State v. Mears

• Decision Date: 28 January 2000
• Docket Number: No. 98-252.,98-252.
• Citation: 749 A.2d 600
• Parties: STATE of Vermont v. Jason MEARS.
• Court: Vermont Supreme Court

749 A.2d 600

STATE of Vermont v. Jason MEARS.

No. 98-252.

Supreme Court of Vermont.

January 28, 2000.

James D. McKnight, Orange County State's Attorney, and Pamela Hall Johnson, Deputy State's Attorney, Specially Assigned, Chelsea, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Robert Appel, Defender General, and Anna Saxman, Appellate Attorney, Montpelier, for Defendant-Appellant.

Present AMESTOY, C.J., and DOOLEY, MORSE, JOHNSON and SKOGLUND, JJ.

AMESTOY, C.J.

Defendant Jason Mears appeals his Orange District Court conviction for attempted murder in the first degree. Defendant argues that (1) the trial court erroneously admitted statements he made to police, (2) he did not waive his rights to silence and to counsel knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily, and (3) the court should have granted his motion for a mistrial because a prosecution witness's testimony prejudiced defendant. We affirm.

I. Facts

The relevant facts are not in dispute. Briefly stated, on October 7, 1996, defendant, armed with a revolver, entered neighbor Yvonne Campbell's Braintree home and brutally assaulted her, leaving her for dead. He initially pled guilty to attempted second-degree murder, but then withdrew his plea. At trial, defendant did not contest that he committed the attack, but presented a diminished-capacity defense, claiming that he intended only to steal from the Campbells but raged out of control when his plan went awry. Defendant was convicted of attempted first-degree murder in March 1998.

Because defendant's first claim of error relates to statements made by defendant after he was taken into custody, we briefly recount the circumstances. At approximately 9:30 a.m. on October 7, 1996, Ms. Campbell called 9-1-1 and, speaking in a whispered and panicked voice, told the dispatcher that defendant had stabbed her. A half-hour later, an emergency medical team arrived at the scene of the attack. Although bleeding profusely from gaping wounds in her head, neck, and leg, Ms. Campbell was conscious and again identified defendant as her attacker.

Shortly after 1:00 p.m. on the same day, police took the then seventeen-year-old defendant to the Vermont State Police barracks in Bethel. Defendant was reluctant to call his father, but did so at the insistence of Officer Terry Lewis. Defendant's father, Bruce Mears, arrived at the barracks at approximately 3:30 p.m. During the two hours defendant was at the barracks without his father, he was not questioned. He was allowed from time to time to walk outside and smoke. Upon his arrival at the barracks, Mr. Mears was informed by Officer Lewis that his son was a suspect in a stabbing at the Campbell residence, that the police needed to interview defendant, and that Mr. Mears could talk privately with his son in one of the interview rooms and decide whether they wanted to talk to the police.

Mr. Mears and defendant went into the private room and, after an unspecified period of time, Mr. Mears emerged from the room and told Officer Lewis: "We'll talk to you." Officer Lewis responded that questioning would not begin until Detective Gloria Danforth returned to the barracks because she was to conduct the interview. Detective Danforth, who had talked extensively with Ms. Campbell when the victim called 9-1-1 to report the attack, was at the Mears residence conducting a search pursuant to a valid warrant. Detective Danforth's arrival was delayed about two hours, during which time defendant, Mr. Mears, and defendant's mother, Naomi Mears, who had arrived after Mr. Mears, went in and out of a private interview room.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., Detective Danforth arrived at the barracks, at which time defendant and his parents were outside smoking. Detective Danforth told Mr. Mears, out of defendant's presence, that she wanted to question his son but that, because defendant was only seventeen years old, she needed parental permission. Detective Danforth ensured that Mr. Mears understood that he did not have to give such permission, but Mr. Mears responded that he felt that it was very important to prove his son's innocence, that he and defendant had discussed at great length the kinds of questions that would be asked, and that he had no problem with the interview. Following this conversation, Detective Danforth and Mr. Mears rejoined defendant and Mrs. Mears, where she informed them that there was a search warrant being served at their residence. Mrs. Mears went home to be present during the search.

Detective Danforth met with Mr. Mears and defendant in a barracks interview room, where she advised both of them of all Miranda warnings, ascertained that they understood their rights, and recorded their responses on a written form. She then stated that she was legally obligated to leave the room to give Mr. Mears and defendant a private opportunity to discuss whether they wanted to sign a Miranda waiver and agree to the interview. As Detective Danforth got up to leave the room, Mr. Mears told her that it was not necessary for her to leave and indicated that they wished to waive the rights and speak with her. Detective Danforth remained in the room, and both Mr. Mears and defendant signed the waiver.

Detective Danforth, Mr. Mears, and defendant engaged in a three-way conversation in which defendant and Mr. Mears expressed hatred for the Campbells, especially Ms. Campbell, whom they suspected had reported them for violating local ordinances. Defendant then stated that he felt that the police were always picking on him, as he had previously been questioned by Randolph police for unrelated minor violations. Defendant denied ever being at the Campbell residence or meeting Ms. Campbell and shrugged his shoulders when Detective Danforth asked him why Ms. Campbell would have identified him as her attacker if he had never been there.

When Detective Danforth questioned defendant about blood found on a firearm seized from the Mears home, he started quivering, hung his head, and stated that he wanted to tell her the whole story. Detective Danforth asked defendant if she could tape record his statement, but defendant requested that she write his statement instead. At this point, Mr. Mears intervened, stating that he did not want Detective Danforth to ask defendant any more questions. Defendant and his father then began shouting at one another about hiring a lawyer for defendant, and defendant berated himself several times. The exchange between defendant and Mr. Mears escalated in tension, and Detective Danforth attempted to defuse the situation, asking defendant what she could do for him. Defendant responded by requesting Detective Danforth give him her gun and he would shoot himself. Defendant continued to talk of killing himself and was eventually taken to a holding cell. Detective Danforth learned that the crime scene investigators had not located defendant's clothing or the knife used in the attack, and that the police were planning to secure the Mears home until morning so they could search the exterior in daylight. Detective Danforth asked Mr. Mears if he would ask defendant where these items were so that the Mears family could return to their home that night. Mr. Mears spoke privately with defendant, then told Detective Danforth that defendant did not want to talk to her and that she would never find the items because defendant had thrown them in a brook.

At trial, a jury found defendant guilty of attempted first-degree murder, and the court sentenced him to thirty-five years to life imprisonment. Defendant appeals, arguing that: (1) the court erroneously admitted statements he made to Detective Danforth before Mr. Mears terminated the interview at the Bethel barracks; (2) he did not waive his rights to silence and to counsel knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily; and (3) the court should have granted his motion for a mistrial because a prosecution witness's testimony prejudiced defendant.

II. Discussion

A. Admission of Defendant's Statements

In response to defendant's motion to suppress all statements he made to Detective Danforth, the court suppressed statements made after Mr. Mears terminated the interrogation "including, but not limited to those prompted by question about the defendant's well[-]being or about where he hid evidence." However, the court ruled that all statements made prior to that termination were voluntary and admissible. Defendant claims that the court erroneously admitted these statements in violation of our decision in In re E.T.C., 141 Vt. 375, 449 A.2d 937 (1982).

In E.T.C., we held that, for a waiver of a juvenile's rights against self-incrimination and to counsel under Chapter I, Article 10 of the Vermont Constitution to be voluntary and intelligent, the following criteria must be met:

(1) he must be given the opportunity to consult with an adult; (2) that adult must be one who is not only genuinely interested in the welfare of the juvenile but completely independent from and disassociated with the prosecution, e.g., a parent, legal guardian, or attorney representing the juvenile; and (3) the independent interested adult must be informed and be aware of the rights guaranteed to the juvenile.

Id. at 379, 449 A.2d at 940. Defendant argues that the court's admission of defendant's statements to Detective Danforth was error because (1) there was no "meaningful consultation" between defendant and Mr. Mears, id., and (2) Mr. Mears could not waive defendant's rights for him.

The first argument fails because Detective Danforth provided the opportunity for Mr. Mears to meet with defendant "in the absence of police pressures." Id. at 380, 449 A.2d at 940. This meets E.T.C.'s requirement that "[a] private consultation should be provided." Id. Moreover, Mr. Mears — defendant's father — is an adult who is "genuinely interested in the welfare of the juvenile but completely independent from and disassociated with the prosecution." Id. at 379, 449 A.2d at 940. The opportunity to meet...