State v. Reavley

• Decision Date: 30 October 2003
• Docket Number: No. 03-179.,03-179.
• Citation: 318 Mont. 150,79 P.3d 270,2003 MT 298
• Parties: STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. Alan REAVLEY, Defendant and Respondent.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

79 P.3d 270

2003 MT 298

318 Mont. 150

STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. Alan REAVLEY, Defendant and Respondent.

No. 03-179.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs August 21, 2003.

Decided October 30, 2003.

For Appellant: Brant Light, County Attorney, Great Falls, Montana, Honorable Mike McGrath, Attorney General, Helena, Montana.

For Respondent: Channing Hartelius and Jeffrey Sutton, Hartelius, Ferguson, Baker & Kazda, Great Falls, Montana.

Justice W. WILLIAM LEAPHART delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 The State appeals the District Court's suppression of statements Alan Reavley (Reavley) made to law enforcement authorities and of a recorded conversation between Reavley and Mary Klesh (Klesh). We reverse.

¶ 2 The two issues on appeal are as follows:

¶ 3 1. Whether the District Court erred in granting Reavley's motion to suppress the statements that Reavley made to law enforcement?

¶ 4 2. Whether the District Court erred in granting Reavley's motion to suppress the recorded conversation between Reavley and Klesh?

Factual and Procedural Background

¶ 5 Following a suppression hearing, the District Court granted Reavley's motions to suppress both the statement he gave to law enforcement authorities and the recorded conversation with Klesh (Reavley's former girlfriend). Because this case comes before us without having yet gone to trial, it is not appropriate that we set forth the case facts any more than is sufficient to resolve the legal issues raised.

¶ 6 Jim and Lois Arrotta were murdered on September 4, 1964, at the Super Save grocery store where Jim was manager. Approximately two weeks before the night of the murders, store employee Reavley was fired after admitting stealing money and gifts from the store. Reavley was a suspect at the time of the murders. He was never cleared of suspicion. In 2001, the police department reopened the Arrotta murder investigation. Reavley was considered a suspect.

¶ 7 The police contacted Reavley to schedule an interview with him. Reavley chose the date and time of the interview. Exactly thirty-seven years after the murders, on September 4, 2001, Reavley drove to the police department and was questioned about the homicides. The interview lasted a total of approximately four and one-half hours. Several breaks were taken during the interview. Reavley was offered food and coffee. Two officers, not in uniform, were present in the same room as Reavley. He was read his Miranda rights approximately one hour into the interview after Reavley stated that he saw a psychiatrist soon after the murders and asked the doctor if he (Reavley) could have possibly committed the murders. After the interview Reavley was not arrested, and he left the station. Approximately six months later, Reavley was arrested for the crimes.

¶ 8 Police were notified that Reavley consulted counsel after he left the station. The following evening, September 5, 2001, Klesh met with Reavley at a local hotel. Unbeknownst to Reavley, she had agreed to assist the police in their investigation by wearing a wire to record her conversation with Reavley. Klesh made false statements to Reavley during their conversation. Although Reavley used much of this conversation to try to convince Klesh he was innocent, he made several statements which could be viewed as incriminating. Additionally, during this conversation, Reavley freely told Klesh about his conversations with his attorney.

¶ 9 On March 18, 2002, Reavley was charged by Information with two counts of murder in the first degree for the murders which occurred on September 4, 1964. On July 8, 2002, Reavley filed a Motion to Suppress two sets of statements. The first was the statement given to law enforcement on September 4, 2001, during questioning at the police station. The second was the recorded conversation with Klesh. Reavley was not represented by counsel at the time of the first statement, but he had consulted counsel before the second statement. Law enforcement was aware of this fact before they recorded his conversation with Klesh.

¶ 10 After holding an evidentiary hearing, the District Court granted Reavley's motions to suppress both statements. Reavley did not testify at this hearing. The State filed this timely appeal.

Discussion

¶ 11 1. Whether the District Court erred in granting Reavley's motion to suppress the statement that he made to law enforcement?

¶ 12 We review a district court's ruling on a motion to suppress to determine whether the court's findings of fact are clearly erroneous and whether the court's interpretation and application of the law is correct. State v. Olson, 2002 MT 211, ¶ 7, 311 Mont. 270, ¶ 7, 55 P.3d 935, ¶ 7 (citation omitted). A finding of fact is "clearly erroneous if it is not supported by substantial evidence, if the district court misapprehended the effect of the evidence, or if this Court has a definite or firm conviction that the district court committed a mistake." State v. Loh (1996), 275 Mont. 460, 475, 914 P.2d 592, 601 (citations omitted).

¶ 13 The District Court granted Reavley's motion to suppress his September 4, 2001, statement to law enforcement. The District Court found that the police gave mere lip service to the Miranda warnings. The court noted that Reavley inquired about a need for counsel. The court also found that the officers used psychological coercion by implying Reavley would receive leniency if he confessed to the crime, by making repeated religious references, by telling Reavley a hypnotist was on the way, and by lying about DNA evidence that did not exist. However, a careful review of the record does not support the District Court's findings.

¶ 14 Pursuant to § 46-13-301, MCA, a defendant may move to suppress as evidence any admission or confession given by him on the ground that it was involuntary. The State must then prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the admission or confession was voluntarily made. Section 46-13-301(2), MCA.

¶ 15 Voluntariness is a factual question which takes into account the totality of the circumstances. Loh, 275 Mont. at 475,914 P.2d at 601 (citations omitted). Totality of the circumstances includes the following factors: the defendant's age and education level; the length and method of the interrogation; whether the defendant was advised of his or her Miranda rights; the prior experience of the defendant with the criminal justice system and police interrogation; the defendant's experience and background; and the defendant's demeanor, coherence, articulateness, and capacity to make full use of his or her faculties. State v. Scarborough, 2000 MT 301, ¶ 32, 302 Mont. 350, ¶ 32, 14 P.3d 1202, ¶ 32 (citing Loh, 275 Mont. at 475-76,914 P.2d at 601-02). Voluntariness is supported by the presence of timely and complete Miranda warnings. Scarborough, ¶ 33.

¶ 16 "[A] confession or admission extracted by any sort of threat or violence, by the exertion of any improper influence, or by any direct or implied promises, however slight, has the potential for being involuntary." Scarborough, ¶ 32 (citing Loh, 275 Mont. at 476, 914 P.2d at 602). We have in the past condemned police practices of lying about the existence of incriminating evidence when the evidence was inconclusive, lying about other arrestees giving confessions when they have not, and promising psychiatric treatment in exchange for a confession. State v. Phelps (1985), 215 Mont. 217, 224-25, 696 P.2d 447, 452. Any one of these actions may make a confession involuntary.

¶ 17 "The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 25, of the Montana Constitution provide that no person shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself." State v. Olson, 2003 MT 61, ¶ 13, 314 Mont. 402, ¶ 13, 66 P.3d 297, ¶ 13 (hereafter "Olson (2003)"). In Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, the United States Supreme Court addressed this privilege against self-incrimination. "The Miranda Court held that the prosecution may not use statements that stem from a custodial interrogation of a defendant unless the defendant is warned, prior to questioning, that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney." Olson (2003), ¶ 13 (citing Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d at 706-07). This gave birth to what we commonly refer to as the Miranda warnings. Olson (2003), ¶ 13.

¶ 18 The Miranda warnings are not required to be given by law enforcement unless a person is subject to a custodial interrogation. State v. Dawson, 1999 MT 171, ¶ 30, 295 Mont. 212, ¶ 30, 983 P.2d 916, ¶ 30 (citing United States v. Ritchie (10th Cir.1994), 35 F.3d 1477, 1485). A custodial interrogation is "questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way[,]" Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d at 706, and occurs when "there is a significant restriction of personal liberty similar to an arrest." Dawson, ¶ 35. Before Miranda warnings are required, a suspect must be "in custody" and the questioning conducted must meet the legal definition of an "interrogation." Dawson, ¶ 30 (citation omitted). A person is "in custody" if "he has been deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way, or his freedom of action has been curtailed to a degree associated with a formal arrest." Dawson, ¶ 30 (citation and internal quotations omitted).

¶ 19 Whether custodial interrogation has occurred is determined on a case-by-case basis and focuses on whether a "reasonable person" would feel free to leave. Dawson, ¶ 33. This Court examines the following six factors to determine whether or not a custodial interrogation has occurred: "(1) place of the interrogation; (2) time of the interrogation; (3) persons...