US v. Hill

• Decision Date: 16 December 1988
• Docket Number: No. 88-20097-01.,88-20097-01.
• Citation: 701 F. Supp. 1522
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Joseph William HILL, Jr., Laurena Ann Lux, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Kansas

701 F. Supp. 1522

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Joseph William HILL, Jr., Laurena Ann Lux, Defendants.

No. 88-20097-01.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

December 16, 1988.

Leon J. Patton, Asst. U.S. Atty., for plaintiff.

Carl Cornwell, John P. O'Connor, Kansas City, Mo., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

EARL E. O'CONNOR, Chief Judge.

On November 1, 1988, the Grand Jury handed down a three-count indictment against defendants Hill and Lux. Count I charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit the offense of knowingly and intentionally possessing cocaine, with the intent to distribute. Count II charges defendants with knowingly and intentionally attempting to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. Finally, Count III charges defendant Hill with knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute approximately 15.5 grams of cocaine. The defendants have separately filed motions to suppress evidence and motions for severance. Additionally, defendant Lux moves the court to suppress a statement made during her interrogation at the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. After an evidentiary hearing held November 30, 1988, at which only the testimony of Postal Inspector Stewart and Detective Burroughs was presented, and after reviewing the parties' briefs, the court is now prepared to rule on the motions.

Defendant Lux's Motion to Suppress Statement

Defendant Lux argues that an incriminating statement, made by her during an hour and one-half interrogation by Postal Inspector Laura Stewart and Kansas City, Missouri Police Detective Sam Burroughs was involuntary. Specifically, defendant Lux contends that her Miranda rights were violated when interrogation continued after she asked Detective Burroughs how long it would take to procure a lawyer and if she would have to stay in jail overnight. Also, defendant Lux contends that her will was overborne by Detective Burroughs' interrogation techniques, thus making her statement involuntary.

The test for determining the admissibility of a confession is a two-part inquiry. United States v. Sims, 719 F.2d 375, 378 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1034, 104 S.Ct. 1304, 79 L.Ed.2d 703 (1984). First, the court must determine whether the government complied with the requirements of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Second, if the government complied with Miranda, the court must then determine whether the confession was voluntary. Sims, 719 F.2d at 378.

The court finds that the government complied with the requirements of Miranda. Postal Inspector Laura Stewart testified that a "Warning and Waiver of Rights" form was read to defendant Lux, and she was allowed to read the form herself. This form contains the following "Warning:"

BEFORE YOU ARE ASKED ANY QUESTIONS, YOU MUST UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS.

( You have a right to remain silent.

( Anything you say can be used against you in court.

( You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions and to have him with you during questioning.

( If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish.

( If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time. You also have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to a lawyer.

Govt. Ex. 5. Defendant Lux signed below the warning, indicating that she understood the statement of her rights. Defendant Lux offered no evidence to indicate that her signature was involuntary or that she in fact did not understand her rights. Consequently, the court concludes that the government complied with Miranda by informing defendant Lux of her rights, as outlined in the "warning."

The court also finds that the government did not violate defendant Lux's Miranda rights when Postal Inspector Stewart and Detective Burroughs continued their interrogation after defendant's question concerning how long it would take to procure an attorney. In Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981), the Supreme Court established that once a defendant invokes her right to counsel, further questioning by police officers may not continue unless the defendant initiates the interrogation and the defendant validly waives her right to counsel. Thus, the first issue presented by defendant Lux's motion is whether her question to Detective Burroughs constituted an invocation of her right to counsel, requiring interrogation to cease. See, e.g., Smith v. Illinois, 469 U.S. 91, 95, 105 S.Ct. 490, 492, 83 L.Ed.2d 488 (1984) (courts must first determine whether the accused actually invoked his right to counsel).

When an accused makes an equivocal or ambiguous request for counsel, some courts have held that all questioning must cease, other courts have held that requests falling below a defined threshold standard of clarity do not trigger the right to counsel, and still others have held that interrogation must immediately cease except for narrow questions designed to clarify the accused's earlier statement regarding counsel. See id. at 96 n. 3, 105 S.Ct. at 493 n. 3. We need not choose between these various approaches, since the court has determined that defendant Lux's question regarding how long it would take to procure an attorney was not even an equivocal request for counsel. As the Fifth Circuit has observed, the word "attorney" should not be given a talismanic quality such that any mention of an attorney during interrogation would invoke the Edwards rule. Thompson v. Wainwright, 601 F.2d 768, 772 (5th Cir. 1979); Nash v. Estelle, 597 F.2d 513 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 981, 100 S.Ct. 485, 62 L.Ed.2d 409 (1979); see also People v. Krueger, 82 Ill.2d 305, 311, 45 Ill.Dec. 186, 189, 412 N.E.2d 537, 540 (1980), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 1019, 101 S.Ct. 3009, 69 L.Ed.2d 390 (1981) (quoted in Smith, 469 U.S. at 96 n. 3, 105 S.Ct. at 493 n. 3).

Defendant Lux offered no testimony concerning the meaning of her question to Detective Burroughs. Additionally, in a subsequent interview on November 21, 1988, with counsel present, defendant Lux admitted that she made no demand for an attorney during the interrogation. Because defendant Lux's question regarding how long it would take to procure an attorney was neither a clear nor an equivocal invocation of her right to counsel, the law enforcement officers were under no obligation to cease their interrogation. Accordingly, the court concludes that their continuing the interrogation did not violate defendant Lux's Miranda rights under the rule announced in Edwards.

In addition to proving compliance with Miranda, the government bears a heavy burden of proving waiver. See, e.g. United States v. Bentley, 726 F.2d 1124, 1128 (6th Cir.1984). Both Inspector Stewart and Detective Burroughs testified that defendant Lux voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently waived her rights to silence and counsel. Furthermore, defendant Lux signed the waiver portion of the "Warning and Waiver of Rights" form which states:

I am willing to discuss subjects presented and answer questions. I do not want a lawyer at this time. I understand and know what I am doing. No promises or threats have been made to me and no pressure or coercion of any kind has been used against me.

Govt. Ex. 5. Defendant Lux offered no evidence whatsoever to indicate that her waiver was anything but voluntary, knowing and intelligent. Therefore, we hold that the government has met its heavy burden of proving that defendant Lux waived her rights to silence and counsel.

Given the government's compliance with Miranda, the court must now determine whether defendant Lux's statement was voluntary. The government must prove voluntariness by a preponderance of the evidence. Lego v. Twomey, 404 U.S. 477, 484, 92 S.Ct. 619, 624, 30 L.Ed.2d 618 (1972); United States v. Charles, 738 F.2d 686, 696-97 n. 11 (5th Cir.1984). The voluntariness of an accused's statement is judged under the totality of the circumstances. Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U.S. 199, 206, 80 S.Ct. 274, 279, 4 L.Ed.2d 242 (1960).

Defendant Lux contends her will was overborne by Detective Burroughs' interrogation techniques. Specifically, defendant Lux states that (1) Detective Burroughs misrepresented that her co-defendant, Joseph Hill, had confessed and implicated her; (2) Detective Burroughs pounded his fists on the table and called her a liar; and (3) Detective Burroughs informed her that she would be charged by the Magistrate the following day, with or without an attorney. Again, defendant Lux presented no testimony to indicate that these interrogation techniques were such that her free will was overborne.

Although the manner in which a statement is extracted is relevant, it does not necessarily render a voluntary confession inadmissible. Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 688, 106 S.Ct. 2142, 2145, 90 L.Ed. 2d 636 (1986); Gandia v. Hoke, 648 F.Supp. 1425, 1432 (E.D.N.Y.1986), aff'd without opinion, 819 F.2d 1129 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 108 S.Ct. 135, 98 L.Ed.2d 92 (1987). Moreover, an interrogator's using tricks or misrepresenting an accomplice's statement is insufficient to make an otherwise voluntary confession inadmissible. See United States v. Castaneda-Castaneda, 729 F.2d 1360, 1363 (11th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1219, 105 S.Ct. 1202, 84 L.Ed.2d 345 (1985); Gandia, 648 F.Supp. at 1432.

The actions of Detective Burroughs in this case are not so extraordinary or egregious as to warrant a finding that they overbore the defendant's will. Therefore, we hold the statement made by defendant Lux to be voluntary under a totality of the circumstances.

Because the government complied with Miranda and defendant Lux made her statement voluntarily after a valid waiver of her rights to silence and counsel, the court holds her statement to be admissible. Consequently, defe...