Commonwealth v. Brantley

25 Pa. D. & C.5th 550
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County
DecidedMay 22, 2012
DocketNo. CP-23 CR-0004728-2011
StatusPublished

This text of 25 Pa. D. & C.5th 550 (Commonwealth v. Brantley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Brantley, 25 Pa. D. & C.5th 550 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2012).

Opinion

NILON, J,

The commonwealth, hereinafter “appellant”, argues that the court erred in granting the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence. The police conducted a custodial interrogation without providing Miranda warnings to the defendant and the defendant never voluntarily consented to the warrantless seizure of her cellular telephone by the police. Therefore, the appellant’s contentions are meritless.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY:

This is an appeal from this court’s order imposed on December 22,2011. The nature and history of the case are as follows:

On June 1,2011, a criminal complaint was filed against the defendant, Kalilah Brantley, and she was charged with: Information A, intercept communications, 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703(1). The basis for this charge stemmed from a work-related meeting between a manager, two employees, and a union steward, all employees of US Airways.

Corporal Keye Wysocki, a Pennsylvania State Police officer of the bureau of criminal investigations assigned to the drug interdiction unit at the Philadelphia International Airport, testified at the suppression hearing. He testified [552]*552that he knew Renee Burrows, a manager employed by US Airways in the Philadelphia International Airport. At the beginning or middle of January of 2011, Ms. Burrows told him that she believed an employee of hers had surreptitiously recorded a conversation that they had during an employee-manager meeting. The meeting took place on December 30, 2010 and the four people present included: Ms. Burrows, Ms. Brantley (the defendant), another employee, and a Union Representative for US Airways employees. The purpose of the meeting was a “coaching session” with both employees. The meeting took place in the US Airways office in Terminal A, which is located in the Philadelphia International Airport in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. (N.T. 12/21/11 pp.25-27, 38-39).

At the preliminary hearing held August 10, 2011, before magisterial district judge Edward W. Christie, Ms. Burrows testified that the meeting became heated:

Kalilah had her cell phone on the table. I didn’t think anything of it. All the employees have cell phones. She did have her cell phone out and I did notice her fumbling with it quite a few times. I sat there, and kind of went through the meeting. It got heated a few times, and at a point I decided to step out to make sure that I was staying calm and not yelling at them for anything that was going on, and I didn’t want to put that out there. So I excused myself from the room, and when I came back in, I saw her playing with her phone again. And at that point I had questioned her and asked her, you know, are you recording me? Like, what’s your phone doing out? [553]*553And she said I am recording you. I am, and we all are, and we all have been... At that point I said, here’s your coaching. Meetings over.

(N.T. from the preliminary hearing 8/10/11 p.7; attached to the defendant’s omnibus motion as exhibit D-l).

Officer Wysocki referred her to a Philadelphia Police Department detective who works in the airport. The detective advised Ms. Burrows that she needed to obtain the recording in order for him to proceed with the case. Thereafter, the Philadelphia detective was not willing to prosecute the case. As a result, officer Wysocki took over the investigation. (N.T.12/21/11 pp. 40-41).

Initially, on or about February 1,2011, officer Wysocki took a more detailed statement from Ms. Burrows about what took place, who was there, and where it was located. (N.T.12/21/11 pp.27-28, p.41). After meeting with Ms. Burrows, officer Wysocki never applied for or obtained a search warrant to search or seize the contents of the cell phone. (N.T.12/21/11 p. 41). At no time from the beginning or middle of January of 2011, when officer Wysocki first learned of the recording, through the February 8, 2011 interview of Ms. Brantley did officer Wysocki ever apply for or obtain a search warrant to search or seize the contents of the cellphone. (N.T.12/21/11 pp. 41-42).

On February 8,2011, officer Wysocki and officer Keith Hagen interviewed the defendant in Terminal A of the Philadelphia International Airport, a big open area. Both officers were wearing plain clothes, i.e. jeans, tee-shirts, and sneakers. The two men introduced themselves and [554]*554advised Ms. Brantley that they wanted to speak with her regarding an incident that took place with Ms. Burrows. Ms. Brantley asked if she could have a US Airways representative present during the interview. The officer responded that she was welcome to, but it was not a US Airways matter, it was a criminal incident. She asked if she could have an attorney present and officer Wysocki told her she could have an attorney present if she wanted to, but then she proceeded to talk to the officer without an attorney present. The officer then advised Ms. Brantley that “she had recorded Ms. Burrows’ conversation with her on her cellular telephone” and he asked her if he could see her cellular telephone. (N.T. 12/21/11 pp.29-31).

Officer Wysocki advised Ms. Brantley that she could either voluntarily give her cellular telephone to him or if she did not want to give it to him; he would apply for a search warrant in order to obtain the recording allegedly on the phone. The officer explained that while applying for a search warrant he would take the phone and keep it in his possession for approximately 2 to 3 weeks. He advised her that he would take the phone so that no evidence could be erased from the phone. (N.T. 12/21/11 p.32).

Ms. Brantley advised the officer that she did not want to be without her cell phone for such an extended period of time. Ms. Brantley then made two personal calls, including a call to her mother. She asked if the officer could speak to her mother and he agreed. The officer explained everything that was taking place to her mother. Ms. Brantley had another conversation with her mother and then gave her cell phone to the officers. Then, Ms. [555]*555Brantley suggested that officer Wysocki use his cell phone to make an audio recording of the recording she had on her phone. The officer agreed. The two officers and Ms. Brantley proceeded to the employee break-room where she played her audio recordings while officer Wysocki recorded them on his cellular phone. Ms. Brantley told the officer that she made the recordings because she wanted an official record of what was taking place during the meeting. After the recordings were taken off of her phone, Ms. Brantley asked the officers if they would meet with her mother. The officers agreed and went to the common-area of the airport and shook hands with Ms. Brantley’s mother. They had a two minute conversation with her, and thanked her for her cooperation. The officers then left the scene. The officers’ meeting with Ms. Brantley lasted approximately 45 minutes to one hour. (N.T. 12/21/11 pp.32-37).

PROCEDURAL HISTORY:

On June 1,2011, a criminal complaint was filed against the defendant, Kalilah Brantley, and she was charged with: Information A, Ontercept Communications, 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703(1). On September 8, 2011, Ms. Brantley was arraigned. On October 11, 2011, an omnibus pretrial motion-motion to suppress evidence was filed. Defense continuances were granted. A hearing was held on the motion to suppress on December 21, 2011. On December 22, 2011, the undersigned issued an order denying defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and granting defendant’s motion to suppress evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
25 Pa. D. & C.5th 550, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-brantley-pactcompldelawa-2012.