White v. Finkbeiner
| Decision Date | 01 February 1978 |
| Docket Number | No. 77-1034,77-1034 |
| Citation | 570 F.2d 194 |
| Parties | Eutues WHITE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Fred FINKBEINER, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
James Geis, Deputy State Appellate Defender, Kenneth L. Jones, Asst. Defender, Chicago, Ill., for petitioner-appellant.
William J. Scott, Atty. Gen., Dale M. Bennett, Asst. Atty. Gen., Chicago, Ill., for respondent-appellee.
Before TONE, BAUER and WOOD, Circuit Judges.
Eutues White appeals here from the district court's denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which asserts that his constitutional rights were violated by the admission at trial of his confession to a murder allegedly coerced by custodial interrogation that proceeded after he had asked to consult with an attorney. White claims that the custodial interrogation leading to his confession violated the procedural requirements announced in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and that suppression of his confession was mandated for that reason alone. In addition, his petition puts in issue the voluntariness of his confession, a matter previously decided against him in the state courts. White contends that the district court erred in dismissing his petition without an evidentiary hearing and asks that we either grant him a writ of habeas corpus or remand the case for litigation of the issues raised by his petition.
For the reasons noted below, we reverse the district court's summary denial of White's petition and remand the case for further proceedings.
Following a jury trial in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County, Illinois, White was convicted of murder largely on the basis of his confession and testimony concerning his reenactment of the crime following his confession. The admissibility of the confession at trial is the central question presented by this appeal and was the subject of extensive hearings in the state courts, a review of which follows.
Prior to trial, White moved to suppress his confession on the ground that it was "illegally and improperly obtained and procured." At the hearing on White's motion, the interrogating officers testified that they had orally advised White of his Miranda rights immediately prior to questioning him, that he appeared to understand those rights, and that he voluntarily waived them. The officers also testified that no force or duress was used in the course of their interrogation, and that no promises of leniency or other benefits were made to induce White's confession. The confession, which was typed up by an officer and signed by White, contained both a statement of the details of the murder and a full description of White's rights under the Miranda decision and written waiver thereof. White himself did not testify at the hearing, and his counsel introduced no evidence to controvert the officers' testimony. At the end of the hearing, the trial court summarily ruled that "the motion to suppress the confession is denied." No other findings of fact or conclusions of law were stated by the court.
At trial, the officers reiterated the testimony they had given at the suppression hearing, and the confession was received into evidence over the defendant's objection that there was insufficient evidence of record showing that he had been adequately advised of his rights and had voluntarily waived them. White himself testified at trial that he could not remember signing the confession or even being interrogated. All he could recall was that he had been held at a police station for several days.
On appeal, the state appellate court remanded the case so that a full evidentiary hearing on the voluntariness of White's confession could be held. The appellate court deemed the record inadequate both because the trial court had failed to make any findings of fact or conclusions of law regarding the voluntariness of White's confession, and because the record was silent as to whether White was advised of his Miranda rights prior to the outset of the interrogation leading to his confession. Because White's confession was obtained on the third day of incarceration following his arrest and he had been questioned on a number of occasions prior to the interrogation that resulted in his confession, the court deemed the record's silence as to White's receipt of earlier Miranda warnings to be a serious deficiency. Accordingly, the court remanded the case for a "new full and complete hearing on the admissibility of the (defendant's) confession." People v. White, 10 Ill.App.3d 914, 923, 295 N.E.2d 300, 306 (5th Dist. 1973).
At the hearing held pursuant to the appellate court's remand, the sequence of events leading to White's confession became clearer. White was arrested on May 24, 1969, early in the morning. After he arrived at the stationhouse, he was taken to see the Watch Commander, Captain William Johnson. Following a brief conversation with Johnson the contents of which are in dispute here White was placed in a cell, and his case was turned over to Detective Stanis for investigation.
Stanis testified at the hearing that he placed White in a lineup on the morning of the 24th and took White's palm prints that afternoon. According to Stanis, White was not interrogated about any crimes that day. On the morning of the 25th, Stanis questioned White about a murder unrelated both to the crime for which he was arrested and to the case at bar. Prior to the interrogation, Stanis orally advised White of his Miranda rights from a card supplied by the State's Attorney's office. White waived his rights and confessed to the murder. His confession was reduced to writing and signed by petitioner. It also contained a description and signed waiver of his Miranda rights. Later that afternoon, Stanis questioned White about another murder after again orally advising him of his rights prior to interrogation. White admitted committing that murder as well, and his signed confession again contained a written waiver of his Miranda rights. On the morning of the 26th, Stanis questioned White about the murder that resulted in the confession at issue here. The record does not reflect whether White was ever interrogated about the crime for which he was arrested.
Following Stanis's testimony, Captain Johnson, who had not testified at the initial suppression hearing, took the stand. On direct examination, Johnson said that he had advised White of his rights when the petitioner was brought to see him on the morning of his arrest. Johnson then asked White if he wished to talk about the charge for which he was arrested. According to Johnson's initial testimony, White replied that he did not want to talk and "would rather see a lawyer." At four times during his testimony, Johnson stated that White said, "(I'd) rather see a lawyer." Indeed, this was one of the reasons why Johnson believed that White fully understood his rights.
After Johnson had been excused as a witness, counsel approached the bench, and an unrecorded colloquy took place. After the colloquy, defense counsel informed the court that the defendant did not wish to testify. The State's Attorney then recalled Johnson to the stand, and he gave the following testimony:
"Q. If someone asked for a lawyer is it the practice of your department to see that they are able to get a lawyer?
A. If he had asked for a lawyer I would have given him the phone there on my desk and let him use the phone.
Q. When you said that he wanted to speak to a lawyer, do you mean that he asked, that he wanted to retain a lawyer?
A. Well, I am not sure this is what the words that he said but he didn't want to talk, so therefore I had him put back in the cell block.
Q. Well, could it have been that you just assumed when you were seeing him that he wanted a lawyer, since he didn't want to talk?
A. Yes.
Q. If he had asked for a lawyer would Detective Stanis have been notified of that fact?
A. He would have been, yes.
Q. Would any questioning have proceeded before he was able to talk to one?
A. Not to my knowledge."
On cross-examination, Johnson testified:
"Q. Captain, you testified just a moment ago that you talked to Eutues White when he first came in, to see if you knew him what you knew about him that he chose not to talk, that he would rather talk to a lawyer; something to that effect is what you said?
A. Well
Q. This is important, I want to get this straight; did he specifically ask you and say, I want a lawyer; I want to talk to a lawyer?
A. No, he never asked me about he wanted to talk to a lawyer; he didn't want to talk to me, so I would assume that he would rather have a lawyer there present, but he didn't ask for one; if he had he would have used the phone there on my desk.
Q. Now, I know that a lot of what police officers testify to is based upon years of experience in a routine way of doing things; you say he has asked for a lawyer, I would have let him use my phone; can you say specifically in this case that Eutues White didn't ask for a lawyer?
A. No, he didn't ask for a lawyer."
The State's Attorney then recalled Detective Stanis, who testified that at no time during his interrogations of White did the petitioner ask to see an attorney or request that questioning be terminated. Stanis also testified that, under standard operating procedure, if White had asked Johnson to provide an attorney, he, Stanis, would have been so advised and would not have questioned White further.
Following Stanis's testimony, the defense rested, and the trial court found without entertaining any argument from counsel that "the defendant was properly admonished." The court then asked if counsel believed that was sufficient, and the State's Attorney replied that "the Appellate Court they asked if the confession was found to be properly admissible in terms of voluntariness." After reading the appellate court's opinion, the trial court then stated:
"It is the...
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