Lovell v. State

525 S.W.2d 511, 1975 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1045
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas·Decided July 23, 1975·No. 49963·Published·Cited by 53 cases

Opinions

OPINION

GREEN, Commissioner.

This is an appeal from a conviction for injury to a child. The punishment, assessed by the jury, is 14 years.

The sufficiency of the evidence is not challenged.

In his first ground of error, appellant contends the trial court committed reversi[513]*513ble error in admitting into evidence his written confession. We agree.

The record reflects that on February 10, 1974, the date the confession was made, appellant was a child, aged 16 years.1 On such date, Officer Jim W. Johnson of the Abilene Police Department received a call from a nurse at Hendrick Memorial Hospital. As a result of the call Officer Johnson went to the hospital where he spoke with Dr. Herman Schaffer, appellant and appellant’s wife, then viewed the battered baby. Officer Johnson gave appellant his Miranda warnings at the hospital, and drove him directly to the police station where he warned him again.2

At the police station, appellant, without the aid, advice or presence of counsel, signed a “waiver” of his rights and made a statement which was reduced to writing and introduced at the trial as State’s Exhibit # 6.

During the trial and before allowing the statement into evidence, the trial court conducted a hearing, outside the presence of the jury, to determine the issue of the admissibility of appellant’s confession. The evidence at the hearing reflected, and the court found, that appellant was duly advised of his constitutional and statutory rights, including the right to be represented by counsel, and that he knowingly and voluntarily waived those rights and made the confession. No lawyer was present representing appellant, and at that time he was not represented by counsel, retained or appointed.

At the trial appellant objected to the admission of the confession in evidence on the ground that he was a child under seventeen years of age when he gave the confession, and was not represented by counsel as required by Title 3 of the Family Code, and that, consequently, his waiver of counsel was void and the confession was inadmissible. The objection was overruled, and the confession was admitted.

On appeal, appellant contends that his waiver of his rights, including the right to be represented by legal counsel, was void at its inception by virtue of V.T.C.A., Family Code, Title III, Section 51.09(1) and (2), which read:

“Unless a contrary intent clearly appears elsewhere in this title, any right granted to a child by this title or by the constitution or laws of this state or of the United States may be waived in proceedings under this title if:
“(1) the waiver is made by the child and the attorney for the child;
“(2) the child and the attorney waiving the right are informed and understand the right and the possible consequences of waiving it . . .” V.T.C.A., Family Code, Title III, Section 51.09(1), (2).

We find no contrary intent expressed anywhere in Title III in regard to the waiver of right to silence and right to counsel.

Miranda teaches that a heavy burden rests upon the prosecution to prove that a person in custody “knowingly and intelligently waived his privilege against self-incrimination and his right to retained or appointed counsel.” 384 U.S. at 475, 86 S.Ct. at 1628. The Court in Miranda3 relied upon Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 82 L.Ed. 1461 (1938), in which [514]*514the Court unequivocally stated that the determination of whether there has been an intelligent waiver of the right to counsel must depend, in each case, upon the particular facts and circumstances surrounding that case, including the background, experience, and conduct of the accused. Miranda further holds the states are free to develop their own safeguards as long as their standards meet those expressed in Miranda; Texas has done this for juveniles in Section 51.09, supra.

Prior to the enactment of the Family Code, a minor could waive his right to counsel before making an extrajudicial statement. Moreno v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 511 S.W.2d 273; Garza v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 469 S.W.2d 169; In re Garcia, 443 S.W.2d 594 (Tex.Civ.App.—El Paso, 1969).

Title III of the Family Code was enacted in 1973 with the stated purpose of assuring a fair hearing in which the constitutional and other legal rights of the parties are recognized and enforced. V.T.C.A., Family Code, Section 51.01. The Legislature was aware of the admonitions of the United States Supreme Court in Haley v. Ohio, 332 U.S. 596, 68 S.Ct. 302, 92 L.Ed. 224 (1948), that the admissions and confessions made by a child require careful inquiry and special caution, and in In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967), that the juvenile needs the assistance of counsel to cope with problems of law, to make skilled inquiry into the facts, to insist upon regularity of the proceedings, and to ascertain whether he has a defense and prepare to submit it. The child “requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step of the proceeding against him.” The Gault decision extended the constitutional right to remain silent, and thereby to resist compulsory self-incrimination, to children. Title III of the Family Code is an enactment of the above concepts; it determines and protects the best interest of the child, assures the constitutional and other legal rights of the child are recognized and enforced, and permits waiver of the child’s rights only under certain conditions. In re R.E.J., 511 S.W.2d 347 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1974). The Family Code underscores its protections by providing that, in the adjudication hearing provided by Title III, an extrajudicial statement which was obtained without fulfilling the requirements of this title or of the Constitution of this State or the United States may not be used in such hearing. V.T.C.A., Family Code, Section 54.03(e). This section augments Section 51.09 but does not limit it. See In re F.G., 511 S.W.2d 370 (Tex.Civ. App. — Amarillo 1974). Since the enactment of the Family Code, the courts have concluded that the Legislature obviously provided a safeguard for children, including the right to silence and an absolute right to an attorney during custodial interrogations, unless with an attorney the child waives that right in accordance with the terms of the statute. The “waiver” executed without the child’s attorney is a nullity. In re S.E.B., 514 S.W.2d 948 (Tex.Civ.App.—El Paso 1974); In re V.R.S., 512 S.W.2d 350 (Tex.Civ.App.—Amarillo 1974); In re R.E.J., supra; In re F.G., supra.

The record reflects appellant “waived” his rights prior to the court’s action in waiving its juvenile jurisdiction and transferring him to the appropriate court for criminal proceedings. The Family Code provides that, on transfer for criminal proceedings, the child shall be dealt with as an adult in accordance with the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, 1965. V.T.C.A., Family Code, Section 54.02(h).

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Lovell v. State, 525 S.W.2d 511, 1975 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1045 (Tex. 1975).

525 S.W.2d 511 (Lovell v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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