State v. Sampson

• Decision Date: 11 September 1990
• Docket Number: No. 890327-CA,890327-CA
• Parties: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Carlos R. SAMPSON, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Utah Court of Appeals

Page 1100

808 P.2d 1100

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Carlos R. SAMPSON, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 890327-CA.

Court of Appeals of Utah.

Sept. 11, 1990.

On Rehearing March 15, 1991.

Andrew A. Valdez, Elizabeth A. Bowman, argued, and Richard G. Uday, argued, Salt Lake Legal Defender Ass'n, Salt Lake City, for defendant and appellant.

R. Paul Van Dam, State Atty. Gen., and Charlene Barlow, argued, Asst. Atty. Gen., Salt Lake City, for plaintiff and appellee.

Before BILLINGS, GREENWOOD and ORME, JJ.

OPINION

ORME, Judge:

Defendant appeals his conviction for criminal homicide, murder in the second degree, a first degree felony in violation of Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-203 (1990). We reverse and remand for a new trial.

On November 24, 1986, at approximately 10:30 p.m., defendant entered a 7-Eleven store in Salt Lake County and told the clerks that his daughter had been kidnapped. He asked them to call the police, which they did.

Deputies from the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office responded. Defendant informed them that his daughter had been abducted from his truck. He gave them a description of his daughter and a photograph. The officers investigated the alleged kidnapping until 4:00 a.m. At some point during the evening, defendant was informed the police did not believe his story. The officers asked defendant to come to headquarters the following morning for a polygraph examination. He agreed.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on November 25, defendant arrived at police headquarters. He was met by the polygraph examiner, Sergeant Elliot, who had been briefed about the events which occurred on the prior evening. Defendant was escorted to a small interrogation room, hooked up to a polygraph machine, and instructed about how polygraph machines worked. Sgt. Elliot then explained the purpose for giving defendant the test. He said:

When we walk out of here we ought to be able to tell the detectives Carlos is truthful when he says the child was taken out of the truck, he had not prearranged with anyone to take the child. Uh, also, Carlos is not involved in the death of the child if the child is, in fact, dead. And, uh, those are the two things that we will accomplish today. ¹

After explaining to defendant the purpose of the test, Sgt. Elliot gave defendant the Miranda warnings. He began by stating: "Because you are in the cop shop there is no doubt in your mind that this is the police station and, uh, because you are in taking a polygraph from a law enforcement agency I must advise you of your rights again." ² After reading defendant each of his rights, the following exchange ensued:

Elliot: Okay, having these rights in mind do you wish to talk to me now.

Sampson: Well, uh, should I have a lawyer, I mean, well, I'm really not worried about anything, it is just that....

Elliot: Okay, if you are not worried about anything I would say that is fine, let's go ahead and proceed. Let's get this thing done and get it over with and see what we can do.

Sampson: I'm willing to get it over with.

Defendant then read and signed a form listing his Miranda rights and indicating his willingness to take the polygraph test.

During the polygraph examination, Sgt. Elliot asked defendant whether he arranged the disappearance or caused the death of his child and whether he knew where she was hidden. ³ He asked defendant this series of questions four times. To the question concerning where his daughter was hidden, defendant responded in the negative each time and each time the polygraph suggested a deceitful response. After the last set of questions, Sgt. Elliot informed defendant about the test results. He asked defendant why his response to the question concerning whether he knew where his daughter was hidden appeared to be false. Defendant said he thought maybe the child's mother had done something with her.

After concluding the examination, Sgt. Elliot and defendant went to find Salt Lake County Sheriff Pete Hayward. Sgt. Elliot told Sheriff Hayward about the test results. He told him that he believed defendant had been untruthful and informed him that defendant had been "Mirandized," but apparently did not acquaint the sheriff with the particulars of defendant's responses after his rights had been read to him.

Sheriff Hayward then returned with defendant to the polygraph room for further questioning. He did not give defendant the Miranda warnings. ⁴ He informed defendant that there were inconsistencies in his story and that he did not believe defendant was telling the truth. He then asked defendant whether he had injured his daughter. Ultimately, defendant stated his daughter was dead and that he could show the police where she was located.

Defendant accompanied Sheriff Hayward and another deputy to a dumpster in American Fork where his daughter's body was located. After retrieving the body, the officers placed defendant under arrest and returned him to Salt Lake City. When the officers again met with defendant, defendant was read his Miranda rights. He agreed to talk with the investigating officer, who thereafter questioned him concerning the circumstances surrounding his daughter's death.

Prior to trial, defense counsel filed a motion to suppress all statements made by defendant during and after the polygraph examination on November 25, 1986, and all evidence derived as a result of those statements. Counsel argued that the police officers had violated defendant's Miranda rights by continuing to question him after he made an equivocal request for counsel. The trial court denied the motion.

In support of its decision to deny defendant's motion to suppress, the court stated in pertinent part:

The court finds, first, that as you have agreed, the standard of evidence must be a preponderance of the evidence ⁵ to establish the voluntariness of the interrogation and waiver.

Court finds that the defendant clearly understood what his rights were and what he was waiving, that there is nothing in the record to show that the police did anything or acted in any way improperly so as to constitute any kind of coercion ⁶ in this matter so as to cause the defendant not to fully understand his rights and to leave him in a position where he was acting in a coerced sort of way....

I believe he had an unfettered right of choice, that he did not request an attorney, that the language "Well, ah, should I have a lawyer, I mean, well, I'm really not worried about anything, it is just that ..." is not sufficient to cause the police to be concerned as to the claim or any suggestion that the defendant wished to claim a right to counsel.

I also find that there was no need to give continuous advice as to subsequent requests for the selection of counsel ⁷ or the waiver of the same.

I also find further that the forum was adequate, the [rights] were clearly explained to the defendant. He voluntarily and knowingly waived his right to counsel and I cannot find that the motion to suppress should be granted and, therefore, it is denied.

A five-day jury trial was held in September 1987. Having lost his motion to suppress, defendant sought and obtained a continuing objection to the admission of evidence resulting from the police interrogation. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found defendant guilty of second degree homicide. He was sentenced to a term of five years to life at the Utah State Prison.

Defendant has raised numerous issues on appeal, but his primary contention is that the court committed prejudicial error when it denied his motion to suppress. Because we must reverse and remand on this issue, we need not address the other issues raised by defendant.

Neither party has identified the standard of review for this appeal. However, both parties apparently concede that the trial court's ultimate conclusions concerning the waiver of defendant's Miranda rights, which conclusions were based upon essentially undisputed facts, in particular the transcript of Sgt. Elliot's colloquy with defendant, present questions of law reviewable under a correction-of-error standard. Such a conclusion is consistent with the general notion that a trial court's "findings" based upon undisputed facts present questions of law on appeal. Diversified Equities, Inc. v. American Sav. & Loan Assoc., 739 P.2d 1133, 1136 (Utah Ct.App.1987) (quoting City of Spencer v. Hawkeye Sec. Ins. Co., 216 N.W.2d 406, 408 (Iowa 1974)). Cf. Transamerica Cash Reserve, Inc. v. Dixie Power & Water, Inc., 789 P.2d 24, 25 (Utah 1990) (same standard for review of summary judgment, which necessarily involves undisputed facts). See also People v. Russo, 148 Cal.App.3d 1172, 196 Cal.Rptr. 466, 468 (1983) (where Miranda warnings and ensuing discussion were recorded, facts deemed undisputed and appellate court required to "independently assess whether [defendant] knowingly and intelligently waived his rights"). Thus, we do not accord any particular deference to the trial court's conclusions, although couched as findings, but, rather, review them for correctness. Scharf v. BMG Corp., 700 P.2d 1068, 1070 (Utah 1985).

In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the United States Supreme Court stated that "the prosecution may not use statements ... stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination." Id. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1612. One of those procedural safeguards is a warning that the defendant has the right to an attorney during custodial interrogation. Id. Moreover, the Court noted that if defendant "indicates in any manner and at any stage of the process that he wishes to consult with an attorney before speaking there can be no questioning." Id. at 444-45, 86 S.Ct. at 1612. Finally, when custodial interrogation continues without the presence of a defense attorney and damaging evidence results from the interrogation, the state has a...