Craig v. Singletary

80 F.3d 1509, 1996 WL 156823
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedApril 19, 1996
DocketNo. 93-5123
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 80 F.3d 1509 (Craig v. Singletary) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Craig v. Singletary, 80 F.3d 1509, 1996 WL 156823 (11th Cir. 1996).

Opinion

GODBOLD, Senior Circuit Judge:

Petitioner, Donald Lee Craig, convicted of murder in state court, filed for a writ of habeas corpus in the Southern District of Florida. The district court denied the writ, adopting the recommendations and reports of the Magistrate Judge. The court concluded that: (1) the admission of Craig’s initial confession was harmless error; (2) the admission of his addendum confession was not error because Craig voluntarily reinstated contact with the detectives; and (3) the addendum confession was not the product of an illegal arrest. We reverse.

I. Factual Background

Junior Richards was robbed and killed by a shotgun blast. Detective Nelson of the Metro-Dade Police Department received an anonymous tip that Craig and Henry Lee Newsome participated in the killing. Nelson, along with Detective Singer, located Craig at a Miami residence and asked him to go to the police station for questioning. He agreed to go. The detectives notified Craig that he was not under arrest, but advised him of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Detective Singer falsely told Craig that police officials had discovered his fingerprints inside Richards’s car, and Craig explained he was a friend of Richards.

When Craig arrived at the police station, he was again advised of his Miranda rights, which he waived. Craig explained that he had known Richards for three or four months and was with him the previous night at a disco, and that they were together in Richards’s car. Craig left Richards after Richards reported that he was going to visit his girlfriend. Craig stated that he later heard a shot and saw Henry Lee Newsome and Rodney Newsome running from Richards’s car. He reported that Henry Lee appeared to be carrying a shotgun.

Detective Singer told Craig that he did not believe his story, so Craig offered to take a polygraph examination. Craig underwent two examinations, during which he would only give evasive answers. Craig was not placed under arrest but was escorted to the lieutenant’s office at about 6:00 p.m.

At about 6:30 p.m. Henry Lee confessed and stated that Craig shot Richards. He explained that he and Craig approached Richards’s car where he was sitting with his girlfriend. Craig ordered Richards out of the car, beat him, and attempted to drive away in his car. Richards began to protest and Craig shot him.

At trial Craig testified that he overheard Newsome confessing. Approximately two hours after Craig heard Newsome implicate him, Craig, still not under arrest, asked to speak with Detective Fandry whom Craig had previously worked with as a confidential [1511]*1511informant. Fandry met with Craig, but did not question him about the incident or mention any possible evidence the police had against him. Craig told Fandry, “I really messed up. All I wanted to do was rip the guy.” Craig also told Fandry that after Singer told him that the police had evidence against him, Craig had said “well if you got that against me, you might as well get me a lawyer.”

Without seeking a lawyer for Craig, Fan-dry called Singer back into the room. Singer told Craig that he still was not in custody, but told him that his version of the facts did not make sense. Craig then admitted to participating in the robbery, but insisted that he did not shoot Richards and that Henry Lee had fired the gun. Craig was again advised of his Miranda rights. Without requesting a lawyer Craig gave a formal written statement which concluded at about 9:50 p.m. Craig was placed under arrest, and was kept alone in a room awaiting transportation to jail.

At 11:30 p.m. Craig asked to speak with Singer. Singer met with Craig, but did not question or interrogate him. Craig confessed that he had shot Richards. This confession was transcribed as an addendum to the initial confession.

At trial the jury found Craig guilty of first degree murder of Richards (Count I), armed robbery of Richards (Count II) and the aggravated assault of Laverne Bailey, Richards’s girlfriend, by threatening her with a shotgun (Count III). He was sentenced to life with a mandatory twenty-five year minimum on count I; a consecutive term of life with a mandatory three-year minimum on count II; and a consecutive term of five years on count III.

In his direct appeal Craig argued that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress statements made after a request for counsel and that his addendum confess ion was inadmissible as the fruit of an illegal arrest. The Florida Third District Court of Appeal noted that Craig’s initial confession should not have been admitted because Craig had at least made an equivocal request for counsel by his statement to Detective Fan-dry. Craig v. State, 599 So.2d 170, 170-71 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1992). That eouift concluded that the addendum confession was properly admitted under Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981), because Craig voluntarily reinitiated contact with the detectives.

The Florida Supreme Court denied discretionary review over the Third District Court’s ruling, Craig v. State, 605 So.2d 1263 (Fla.1992), foreclosing further review in the state supreme court.

Craig filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in federal district court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 raising three grounds for relief: (1) the trial court erred in admitting the initial and addendum confessions and these admissions were not harmless errors considering the paucity of the state’s other evidence; (2) the petitioner’s request for counsel rendered inadmissible all subsequent confessions, especially the addendum confession; and (3) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his confessions because they were the product of an illegal arrest made without probable cause. The district court denied the writ. We reverse the decision of the district court and direct that the writ be granted. The denial of a writ of habeas corpus is subject to de novo review on appeal. Bonner v. Holt, 26 F.3d 1081 (11th Cir.1994), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 115 S.Ct. 1328, 131 L.Ed.2d 207 (1995).

II. Admissibility of Initial Confession

In its initial brief the state conceded that Craig’s initial confession was improperly admitted into evidence violating his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Now the state seeks to revoke that concession in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Davis v. U.S., — U.S. -, -, 114 S.Ct. 2350, 2352, 129 L.Ed.2d 362 (1994), where the Court considered how law enforcement officials should react when a suspect requests counsel in a manner insufficiently clear to invoke the prohibition on additional questioning. During questioning by the Naval Investigative Service, the defendant said “Maybe I should talk to a lawyer.” Id. at-, 114 S.Ct. at 2353. The investigators questioned him about his re[1512]*1512quest, to which he responded “No, I’m not asking for a lawyer,” “No, I don’t want a lawyer.” Id. Later, the defendant said “I think I want a lawyer before I say anything else.” Id.

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Related

Craig v. Singletary
127 F.3d 1030 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
80 F.3d 1509, 1996 WL 156823, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/craig-v-singletary-ca11-1996.