Leonard v. State

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Leonard v. State

599 S.W.2d 138, 269 Ark. 146, 1980 Ark. LEXIS 1491

CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas

DecidedJune 2, 1980

DocketCR 80-50

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 599 S.W.2d 138 (Leonard v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Leonard v. State, 599 S.W.2d 138, 269 Ark. 146, 1980 Ark. LEXIS 1491 (Ark. 1980).

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Opinion

George Rose Smith, Justice.

Robert Leonard was convicted of burglary and sentenced by the jury to eight years’ imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. His only argument for reversal is, in effect, that his confession was involuntary as a matter of law.

The facts, undisputed, came largely from Robert’s own testimony at the Denno hearing and before the jury. In late 1978 Robert, aged 16, was confined to a boys’ home in Nebraska for breaking and entering. In February, 1979, he and another youth, Luke Soule, fled by bus to Winslow, Arkansas, where Robert meant to stay with his uncle and aunt if they would not turn him in to be sent back to Nebraska.

Upon reaching Winslow on the morning of February 6 the two boys broke into a house to steal money and food. They ransacked the house, taking money and loading a shotgun, a rifle, and a pistol. When the owner of the house returned with his family and started to enter the house, Luke shot him several times, not fatally. The two boys ran away, Robert throwing away a shotgun and a pistol as he ran. They were picked up later in the day.

Robert made a full confession after he had been warned of his rights. He admits that he told the truth. He did not ask that the officers call an attorney or his parents or his uncle and aunt, whom he was avoiding until he could learn through their son whether they would turn him in. A psychologist who interviewed Robert testified that he was of average intelligence and actually gave no reason for a finding that the confession was not voluntary. We have independently reviewed the facts, but we could not set aside the trial judge's ruling without saying in substance that any confession made by a 16-year-old boy is involuntary as a matter of law. That is not true. Mosley v. State, 246 Ark. 358, 438 S.W. 2d 311 (1969). That case, essentially similar to this one, involved a 15-year-old boy.

Affirmed.

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George Rose Smith, Justice.

Robert Leonard was convicted of burglary and sentenced by the jury to eight years’ imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. His only argument for reversal is, in effect, that his confession was involuntary as a matter of law.

The facts, undisputed, came largely from Robert’s own testimony at the Denno hearing and before the jury. In late 1978 Robert, aged 16, was confined to a boys’ home in Nebraska for breaking and entering. In February, 1979, he and another youth, Luke Soule, fled by bus to Winslow, Arkansas, where Robert meant to stay with his uncle and aunt if they would not turn him in to be sent back to Nebraska.

Upon reaching Winslow on the morning of February 6 the two boys broke into a house to steal money and food. They ransacked the house, taking money and loading a shotgun, a rifle, and a pistol. When the owner of the house returned with his family and started to enter the house, Luke shot him several times, not fatally. The two boys ran away, Robert throwing away a shotgun and a pistol as he ran. They were picked up later in the day.

Robert made a full confession after he had been warned of his rights. He admits that he told the truth. He did not ask that the officers call an attorney or his parents or his uncle and aunt, whom he was avoiding until he could learn through their son whether they would turn him in. A psychologist who interviewed Robert testified that he was of average intelligence and actually gave no reason for a finding that the confession was not voluntary. We have independently reviewed the facts, but we could not set aside the trial judge's ruling without saying in substance that any confession made by a 16-year-old boy is involuntary as a matter of law. That is not true. Mosley v. State, 246 Ark. 358, 438 S.W. 2d 311 (1969). That case, essentially similar to this one, involved a 15-year-old boy.

Affirmed.

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599 S.W.2d 138, 269 Ark. 146, 1980 Ark. LEXIS 1491, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leonard-v-state-ark-1980.

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