People v. Brown

96 Misc. 2d 244, 408 N.Y.S.2d 1007, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2589
CourtNew York County Courts
DecidedSeptember 26, 1978
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 96 Misc. 2d 244 (People v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York County Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Brown, 96 Misc. 2d 244, 408 N.Y.S.2d 1007, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2589 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1978).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Bruce G. Dean, J.

By notice of motion returnable before this court on February 6, 1978, defendant moves to suppress an oral statement made by him to police officers concerning the accusation of the crimes of burglary in the first degree and petit larceny, as alleged under the indictment, occurring at 415 Cascadillla [245]*245Street, City of Ithaca, County of Tompkins. Said statement of October 12, 1977, is contained in the "Notice of Intent to Use Admissions” served upon defendant on December 21, 1977. Defendant alleges that the statement was involuntarily made, inadmissible in evidence, and should be suppressed. (CPL 60.45.) Hearings were held on the issues of suppression on April 18, 21, 27, 28, 1978. Briefs were received as follows: from defendant on May 16, 1978; from the District Attorney on August 2,1978.

The following constitute findings of fact and conclusions of law:

The foundation of defendant’s argument is that he was not completely and effectively advised of his rights, nor did he willfully, knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive those rights pursuant to the mandate of Miranda v Arizona (384 US 436), because he was psychologically and physically weakened and pressured or coerced. The defendant places primary reliance upon People v Zimmer, (68 Misc 2d 1067, affd 40 AD2d 955), in support of his argument denying the voluntariness of his statement. The court finds that under the totality of the circumstances, based in part upon the guidelines set forth in Zimmer, that the State has not met its burden in proving beyond a reasonable doubt the knowing and intelligent waiver of defendant’s rights in this case. The court here, considers the totality of circumstances, the daylong procedure starting at 3:00 a.m., and primarily the limited sleep of not more than three hours, the defendant being awakened at about 6:00 a.m., and the statement of Investigator Kelly that insufficient sleep, inter alia, would affect the polygraph procedure or results. The court finds an intensive, ardous day commencing in the early morning and finds defendant to be improperly prepared for the daylong interrogation. This relates only to matters involved from the time of arrival at Owego at about 8:00 a.m. All statements prior thereto, where relevant to the Cascadilla Street burglary, are not subject to suppression.

In People v Zimmer (supra), defendant had voluntarily taken the alleged lie detector test, had been advised by the police officer that it indicated she was lying and further that the results of the test were admissible in court as evidence. The court in Zimmer denied admission of the confession and made note of the crucial factor of psychological coercion in modern in-custody interrogation. The Zimmer court noted (p 1074) that: "Psychological coercion may be any method or [246]*246technique which is intended to, or may, play directly or indirectly upon the defendant, so as to instill in him a sense of fear, foreboding, insecurity, or other feeling which will induce, motivate or compel him to waive his rights and respond to questions posed by law enforcement officers.”

The court in Zimmer, and in another factually similar case, People v Golwitzer (52 Misc 2d 925), made note of the sensitive interplay between the mental stability of the individual being interrogated by a polygraph machine and the psychological pressures that interrogators employ, rendering a statement involuntary, The defendants in both Zimmer and Golwitzer were able to obtain medical testimony with respect to the state of their mind during the polygraph exam. And, the court in both cases concluded that the defendants were unable to withstand even mild psychological pressure due to their mental instability.

In the case at bar, it is clear that the defendant’s state of mind was in a more stable state than either defendant in Zimmer or Golwitzer, even though the defendant in the instant case was 16 years old at the time of questioning and had obtained little, if any, sleep the night before the polygraph. However, the conduct on behalf of the law enforcement officials in the instant case appears more severe and with more pressure than those interrogating in Zimmer and Golwitzer. In Golwitzer, defendant was interrogated a maximum of four hours, and the Zimmer defendant was in the polygraph room only two hours. In the case at bar, defendant was in custody in the polygraph room, under investigation, for eight hours in total, although the actual test appears to be less than two hours.

This court is not called upon to, nor will it, decide the voluntariness of statements made in the polygraph room after the examination was complete. The only statement at issue is one made by defendant in the police car on the return trip from Owego to Ithaca. The essential question, therefore, is whether the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the techniques employed during the total of eight hours of in-custodial interrogation were legitimate, consider the issue of defendant’s physical and mental condition. Investigator Kelly was asked by Attorney McDermott:

"QWell, does the amount of rest one receives or can the amount of rest one receives have an effect on the results of the polygraph examination?

[247]*247"A Absolutely.

"Q And as a matter of fact is it a part of your training that this is one of the things that you have to be concerned about and look after to ensure an appropriate test?

"A Yes, that’s why I gave the opinion that I did, qualified it, due to the fact that there had been a disruption in his normal activity.

"Q And in general would it be fair to say that as a polygraph examiner you also must be concerned with the general health both phsyical and psychological of the party to be tested?

"A Certainly.”

Was there a valid statement made in the police car? The court would question the admissibility of any statements to the State Police during the polygraph in view of the possible involvements of the homicide issue, which would be prejudicial to defendant.

The case law in New York has construed the requirement of Miranda strictly, necessitating an affirmative act on defendant’s part in the form of a specific answer to the question relating to the waiver of his rights. (People v Anonymous, 58 Misc 2d 13.) Even though there is sufficient evidence in the case at bar to establish that the defendant was attempting to "beat the polygraph” with respect to the homicide, it was not his intent to be questioned with respect to the burglary at the time defendant waived his rights. This factor would be considered along with the physical factor. The physical factor is considered by reason of the lengthy and extended questioning of defendant.

In New York, the use of a polygraph will not in and of itself render a confession inadmissible as coercive, and polygraph results may be used to impeach defendant’s original story. (People v Wilson, 78 Misc 2d 468, affd 47 AD2d 671; People v Zimmer, 68 Misc 2d 1067, affd 40 AD2d 955, supra.) However, it is an open question in New York whether a postpolygraph confession with respect to a crime not questioned upon during the polygraph, and not obtained as part of the polygraph debriefing procedure, will be admissible against the plaintiff.

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Related

State v. Johnson
218 N.J. Super. 284 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
96 Misc. 2d 244, 408 N.Y.S.2d 1007, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2589, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-brown-nycountyct-1978.