Miller v. State

770 N.E.2d 763, 2002 Ind. LEXIS 555, 2002 WL 1376252
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 26, 2002
Docket49S00-9908-CR-445
StatusPublished
Cited by64 cases

This text of 770 N.E.2d 763 (Miller v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. State, 770 N.E.2d 763, 2002 Ind. LEXIS 555, 2002 WL 1376252 (Ind. 2002).

Opinions

DICKSON, Justice.

The defendant, Ronnie G. Miller, was convicted of murder and criminal deviate conduct in the 1995 death of 71-year-old Anna Pennington,2 who was beaten, sexually attacked, and strangled to death in her office where she managed an Indianapolis residence converted into eight apartments. The State had sought the death penalty but the trial court dismissed the death penalty count before trial because it found the defendant to be mentally retarded.3 Following the jury's verdict, the defendant was sentenced to sixty-five years for murder and twenty years for criminal deviate conduct, with the sentences to be served consecutively. In this appeal, we address the following claimed trial court errors: (1) admitting his statement that police obtained by coercion and manipulation; (2) excluding the testimony of a social psychological expert in coerced confessions; (3) convicting him on insufficient evidence. Concluding that the exelusion of expert testimony was reversible error, we reverse and remand for new trial.

1. Voluntariness of Statement

The defendant contends that his statement to the police should have been suppressed because it was the result of coercion, manipulation, and fabricated evidence, in combination with his vulnerable mental state. The defendant argues that the "totality of the cireumstances creates a full picture of the unwitting mentally retarded defendant being led down the path to his own detriment, the path being paved by lies and coercion." Br. of Appellant at 17.

Prior to trial, the defendant filed a motion to suppress "the statement of the defendant made during the interrogation of the defendant on August 6-7, 1995." Record at 266. The defendant's extensive supporting brief requested the court to "suppress the entirety of his statements made on August 6 and August 7, 1995 to Det. Craig Converse." . Record at 309. The trial court denied the motion. During trial, when the State was questioning Detective Converse regarding his preliminary interview of the defendant before the videotaped interview, the defense objected, expressly referring to its objections previously presented. Record at 2320, 2823. When the State offered the videotape and its transcript into evidence, the defendant objected "based on reasons made previously known to the Court, and incorporat[ing] by reference prior hearings and argument in support of the objection." Record at 2875. The objections were denied. The [767]*767grounds asserted in this appeal were timely raised at trial. ~

The decision to admit the defendant's statements is a matter of discretion of the trial court after considering the totality of the cireumstances. Kahlenbeck v. State, 719 N.E.2d 1213, 1216 (Ind.1999). "When reviewing a challenge to the trial court's decision, we do not reweigh the evidence but instead examine the record for substantial, probative evidence of vol-untariness." Schmitt v. State, 730 N.E.2d 147, 148 (Ind.2000); see also Horan v. State, 682 N.E.2d 502, 510 (Ind.1997). It is the State's burden to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant voluntarily waived his rights, and that the defendant's confession was voluntarily given." Schmitt, 730 N.E.2d at 148.4 In looking at the totality of the circumstances from all the evidence, many factors may be considered including:

the crucial element of police coercion, Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 167, 107 S.Ct. 515, 522, 98 L.Ed.2d 478, 484 (1986); the length of the interrogation, Ashcraft v. Tennessee, 822 US. 143, 153-54, 64 S.Ct. 921, 926-27, 88 L.Ed. 1192, 1199 (1944); its location, see Reck v. Pate, 367 U.S. 433, 441, 81 S.Ct. 1541, 1546-47, 6 LEd.2d 948, 954 (1961); its continuity, Leyra v. Denno, 347 U.S. 556, 561, 74 S.Ct. 716, 719, 98 L.Ed. 948, 952 (1954); the defendant's maturity, Haley v. Ohio, 332 U.S. 596, 599-601, 68 S.Ct. 302, 8303-04, 92 L.Ed. 224, 228 (1948) (opinion of Douglas, J.); education, Clewis v. Texas, 386 U.S. 707, 712, 87 S.Ct. 1338, 1341, 18 L.E.d.2d 423, 428 (1967); physical condition, Greenwald v. Wisconsin, 890 U.S. 519, 520-21, 88 S.Ct. 1152, 1158-54, 20 L.Ed.2d 77, 79-80 (1968) (per curiam); and mental health, Fikes v. Alabama, 352 U.S. 191, 196, 77 S.Ct. 281, 284, 1 L.Ed.2d 246, 250 (1957).

Withrow v. Williams, 507 U.S. 680, 698, 113 S.Ct. 1745, 1754, 128 L.Ed.2d 407, 420 (1998); see also Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731, 789, 89 S.Ct. 1420, 1424-25, 22 L.Ed.2d 684, 698 (1969) (considering duration, maturity, intelligence, police deception, and rights communicated to defendant); Light v. State, 547 N.E.2d 1078, 1077-79 (Ind.1989) (considering duration, education and intelligence, and police con-duet); Kahlenbeck, 719 N.E.2d at 1216-17 (considering duration, maturity, intelligence, intoxication, advisement of rights, and police deception); Carter v. State, 490 N.E.2d 288, 290-91 (Ind.1986) (considering advisement of rights, maturity, intelligence, and length of interrogation)5 We [768]*768must determine, in light of the totality of cireumstances, whether the police conduct overbore the defendant's will, thus rendering his statement involuntary. Henry v. State, 738 N.E.2d 663, 665 (Ind.2000).

The evidence indicates that, after being told by friends that the local television news broadcast his name in connection with a recent murder, the defendant voluntarily went to the police station to "get it cleared up." Record at 22083. The defendant arrived at 5:30 p.m. and was placed in an interview room and the door was closed. The interview room door automatically locks from the outside when closed. The detective on duty periodically checked on the defendant to see if he needed anything. The defendant was not formally arrested at this time. After the defendant had waited approximately two hours, Indianapolis Police Detective Craig Converse, who was assigned to the case, arrived and began talking to the defendant.

For about one hour, Detective Converse gathered background and preliminary information from the defendant. When the defendant initially denied being at the apartment house where the victim was murdered, which was contrary to the information developed in the police investigation, Detective Converse considered the defendant to be a suspect and orally informed the defendant of his rights. No waiver of rights was signed at this time. Detective Converse's ensuing questioning became more focused and included confronting the defendant with speculation and assertions that misstated or exaggerated information known to the detective. Specifically, Detective Converse told the defendant that witnesses had seen the defendant in the hallway outside the victim's first floor office.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
770 N.E.2d 763, 2002 Ind. LEXIS 555, 2002 WL 1376252, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-state-ind-2002.