State v. Munro, 63105
| Decision Date | 27 August 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 63105,63105 |
| Citation | 295 N.W.2d 437 |
| Parties | STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Daniel Russell MUNRO, Appellant. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Martha Shepard, Polk County-Des Moines Offender Advocate Office, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Atty. Gen., Selwyn L. Dallyn, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Dan Johnston, Polk County Atty., for appellee.
Considered by REYNOLDSON, C. J., and LeGRAND, UHLENHOPP, ALLBEE, and McGIVERIN, JJ.
This appeal involves the propriety of the trial court's refusal to grant motions to suppress evidence and to exclude evidence. The motions to suppress were presented both prior to and in the course of a multiple-murder trial.
We recite only sufficient facts for disposition of the issues raised in the appeal. The case arose out of the deaths of four Des Moines residents on the morning of February 19, 1978. That day the bodies of three teenage boys were found lying on the floor of a downtown business establishment which was in the process of being remodeled. The body of William Baldwin, a clerk at an adult bookstore about a block away, was found on the floor of his place of employment. All four were killed by gunshot wounds to the head. Money was missing from the cash register at the bookstore.
Defendant Daniel Russell Munro was a suspect. He was arrested in Little Rock, Arkansas, on April 28, 1978, pursuant to a warrant issued in the State of Alabama for unlawful flight to avoid confinement for a previous conviction. After interrogation in Arkansas by agents of both the Iowa and federal criminal investigation bureaus, Munro was transported to Iowa and formally charged with the February 19th homicides.
Prior to trial, Munro filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of an April 28th search of his living quarters in Little Rock and any statements made by him to BCI and FBI agents while he was in their custody. The district court overruled the motion, finding that Munro consented to the search of his premises and that he "knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently waived his constitutional rights as to any conversation between himself and the law enforcement officers."
After a change of venue to Linn County, trial commenced on January 8, 1979. At the close of the State's evidence, the trial court sustained Munro's motion for directed verdict as to the count based on Baldwin's death. On January 19, 1979, the jury found Munro guilty of the remaining three counts of first-degree murder. Munro filed a motion for new trial, which was denied. The trial court sentenced him to three terms of life imprisonment and appointed appellate counsel. Munro then appealed to this court.
Munro bases his appeal on three asserted errors by the trial court: (1) in finding that Munro consented to the April 28 search of his living quarters, (2) in holding that he knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his rights to remain silent and to the presence of counsel, and (3) in admitting evidence regarding alleged shoeprints found at the scene of the boys' bodies.
I. Search of Munro's living quarters. Munro contends that the April 28 search of his Little Rock apartment was illegal and that all fruits of the search should therefore have been suppressed. The State relies on Munro's oral and written consent.
Formerly we held that consent to an otherwise illegal search had to be proved by clear and convincing evidence. State v. Freese, 166 N.W.2d 785, 787 (Iowa 1969). As a result of intervening federal decisions, however, we adopted a preponderance of the evidence rule in State v. Folkens, 281 N.W.2d 1, 3 (Iowa 1979). We there stated:
Despite the language of our earlier cases imposing the higher standard of proof, we hold that a preponderance of the evidence by the state is sufficient to establish exceptions, including consent, to the "per se unreasonable" status of a warrantless search.
Two FBI agents, Danny Sisco and Dale Kent, arrested Munro in Little Rock on April 28. They did so at approximately 12:00 P.M. at a Salvation Army transient lodge and transported him to the Little Rock FBI office. At the pretrial suppression hearing Sisco testified he told Munro "he didn't have to let us search his room if he didn't want to," but Munro nevertheless responded, Munro's counsel then proceeded to question Sisco:
Q. Did you ask him to sign anything in regard to searching his room? A. Yes.
Q. All right. Do you have a copy of that with you at this time? A. The form that we entitle The Consent to Search Form, and it is just an authorization.
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Q. Do you now whether or not this was signed by Mr. Munro prior to the time that his room or the area where he was living at the Salvation Army was searched? A. Yes, it was.
While Sisco obtained Munro's consent, Kent actually performed the search. At the pretrial suppression hearing Kent was asked, "At the time you made the search of 4/28/78 you didn't obtain consent from the defendant, did you, personally?" Kent responded, "No, I personally did not." During trial Kent was again questioned regarding the execution of the consent form:
Q. Now, once (Munro) was transported back to the FBI office I believe you have said that is where you took him, is that correct? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Once he was transported back there what was done at that time? A. He provided a form consent to search his room and gave to Agent Sisco, who gave to me, and I went down to search his room at the Salvation Army.
Q. So he did sign a consent form on that? A. Yes, sir, he did.
The foregoing uncontradicted testimony together with Munro's signed consent form abundantly establish that Munro voluntarily consented to the April 28 search of his apartment. We find no inconsistency between Kent's statement at the suppression hearing that he did not personally obtain a consent form from Munro and his trial testimony that he obtained Munro's consent form through Sisco. The district court did not err in rejecting Munro's challenge of the April 28 search.
II. Interrogation of Munro. Munro argues that the trial court erred in admitting evidence obtained through the State's interrogation of him on the ground that the State employed "psychological coercion" which caused "any statements made by him to have not been made knowingly, voluntarily or intelligently." The State responds that Munro received the Miranda warnings prior to each interrogation session and that prior to each session he knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his rights to remain silent and to counsel.
The test for determining the admissibility of confessions or inculpatory statements is voluntariness. Culombe v. Connecticut, 367 U.S. 568, 602, 81 S.Ct. 1860, 1879, 6 L.Ed.2d 1037, 1057 (1961). This court determines the issue of whether officers have exercised coercion so as to render statements involuntary by examining the totality of the circumstances. We have explained this "totality of the circumstances" test in the following manner:
No one factor is determinative of the voluntariness of a confession which necessarily depends upon the totality of the circumstances of the individual case.
There is not talismanic definition of voluntariness. The "totality of the circumstances" encompasses the characteristics of the accused and the details of the interrogation process. The court determines the facts surrounding the inculpatory statement, assesses their psychological impact on defendant, and evaluates the legal significance of defendant's reactions.
Defendant's choice to confess must be essentially free and unconstrained with his will not overborne and his capacity for self-determination not critically impaired.
State v. Cullison, 227 N.W.2d 121, 127 (Iowa 1975) (citations omitted).
The "facts surrounding the inculpatory statement" here are these. When the homicide investigation began to focus on Munro, Des Moines police obtained a medical file on him from the Alabama Board of Corrections. The file contained reports of psychological evaluations while Munro was incarcerated in Alabama for a prior offense. Des Moines police also contacted an Alabama psychiatrist, Dr. Brown, who examined Munro on a previous occasion, and Barry Hess, an Alabama attorney who defended Munro in a previous criminal prosecution. No waivers of doctor-patient or attorney-client privileges were obtained. Among the items of information derived from these sources were the facts that Munro is of above average intelligence (I.Q. of 130), is a "loner," has a close relationship with his mother, has an alcohol problem, has attempted suicide on at least one occasion, and has been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic. This information was relayed to a Des Moines psychiatrist, Dr. Taylor, for the purpose of developing a "psychological profile" of Munro. Dr. Taylor then suggested certain interrogation techniques to Des Moines police which he believed would be most effective in dealing with a person of Munro's psychological makeup. Included among his recommendations were treating Munro with respect, addressing him as Mr. Munro, avoiding too close contact with him, and breaking eye contact. Dr. Taylor also suggested that only one officer interrogate Munro at any given time, because someone with Munro's psychological profile would probably refuse to talk if more than one investigator tried to question him.
Agent Wood of the BCI was the first officer to interrogate Munro after his arrest. That interview occurred on April 28, 1978, the same day Munro was arrested in Arkansas. It took place in Pulaski County Jail in Arkansas with only Wood and Munro present, although other officers listened to the interrogation through an intercom. Munro was informed of his rights and signed a waiver form. Wood testified he followed Dr. Taylor's advice and asked Munro about his mother. Munro made no incriminating statements during this...
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