Commonwealth v. Friedman

602 A.2d 371, 411 Pa. Super. 628, 1992 Pa. Super. LEXIS 143
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 22, 1992
Docket3135
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 602 A.2d 371 (Commonwealth v. Friedman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Friedman, 602 A.2d 371, 411 Pa. Super. 628, 1992 Pa. Super. LEXIS 143 (Pa. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

CAVANAUGH, Judge:

This is a Commonwealth appeal from an order of the lower court granting a suppression motion. 1 A statement made by appellee and videotapes taken from her apartment were suppressed after the Honorable Juanita Kidd Stout found that the investigating officers violated appellee's rights as guaranteed by the fourth, fifth, sixth, and fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution. After the conduct of an evidentiary hearing, Judge Stout determined *631 that the statement made by appellee at police headquarters was the product of custodial interrogation and that appellee did not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive her rights to remain silent and to be represented by counsel during questioning. 2 Specifically, the court found that the failure of the assigned detective to inform appellee that the victim of the shooting had died prior to her waiver of rights renders the waiver ineffective. Regarding the search, the warrant did not specify videotapes to be seized, and, therefore the court found they were not within the scope of the warrant.

On November 26, 1989, appellee shot and killed Bryan Edwards. The shooting occurred in the bedroom of appel-lee’s apartment. Appellee summoned the police to her residence and reported to them that she had been raped by Edwards and she shot him to protect herself. Appellee was taken to police headquarters where she was questioned by a homicide detective. She recited a history of difficulties with the victim, her boyfriend until of late, and explained the occurrence of the shooting. After approximately ten hours at the police station, she left with her family. She was arrested on homicide charges on January 12, 1990. Appel-lee was also charged with arson for the firebombing of the victim’s automobile thirteen days before the killing. The hearing on the suppression motion was on November 1 and 2, 1990. By order signed November 20, 1990, Judge Stout joined all charges for trial and made the suppression order applicable to both the murder and arson cases. 3

The scope and standard of review of an order suppressing evidence is well-established:

We must consider only the evidence of the defendant’s witnesses and so much of the evidence for the prosecution as read in the context of the record as a whole *632 remains uncontradicted. Commonwealth v. Hamlin, 503 Pa. 210, 469 A.2d 137 (1983) (plurality opinion). While we are bound by the [suppression] court’s findings of fact if supported by the record, we are not bound by the court’s legal conclusions which are drawn from the facts of the case. Commonwealth v. Cortez, 507 Pa. 529, 491 A.2d 111 (1985).
Commonwealth v. Lagana, 517 Pa. 371, 375-376, 537 A.2d 1351, 1353-1354 (1988). See also, Commonwealth v. James, 506 Pa. 526, 532-533, 486 A.2d 376, 379 (1985); Commonwealth v. Person, 385 Pa.Super. 197, 200, 560 A.2d 761, 762-763 (1989). “We will ... affirm the decision of the suppression court ‘if it can be sustained for any reason whatsoever, even if the [suppression] court offered an erroneous reason to support its action.’ ” Commonwealth v. Bowers, 400 Pa.Super. 377, 381, 583 A.2d 1165, 1167 (1990), quoting Commonwealth v. Reidenbaugh, 282 Pa.Super. 300, 309-310, 422 A.2d 1126, 1131 (1980). See also: Commonwealth v. Shaw, 494 Pa. 364, 368 & n. 1, 431 A.2d 897, 899 & n. 1 (1981); Commonwealth v. Nelson, 320 Pa.Super. 488, 493-494, 467 A.2d 638, 641 (1983).

Commonwealth v. Bagley, 408 Pa.Super. 188, 193, 596 A.2d 811, 813 (1991).

When the defendant fails to present any witnesses, the uncontradicted evidence submitted by the Commonwealth shall be considered on review. Commonwealth v. Davis, 407 Pa.Super. 415, 595 A.2d 1216 (1991).

In keeping with its obligation to enter a statement of findings of fact, Pa.R.Crim.P. 323(i), the lower court made the following findings of fact, relevant to the statement, which are supported by the record:

1. About 1:22 p.m., Sunday, November 26, 1989, police responded to a call from the second floor rear apartment, 1830 Green Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2. Upon their arrival, they discovered the defendant, Myla Friedman, was present and that the victim, Bryan Edwards had been shot. He was removed to Hahne- *633 mann Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:05 p.m.
3. At 2:25 p.m. the defendant was transported to Homicide Division of the Philadelphia Police Department by Sgt. Kelley. There she met Detective Guster Richardson.
4. Detective Richardson completed Form 72-229 on which he recorded biographical data including the fact that the defendant had a Bachelor’s Degree from Temple University and was a student at the Law School of Temple University. He also noted that the defendant did not appear to be under the influence of drugs.
5. After Form 72-229 was completed, Detective Richardson gave defendant the Miranda warnings, asked the Miranda questions, and received answers which indicated the defendant wished to give a voluntary statement.
6. Even though Detective Richardson knew at the time he read the Miranda warnings that the victim was dead, having been told of that fact by other officers at the scene, and despite the fact that the defendant asked him a couple of times whether or not the victim was dead, Detective Richardson told her that the victim was in grave condition and urged her to speak to him as quickly as possible.
Detective Richardson then proceeded, at 3:12 p.m., to tell the defendant that he was questioning her about “the shooting of Bryan Edwards.”
7. The defendant gave Detective Richardson a brief oral recitation of what happened in her apartment and then gave him a 15-page statement followed on a 16th page by a sketch of her apartment.
8. The written statement was begun at 3:25 p.m., one hour and twenty minutes after the victim had been pronounced dead.
9. The defendant was given water between 3:55 and 4:00 p.m., at which time the statement was resumed.
*634 The defendant was taken to the ladies’ room at 4:40 p.m. and the statement continued at 4:46 p.m.

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Bluebook (online)
602 A.2d 371, 411 Pa. Super. 628, 1992 Pa. Super. LEXIS 143, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-friedman-pasuperct-1992.