State v. v. C
| Decision Date | 23 June 1992 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 91-1290,91-1365,s. 91-1290 |
| Parties | 76 Ed. Law Rep. 270, 17 Fla. L. Weekly D1554 The STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. V.C. and R.S., juveniles, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Jorge Espinosa and Richard Fechter, Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellant.
Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, and N. Joseph Durant, Jr., Asst. Public Defender, for appellees.
Before BASKIN, JORGENSON and GODERICH, JJ.
The State appeals from an order suppressing the oral and written statements of V.C. and R.S. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.
A student at North Miami High School identified V.C. and R.S., also students, as two individuals who had robbed him. The victim reported the incident to Hindman the assistant principal, on a Friday afternoon. Hindman telephoned the police that afternoon and informed them of the alleged robbery. The following Monday, Hindman asked V.C. to leave class and questioned him in the hallway. V.C. admitted his involvement in the incident. Hindman then told V.C. that a police investigation was possible and took V.C. to the office, where V.C. wrote out a statement describing the incident. The same morning, R.S. had gone to the school's administrative office to obtain a pass for a previous absence. Hindman saw R.S. in the office and asked to see him. Hindman took R.S. into an empty office, questioned him about the alleged robbery, and warned him that the police could get involved in the matter. R.S. told Hindman about his involvement in the incident and gave a written statement. Neither V.C. nor R.S. ever indicated that they did not want to give the statements. Hindman did not actually know whether a criminal investigation was to take place, but only knew that a police report had been filed.
When V.C. and R.S. were arrested, Hindman gave their statements to the police. In the delinquency proceedings, V.C. and R.S. moved to suppress those statements on the grounds that they were not freely and voluntarily given and were obtained by virtue of an illegal detention. The trial court, following an evidentiary hearing, suppressed all oral and written statements given by V.C. and R.S., finding that those statements were given in a " 'police-like' atmosphere, where the Assistant Principal worked almost as an agent for the police...." The court ruled that "it was incumbent upon school authorities" to safeguard the students' Fifth Amendment privileges. 1
The record does not support the trial court's findings that the statements were coerced. V.C. testified that he willingly gave his statement. R.S. presented no testimony but, according to Hindman, indicated no reluctance to give an oral or written statement. The United States Supreme Court has held that the legality of a school principal's search of a student depends on the reasonableness of that search in light of the surrounding circumstances. New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325, 105 S.Ct. 733, 83 L.Ed.2d 720 (1985). The same principle of reasonableness should apply to the Fifth Amendment claims that were raised in this case. The record does not support the trial court's conclusion that the assistant principal's actions were unreasonable. There is no evidence that the assistant principal was overbearing or did anything to extract the students' confessions that was incompatible with our constitutional principles.
There is likewise no evidence in the record to support the trial court's finding that the students were in custody when they were questioned. Although they were not free to leave, that restriction stemmed from their status as students and not from their status as suspects. Cf. Minnesota v. Murphy, 465 U.S. 420, 104 S.Ct. 1136, 79 L.Ed.2d 409 (1984) ().
Finally, there is no evidentiary support for the trial court's finding that Hindman acted as an agent for the police. Hindman testified that, as an assistant principal, he had to deal with students' disciplinary problems and that the investigations he conducted within the school often yielded information that he would eventually turn over to the police. However, his primary function when dealing with disciplinary problems was to act as a fact-finder for the school system. Hindman's testimony reveals that he was acting to further the interests of the school, not the police. Because there is no evidence in the record that Hindman was acting as an agent for the police, the trial court erred in suppressing the statements. Cf. In re J.C., 591 So.2d 315 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (); W.B. v. State, 356 So.2d 884 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978) (); compare F.P. v. State, 528 So.2d 1253 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (), and State v. M.A.L., 765 P.2d 787 (Okla.Crim.App.1988) ().
Accordingly, we reverse the order of suppression and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I am unable to agree with the majority's conclusion that the trial court erred in granting the juveniles' motions to suppress their statements.
It is well settled that "[t]he ruling of the trial court on a motion to suppress comes to us clothed with a presumption of correctness and we must interpret the evidence and reasonable inference[s] and deductions in a manner most favorable to sustaining the trial court's ruling." Owen v. State, 560 So.2d 207, 211 (Fla.), certiorari denied, ---- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 152, 112 L.Ed.2d 118 (1990); Rigol v. State, 561 So.2d 1308, 1309 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); State v. Rizo, 463 So.2d 1165, 1167 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). Furthermore, "a reviewing court should not substitute its judgment for that of the trial court[,]" Rigol v. State, 561 So.2d 1308, 1309 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990), but "must interpret the evidence and the reasonable inferences derived from it in a light most favorable to the trial court." State v. Rizo, 463 So.2d 1165, 1167 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). Contrary to the majority's conclusion, the evidence amply supports the trial court's order. 1 Because the state has not overcome the presumption of correctness, I would affirm the order.
Several circumstances support the trial court's conclusion that the statements were involuntary. The majority holds that the statements elicited from the juveniles were not coerced, finding that there "is no evidence that the assistant principal was overbearing or did anything to extract the students' confessions that was incompatible with our constitutional principles." Maj. op. at 1281. The record contradicts this conclusion. The trial court specifically noted that the assistant principal was a "forceful and imposing, 'police-like' individual." Testimony discloses that the assistant principal had a forceful demeanor. Mr. Hindman testified that he had experience in dealing with school disciplinary problems and did so frequently. Other statements support the trial court's finding that his attitude was that of an investigator or "police-like" authority figure. Because this court does not have the trial court's advantage of observing the witnesses, it should not substitute its views for the trial court's conclusion. Rigol v. State, 561 So.2d at 1308.
Next, the majority finds that the juveniles were not in custody. Although the majority acknowledges that the juveniles were not free to leave, it presumes that this restriction was based on their status as students. Despite the fact that the juveniles may not have been at liberty to leave school premises, their status as students should not have eradicated their right to oppose the demand for their confessions. The trial court concluded that they were given no option other than to remain in the small rooms and write their confessions. These circumstances support the court's conclusion that defendants V.C. and R.S. were detained and that their confessions were involuntary. See In re J.C., 591 So.2d 315 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) ().
The fact that the juveniles were not recalcitrant in complying with the assistant principal's instructions does not, by itself, render their confessions voluntary, especially when such reprisals as suspension would have resulted from their refusal to accede to the assistant principal's requests.
Furthermore, substantial competent record evidence supports the trial court's determination that the assistant principal acted, in the case before us, as an agent for the police. In W.B. v. State, 356 So.2d 884 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978), this court concluded that an assistant principal who merely questioned a student regarding a theft was carrying out the investigative duties associated with his position and not acting as a police agent. Here, however, Mr. Hindman's conduct is unlike the assistant principal's conduct in W.B. As the trial court notes in its order, the assistant principal personally notified the police of the offense at the behest of the victim's parent. The assistant principal testified that this was not his usual practice; he never reported an...
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