison and Holman was not recorded. Detective Harrison told Holman that it might be to his benefit to divulge various crimes he was suspected of committing. In response, Holman asked Detective Harrison "what kind of `deal' [he] could get if he cooperated." Holman testified at the motion hearing that Harrison promised "he would see to it that [Holman] was only charged with one felony" in return for Holman's cooperation. Holman testified that Harrison left the room to make a call to Sioux Falls regarding the matter.
[¶ 8.] Bauermeister testified via deposition. He testified that it was his recollection that Harrison offered to charge Holman with only one felony in return for his cooperation. Specifically, Bauermeister testified as follows:
[¶ 9.] Harrison testified at the motion hearing that he never left the interrogation room to make a phone call. However, he testified to the agreement to charge Holman with only one felony as follows:
After the state's attorney pressed Harrison, he testified that the deal was not an overt promise to charge Holman with one felony, but rather a promise to recommend that Holman be charged with only one felony.
[¶ 10.] The balance of the interrogation session was audio recorded by Bauermeister. Holman confessed to involvement in multiple crimes, including the robbery of the Gold Nugget Casino. At the beginning of the interrogation session, Holman and Harrison engaged in the following exchange:
Holman: You're going to do this the way you said, right?
Harrison: Yes. I told you hey, only one charge —
Towards the end of the interrogation session, Holman inquired whether Harrison was going to "do what [Harrison] said he was going to do?" Harrison replied "yep."
[¶ 11.] Holman was charged with one count of robbery in the first degree under SDCL 22-30-1 and 22-30-6, and one count of burglary in the first degree under SDCL 22-32-1(3), both of which are felonies punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary. A Part II habitual offender indictment was also filed but was dismissed before trial. Holman entered a plea of not guilty to the two felony charges and made a motion to suppress the confession obtained by Harrison. The circuit court denied Holman's motion. In its findings of fact, the circuit court found that Harrison had told Holman that there would be no "promised deals" but only a "recommendation" that Holman be charged with one felony. The circuit court did not address the deposition testimony of Bauermeister.
[¶ 12.] Holman was tried on the robbery and burglary charges. At trial, Holman's confession was introduced by the State. Holman was convicted on both charges. Holman raises one issue on appeal.
Whether the circuit court erred in denying Holman's motion to suppress his confession because it was not shown to be voluntary.
[¶ 13.] "Although there are often subsidiary factual questions deserving deference, the voluntariness of a confession is ultimately a legal question." State v. Tuttle, 2002 SD 94, ¶ 20, 650 N.W.2d 20, 30 (). This Court reviews the entire record and makes an independent determination of voluntariness. Id. (). The State must establish the voluntariness of a confession by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. ¶ 21 (citing Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431, 444, 104 S.Ct. 2501, 81 L.Ed.2d 377, n. 5 (1984)).
Whether the confession was shown to be voluntary
[¶ 14.] The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the admission into evidence, over objection, of a confession obtained through coercion. Payne v. State of Arkansas, 356 U.S. 560, 568, 78 S.Ct. 844, 850, 2 L.Ed.2d 975 (1958). Over a century ago, the United States Supreme Court pronounced that a confession cannot be obtained by "any direct or implied promises, however slight, nor by the exertion of any improper influence." Bram v. United States, 168 U.S. 532, 542-43, 18 S.Ct. 183, 187, 42 L.Ed. 568 (1897). However, the Court later rejected a bright line rule in favor of a totality of the circumstances test. See Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 167, 107 S.Ct. 515, 522, 93 L.Ed.2d 473, 484 (1986).
[¶ 15.] We have adopted the United States Supreme Court's totality of the circumstances test in determining whether a confession was involuntary. Tuttle, 2002 SD 94, ¶ 22, 650 N.W.2d at 31. "The factual inquiry centers on (1) the conduct of law enforcement officials in creating pressure and (2) the suspect's capacity to resist that pressure." Id. (citing Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 399-401, 98 S.Ct. 2408, 2417-18, 57 L.Ed.2d 290, 304-06 (1978)). As to the second factor:
we examine such concerns as the defendant's age; level of education and intelligence; the presence or absence of any advice to the defendant on constitutional rights; the length of detention; the repeated and prolonged nature of the questioning; the use of psychological pressure or physical punishment, such as deprivation of food or sleep; and the defendant's prior experience with law enforcement officers and the courts. Finally, deception or misrepresentation by the officer receiving the statement may also be factors for the trial court to consider; however, the police may use some psychological tactics in interrogating a suspect.
Id. (internal citations and quotations omitted). Additionally, the coercion or improper conduct of law enforcement must be a direct cause of the confession. Id. ¶ 23, 650 N.W.2d at 31.
[¶ 16.] In Tuttle, we held that a confession was involuntary where a police officer told the suspect that "his report could be written to make things look good" or he could "write it up that [the suspect was] not cooperating, and [was] being a real jerk about it." Id. ¶ 25, 650 N.W.2d at 32. We concluded...
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