People v. Legler

969 P.2d 691, 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 5935, 1998 Colo. LEXIS 825, 1998 WL 897331
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedNovember 30, 1998
Docket98SA280
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 969 P.2d 691 (People v. Legler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Legler, 969 P.2d 691, 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 5935, 1998 Colo. LEXIS 825, 1998 WL 897331 (Colo. 1998).

Opinions

Justice RICE

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

In this interlocutory appeal pursuant to C.A.R. 4.1, the People seek reversal of the trial court’s suppression of statements made by a juvenile defendant during the course of a custodial interrogation, and suppression of evidence derived therefrom. The trial court held: (1) that the juvenile’s grandmother, who was present at the interrogation, did not qualify as a “physical custodian” for purposes of section 19-2-511(1), 6 C.R.S. (1998); and (2) that the hostility between the legal interests of the juvenile and those of her grandmother rendered the grandmother incompetent to assist the juvenile in waiving her constitutional rights under section 19-2-511(1). We affirm.

I.

On November 4, 1997, a Greeley police officer interrogated Courtney Legler, who was then sixteen years old, in connection with a robbery and murder. Also present at the custodial interrogation were Legler’s grandmother, Bonnie Jennings, and her step-grandfather. At the time of the interrogation, the Boulder County Department of Social Services was Legler’s legal custodian. This custodianship arose out of an August 1994 dependency and neglect determination. Following that adjudication, Legler resided in Boulder County juvenile group homes for several years. However, after Legler learned that she was pregnant in 1996, the Department of Social Services approved her grandmother as a paid foster care provider. Jennings served in this capacity from June 1996 through August 1997, during which time Legler gave birth. On August 21, 1997, Le-gler ran away from her grandmother’s house, leaving her infant daughter behind. Upon locating Legler, Boulder County Social Services attempted to return her to Jennings’ house; however, Jennings made it clear that Legler was not welcome to return. As a result, Legler was placed at the Broadway Youth Shelter in Boulder. After spending one week at the shelter, Legler ran away again. Legler was on the run when she was arrested in connection with the instant charge.

Prior to Legler’s interrogation, Greeley police officers investigating the murder spoke with Jennings. She told them that' a friend of Legler’s informed her that Legler had been involved in a murder. Acting on this tip as well as on other information, the police arrested Legler in the early morning hours of November 4, 1997. Upon learning of her arrest, numerous people unsuccessfully attempted to invoke Legler’s constitutional rights prior to her interrogation. The Director of the Boulder County Department of Social Services notified the police that Le-gler was not to be interviewed without an attorney present and, further, that Jennings did not have authority to waive any of Le-gler’s rights. Similarly, Legler’s guardian ad litem1 sent a letter to the police via facsimile which stated that Legler was not to be interviewed without an attorney present. The police were in receipt of the guardian ad litem’s letter before commencing the interrogation. Finally, a Weld County public defender, acting at the guardian ad litem’s request, arrived before the interrogation began. He was denied access to Legler.2

Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Jennings came to the police station at the request of the arresting officer. They were then taken into the interview room with Legler. The police did not give Legler an opportunity to consult with her grandmother privately be[694]*694fore asking Legler to waive her constitutional rights. However, in the presence of her grandmother, Legler did state that she understood her constitutional rights.3 In her subsequent statement to the police, Legler confessed to having played a role in the crime and revealed the location of key pieces of evidence. She was bound over for trial on first degree murder and was charged as an adult.

On May 18, 1998, the trial court granted Legler’s motion to suppress her statements and any evidence derived therefrom. This appeal followed.

II.

Section 19-2-511(1) provides:

No statements or admissions of a juvenile ... shall be admissible in evidence against such juvenile unless a parent, guardian, or legal or physical custodian of the juvenile was present at such interrogation and the juvenile and his or her parent, guardian, or legal or physical custodian were advised of the juvenile’s [constitutional rights].

The legislature enacted section 19-2-511(1) to serve a twofold purpose. First, it codified the holding in the seminal case of In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 55, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967), which extended the protections of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), to juveniles. Second, the legislature created the requirement that, in order for statements made by a juvenile to be admissible, an adult must be present at the time of the interrogation. The purpose of this latter requirement was to provide an “additional and necessary assurance that the juvenile’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination ... will be fully afforded to him.” People v. Saiz, 620 P.2d 15, 19-20 (Colo.1980); see also People v. Maes, 194 Colo. 235, 237, 571 P.2d 305, 306 (1977); People v. McAnally, 192 Colo. 12, 15, 554 P.2d 1100, 1102-03 (1976); Catherine P. Richardson, Confessions and the Juvenile Offender, 11 Colo. Law. 96, 99 (1982).4

To this end, the legislature enumerated certain categories of adults who may fulfill this role of advisor for the juvenile. These categories, as set forth in the statute, are “parent, guardian, or legal or physical custodian.” § 19-2-511(1). In addition, it is implicit in the legislative purpose of section 19-2-511(1) that a child involved in the commission of an offense should be afforded protective counseling concerning his or her legal rights from one whose interests are not adverse to those of the child, to the end that any statement made by the child be given voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently. See McAnally, 192 Colo, at 15, 554 P.2d at 1102-03.

Therefore, the issue before us is whether Jennings’ presence at the interrogation satisfied the requirements of section 19-2-511(1). Two considerations are relevant to this inquiry: first, whether Jennings in fact fit within one of the specified categories of adults authorized by the statute to advise and counsel juveniles; second, if Jennings is within one of [695]*695the categories, whether Jennings’ interests were sufficiently aligned with Legler’s interests to allow Jennings to fulfill her statutory purpose.

A.

The People contend that Jennings qualified as a “physical custodian” under section 19-2-511(1) of the Children’s Code. We disagree.

For the purposes of section 19-2-511(1), a “physical custodian” is defined as a “guardian, whether or not appointed by court order, with whom the juvenile has resided.” § 19-1-103(84), 6 C.R.S. (1998) (emphasis added).

In support of their argument, the People rely on the fact that Legler had resided with Jennings for fourteen months in the two years preceding the interrogation.

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Bluebook (online)
969 P.2d 691, 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 5935, 1998 Colo. LEXIS 825, 1998 WL 897331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-legler-colo-1998.