State v. Orscanin
| Decision Date | 26 November 1979 |
| Docket Number | 49368.,No. 47431,47431 |
| Citation | 283 NW 2d 897 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. David Allen ORSCANIN, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
C. Paul Jones, Public Defender, and Ronald L. Haskvitz, Asst. Public Defender, Minneapolis, for appellant.
Warren Spannaus, Atty. Gen., Thomas L. Fabel, Deputy Atty. Gen., and David L. Valentini, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., St. Paul, James R. Korman, County Atty., Faribault, for respondent.
Heard before ROGOSHESKE, WAHL, and MAXWELL, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc.
Certiorari Denied November 26, 1979. See 100 S.Ct. 464.
Defendant, David Orscanin, appeals from an order of the district court denying his request to have his judgment of conviction and sentence vacated and set aside. The district court decision was made following a postconviction hearing held pursuant to our remand of a prior appeal. The chief issue raised is whether defendant's confession was voluntary and therefore admissible. Upon a careful reading of the record, we hold that defendant's confession was voluntary. We therefore affirm.
On September 28, 1976, defendant Orscanin was sentenced to a 0- to 5-year prison term following conviction on charges of burglary and theft, arising out of a breaking and entry at the Northfield Golf Club in Northfield, Minnesota. The primary evidence against Orscanin at his trial was his confession to Sergeant Rudolph Scholl of the Northfield Police Department. The confession was given at the Red Wing Training School on July 8, 1976.
At the omnibus hearing Orscanin attempted to testify that promises of leniency made by his parole agent induced him to confess to Scholl. The trial court, however, ruled such testimony inadmissible and concluded that the confession itself was admissible. The confession, in its entirety, was presented to the jury. Orscanin appealed to this court, arguing in part that the confession was induced by promises of leniency. We remanded for a postconviction hearing to determine whether Orscanin was induced to confess because of promises of leniency, stating that Orscanin should be granted a new trial if his allegations were true. State v. Orscanin, 266 N.W.2d 880 (Minn.1978). On June 30, 1978, a postconviction hearing was conducted. Both Orscanin and parole agent Jerry Tonder testified. On September 13, 1978, the postconviction court denied the requested relief, concluding that Orscanin's confession was voluntary.
Defendant claims, on appeal, that he was denied due process, because his confession was not freely and voluntarily given but was induced by (1) promises of leniency made by parole agent Tonder, (2) misstatements by Tonder concerning the nature of the charges against him, (3) interrogation in a juvenile setting which led defendant to believe that he would be treated as a juvenile, and (4) his 6-day confinement prior to the confession.
An inculpatory statement is only admissible if it was voluntarily given. See, State v. Biron, 266 Minn. 272, 123 N.W.2d 392 (1963). The totality of relevant circumstances should be considered when determining voluntariness, including such factors as parental presence, age, maturity, intelligence, education, experience, and the ability to comprehend. See, State v. Hogan, 297 Minn. 430, 212 N.W.2d 664 (1973). A confession must not be extracted by any sort of threat or violence or obtained by direct or implied promises. Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 84 S.Ct. 1489, 12 L.Ed.2d 653 (1964); Bram v. United States, 168 U.S. 532, 18 S.Ct. 183, 42 L.Ed. 568 (1897). Whether defendant's confession was voluntary turns on a determination of defendant's state of mind at the time of the confession. Was defendant subjectively induced to confess or was his confession the product of a free-will decision? We must review the facts surrounding the confession, determine how defendant reacted to these external facts, and decide the legal significance of how he reacted. See, Culombe v. Connecticut, 367 U.S. 568, 603, 81 S.Ct. 1860, 1879, 6 L.Ed.2d 1037, 1058 (1961). At the time of the confession defendant was 18 years 3 months old, had formal education to the 10th grade, and had never been in adult court. Defendant was committed to the Red Wing Training School in March 1976 for possession of a handgun. Jerry Tonder was assigned as his parole supervisor and counselor. In May 1976, defendant was released on juvenile parole. Defendant violated his parole agreement by leaving the state and traveling to Billings, Montana. After his apprehension in Billings, he was returned to Red Wing and placed in a lockup, which was described as a room approximately 6 feet by 9 or 10 feet in size, enclosed by a security screen. The room contained only a bed. Defendant was required to eat in the room and was allowed out only to take a shower and use the toilet. He was not allowed radio, television, or any form of recreation. He was kept in this room for 6 days, during which he did not see a lawyer, his parents, or any visitors other than Tonder and the police officers.
On the fourth day of his confinement, defendant was visited by his parole agent, Jerry Tonder. Tonder told him that he might be visited by Northfield police officers. According to defendant, Tonder talked about the revocation of his parole and led him to believe that the entire matter would be handled at the Red Wing Training School as a juvenile matter:
According to defendant, Tonder told him he would try to arrange to have defendant transferred to a halfway house if his parole was revoked and that it would "look better if I cleared things up." Defendant claims that he relied upon Tonder's representations that if he cooperated he would not go to prison but would go through the juvenile process.
Tonder testified that he told defendant at the July 6 meeting that after the parole revocation hearing defendant might be removed from the juvenile setting and tried as an adult on the charges listed on the parole revocation notice. In fact, Tonder admitted that he had talked to the North-field police before his conversation with defendant and was given the impression that "there was a good chance" that defendant was going to be charged with the Northfield burglary. Tonder further testified, with regard to defendant's claim that Tonder would help him get into a halfway house treatment program, that the discussion about the halfway house had nothing to do with the parole revocation hearing. Instead, the discussion centered around the possibility that defendant would be removed to Hennepin County to stand trial on other charges. If that happened, Tonder told defendant that he would try to help defendant get into one of the Hennepin County halfway house programs. With regard to defendant's claim that he was promised leniency if he confessed, Tonder admitted he told defendant:
The confession occurred on July 8, 1976, the sixth day of confinement, while defendant was being questioned by Officers Scholl and Olson. The interrogation was prefaced by a Miranda warning. Defendant was further told that he did not have to talk with the officers. At no time did he inform the officers that any promises or inducements to...
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