State v. Lawrence

• Court: Montana Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: HUNT
• Citation: State v. Lawrence, 285 Mont. 140, 948 P.2d 186 (Mont. 1997)
• Decision Date: 21 October 1997
• Docket Number: No. 95-357,95-357
• Parties: STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Freddie Joe LAWRENCE, Defendant and Appellant.

Page 186

948 P.2d 186

285 Mont. 140

STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Freddie Joe LAWRENCE, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 95-357.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs May 1, 1997.

Decided Oct. 21, 1997.

[285 Mont. 145] Leo J. Gallagher, Helena, for Defendant and Appellant.

Joseph P. Mazurek, Attorney General, Patricia J. Jordan, Assistant Attorney General, Helena; Mike McGrath, Lewis and Clark County Attorney, Carolyn Clemens, Deputy Lewis and Clark County Attorney, Helena, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

HUNT, Justice.

Defendant-Appellant Freddie Joe Lawrence (Appellant) and co-defendant Paul Kenneth Jenkins (Jenkins) were charged with deliberate homicide, aggravated kidnaping,and robbery. Defendants were tried simultaneously but with separate juries in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis & Clark County. Each jury found its respective defendant guilty on all counts and judgments of conviction were entered. (See companion case of State v. Jenkins, No. ADC 94-216, Lewis and Clark County; Mont. No. 95-352, --- Mont. ----, --- P.2d ---- (1997)). Defendants appealed their convictions and we consider each appeal separately. Appellant appeals the jury verdict and judgment of conviction of the First Judicial District Court,Lewis & Clark County. We affirm.

We address the following issues on appeal:

1. Did the District Court err in denying Appellant's motion to suppress incriminating statements he made to authorities on the ground that the statements were obtained involuntarily and in violation of Miranda?

2. Did the District Court err in admitting Mary Jenkins prior inconsistent statements and Officer McCormack's testimony concerning Jimmy Lee Amos?

3. Did the District Court err in refusing to grant Appellant's motion for a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence?

4. Did the District Court err in refusing to grant Appellant's motion to dismiss the case for insufficient evidence?

BACKGROUND

On the morning of January 12, 1994, the body of Donna Meagher (Meagher) was discovered in a ditch west of Helena. Meagher had been working the night before at the Jackson Creek Saloon in Montana City and had failed to come home as scheduled. After her last customer left sometime after midnight, Meagher, working alone, closed the bar. Shortly thereafter, Meagher was confronted by her assailants, who forced her to reopen the bar. The assailants robbed the cash register and poker machines, taking approximately $3,300. Aside from the missing money, the bar was largely undisturbed. Meagher's truck was moved from the bar's parking lot to a location behind a building across the street. Meagher was then transported through Helena to a location west of town, where she was bludgeoned to death. Her body was found at that location the next day.

Meagher's murder generated extensive publicity in the Helena area and a substantial reward was offered to anyone providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. Authorities were subsequently contacted by Dan Knipshield (Knipshield), Appellant's father-in-law, who implicated Appellant and Jenkins in the crime.

On August 31, 1994, three law enforcement officers traveled to West Yellowstone to talk to Appellant, who was incarcerated in the Park County jail on an unrelated offense. During the interview, Appellant denied any involvement in the crime but implicated Jenkins and another man, Jimmy Lee Amos (Amos), as being responsible. Appellant asked if he could be moved to the Jefferson County jail in Boulder to be closer to his family in exchange for cooperating further. The officers obliged and on September 1, 1994, moved Appellant to the jail in Boulder. The officers subsequently interviewed him two more times; once on September 1, and again on September 2, 1994.

Based on the information obtained from Knipshield and Appellant, law enforcement officers traveled from Montana to Oklahoma to interview Jenkins, his wife Mary Jenkins, and Amos. At the conclusion of the police investigation, Appellant and Jenkins were arrested and charged with the robbery, kidnaping and homicide. The defendants were tried simultaneously before different juries and both were convicted on all counts. Additional facts will be provided as necessary to dispose of the issues raised.

DISCUSSION

Issue 1

Did the District Court err in denying Appellant's motion to suppress incriminating statements he made to authorities on the ground that the statements were obtained involuntarily and in violation of Miranda?

Appellant argues that any statements made to law enforcement during the three initial interviews should be suppressed because the State failed to meet its burden of proving that he was properly advised of his rights as mandated by Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, and that he voluntarily waived his rights. As support for his argument, Appellant relies on our decision in State v. Grey (1995), 274 Mont. 206, 907 P.2d 951, where we stated that failure to preserve any tangible record of a defendant being advised of his rights and voluntarily waiving those rights would be "viewed with distrust" in determining whether a defendant has voluntarily waived his rights. Grey, 907 P.2d at 956. As further support, Appellant argues that the officers failed to comply with Edwards v. Arizona (1981), 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378, and cease the interview upon his assertion of his right to counsel.

This issue was the subject of a pre-trial suppression hearing, after which the District Court concluded that Appellant had been properly advised of his rights pursuant to Miranda, and had knowingly and voluntarily waived those rights. The District Court therefore refused to suppress any of the statements made during the interviews in question. Appellant asserts that the District Court erred in its conclusions and its ultimate denial of his motion to suppress.

This Court will not overturn a district court's findings of fact regarding suppression hearing evidence unless those findings are clearly erroneous. State v. Cassell (1996), 280 Mont. 397, 400, 932 P.2d 478, 479 (citation omitted). A finding of fact is clearly erroneous if it is not supported by substantial evidence, if the trial court misapprehended the effect of the evidence, or if this Court is left with a definite and firm conviction that the district court made a mistake. Cassell, 932 P.2d at 479 (citing State v. Loh (1996), 275 Mont. 460, 475, 914 P.2d 592, 601). We review a district court's conclusions of law de novo to ensure that the court's interpretation of the law was correct. State v. Hardy (1996), 278 Mont. 516, 519, 926 P.2d 700, 702 (citing Carbon County v. Union Reserve Coal Co. (1995), 271 Mont. 459, 469, 898 P.2d 680, 686).

Incriminating statements made while undergoing custodial interrogation are generally admissible so long as procurement of such statements comports with the Fifth Amendment right to be free from self-incrimination and the Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of law. State v. Allies (1979) 186 Mont. 99, 109, 606 P.2d 1043, 1048-49. In Miranda, the United States Supreme Court held that "to permit a full opportunity to exercise the privilege against self-incrimination, the accused must be adequately and effectively apprised of his rights," namely, the right to remain silent and the right to counsel. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 467, 469, 86 S.Ct. at 1624, 1625. Once apprised of his rights, if an individual unequivocally invokes any right, all questioning must cease. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 474, 86 S.Ct. at 1627;Edwards, 451 U.S. at 485, 101 S.Ct. at 1885. A reinterrogation may occur only if the accused himself initiates further communication with the police. Edwards, 451 U.S. at 485, 101 S.Ct. at 1885.

An individual may waive his rights only if the waiver has been made voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1612. Pursuant to § 46-13-301(1), MCA, a defendant may move to suppress a confession or admission on the ground that it was given involuntarily. The prosecution has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the confession or admission was voluntary. Section 46-13-301(2), MCA. Voluntariness depends on the totality of circumstances, with no one fact being dispositive. Cassell, 932 P.2d at 480 (citing Loh, 914 P.2d at 601).

The totality of the circumstances includes the following factors among others: the defendant's age, experience, and level of education; the defendant's prior experience with the criminal justice system and police interrogation; whether the defendant was advised of his Miranda rights; and whether the police used impermissible practices to extract incriminating statements from the defendant. Cassell, 932 P.2d at 480 (citing Loh, 914 P.2d at 601-02). Physical coercion, psychological coercion, deception, use of threats, and direct or implied promises are all factors to be weighed in the Court's consideration of whether police employed impermissible practices to extract incriminating statements. Cassell, 932 P.2d at 480 (citing Loh, 914 P.2d at 602).

The task before this Court is to decide whether there exists substantial evidence supporting the District Court's determination that Appellant voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived his rights. The following facts are undisputed. On the date of the first interrogation, August 31, 1994, Appellant was incarcerated in the Park County jail for an unrelated traffic offense. The officers investigating the Meagher homicide arrived at the Park County jail shortly after 1:00 p.m. and secured a coffee break room in which to conduct the interview with Appellant. The officers included Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Detective Sam McCormack, Jefferson County Undersheriff Tim Campbell, and Montana State Criminal Investigation Bureau Agent Reed Scott. McCormack and Scott were smokers and obtained permission...