People v. Wheeler

590 N.E.2d 552, 226 Ill. App. 3d 1092, 168 Ill. Dec. 915, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 619
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 16, 1992
DocketNo. 2—90—0390
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 590 N.E.2d 552 (People v. Wheeler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Wheeler, 590 N.E.2d 552, 226 Ill. App. 3d 1092, 168 Ill. Dec. 915, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 619 (Ill. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE INGLIS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, Minnie Wheeler, defendant, was found guilty of 10 counts of forgery. She was sentenced to 30 months’ probation and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine. On appeal, she argues that the trial court erred by (1) denying her motion to suppress certain statements taken from her subsequent to an alleged violation of her constitutional right to counsel; and (2) improperly shifting the burden of proof to her, rather than the State, on her motion to suppress. The State argues that defendant made a voluntary, knowing and intelligent waiver of her right to counsel, and that the trial court properly placed the initial burden of proof on the State when deciding defendant’s motion. We affirm.

On April 13, 1989, defendant was charged with 10 counts of forgery in violation of section 17 — 3(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 17—3(a)). The Kane County State’s Attorney filed the charges by way of a form entitled “COMPLAINT FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING.” The charges regard defendant’s involvement in a scheme involving 10 forged checks that totalled $8,100 and which were drawn from another individual’s checking account at a bank in Aurora.

On October 5, 1989, a hearing was held on defendant’s motion to suppress certain statements she made to the Aurora police subsequent to her alleged requests to see her attorney. Detective Gregory Anderson of the Aurora police, the officer who interviewed defendant, and defendant testified at the hearing.

Defense counsel first called Detective Anderson, who testified that he arrested defendant at her apartment pursuant to an arrest warrant on April 25, 1989. Anderson interviewed defendant at the Aurora police station at about 1:30 p.m. that day. He advised defendant that she had been charged with 10 counts of forgery. He then read defendant her Miranda warnings from a preprinted form, which was apparently offered into evidence but which is not in the record on appeal. Defendant told Anderson that she understood them. Anderson then asked defendant to read the first warning aloud, which she did. He then told her that if she understood it, to initial it, which she did. He also told her to read the rest of the warnings to herself and to initial them if she understood them, to read the two waiver statements, and to sign the form. Anderson then watched as she initialed each of the remaining three warnings. He then conducted a 30- to 45-minute conversation with defendant, during which time she made certain incriminating statements.

According to Anderson, defendant initially denied any involvement in the offenses charged and told the detective that she was afraid to talk to him because she thought “her attorney would be mad at her.” Anderson asked her what she meant, and defendant stated “that if she talked to [Anderson] that her attorney would not represent her.” Anderson responded by telling defendant that “the attorney was on her side and he would stand behind her.” According to Anderson, defendant never told him that she wished to cease the questioning; she never told him that she wished to have an attorney present; she never asked him to contact her attorney; and she never asked to call her attorney. The trial judge personally questioned Anderson regarding whether defendant ever told him that she did not want to answer any questions or whether she ever asked to speak with her attorney. Anderson repeated his previous testimony that defendant never stated that she did not want to answer questions and never asked for her attorney.

Defendant’s testimony at the suppression hearing is as follows. Detective Anderson and defendant were alone in the interview room. Anderson began to ask questions and defendant asked for her attorney. Anderson then told defendant “I know you didn’t do this ***, you may have been with them but I know that you didn’t do this. There is a master mind behind it.” Defendant stated that she was crying and, for the second time, asked for her lawyer. She told Anderson that “I can’t talk to you because my lawyer will be mad.”

According to defendant, Anderson then read her the Miranda rights waiver form, had her read it and asked her to initial each line after she read it. Defendant objected to signing the form. Anderson explained the form to her again, and defendant eventually signed it. After signing the form, defendant began crying and said “fn]o, I’m not going to say anything. I’m not going to say anything.” Anderson kept asking her questions and inquired if her sister Mary Ann was involved.

Defendant further stated at the suppression hearing that she asked for her lawyer at least four times during her interview with Detective Anderson. She also claimed that she was not allowed to make a telephone call, even though she had asked to call her lawyer. Defendant testified that Anderson promised that if she helped him, he would be with her in the morning when she went before the judge and that she would not be prosecuted. Defendant stated that she signed the Miranda form only after Anderson told her that it meant that she had been read her rights and understood them, not that she was waiving them.

Detective Anderson was then called to testify on behalf of the State. Anderson acknowledged that he knew defendant’s attorney’s name. He also admitted that he was aware of defendant’s initial reluctance to talk with him, but continued to interview her.

After arguments from counsel, the trial judge took the suppression matter under advisement. On December 15, 1989, the trial judge denied defendant’s motion to suppress. The trial judge indicated that while defendant stated that she asked for an attorney numerous times during the course of the interview, Detective Anderson stated otherwise. The trial judge stated that the transcripts did not truly reflect defendant’s testimony in that “her demeanor while she was on the stand *** was vague, she was halting, she was uncertain.” By denying defendant’s motion, the trial judge clearly found Detective Anderson’s testimony more convincing.

On January 23, 1990, a stipulated bench trial was held. Stipulations were presented by the prosecution, and the court found defendant guilty on all counts. At a sentencing hearing held on March 29, 1990, defendant was ordered to serve a 30-month term of probation and pay a $1,500 fine. This timely appeal followed.

RIGHT TO COUNSEL

We first address defendant’s argument that the trial court erred by denying her motion to suppress certain statements that she made subsequent to an alleged violation of her sixth amendment right to counsel and, in the alternative, her fifth amendment right to counsel. We note that “[i]n reviewing a ruling on a motion to suppress, a reviewing court’s analysis is limited; we must determine whether the circuit court’s finding was against the manifest weight of the evidence.” (People v. Reid (1990), 136 Ill. 2d 27, 56.) In addition, on a motion to suppress, it is the trial court’s duty to resolve conflicting evidence and determine the credibility of the witnesses. People v. Case (1991), 218 Ill. App. 3d 146, 154; see People v. Clark (1986), 114 Ill. 2d 450, 459-60.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
590 N.E.2d 552, 226 Ill. App. 3d 1092, 168 Ill. Dec. 915, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 619, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-wheeler-illappct-1992.