Sander v. State

52 S.W.3d 909, 2001 Tex. App. LEXIS 6024, 2001 WL 995397
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 29, 2001
Docket09-00-385 CR, 09-00-386 CR
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 52 S.W.3d 909 (Sander v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sander v. State, 52 S.W.3d 909, 2001 Tex. App. LEXIS 6024, 2001 WL 995397 (Tex. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinions

OPINION

GAULTNEY, Justice.

Appellant Kendall Keith Sander was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, his adopted son. He was sentenced to seventy-five years in prison and fined $5,000 for each offense. Sander raises six issues on appeal. Sander asserts, principally, that the trial court erred in admitting his verbal and written [912]*912confessions; these are issues one, two, and three.

Issue four complains the trial court failed to enter requisite findings of fact; issue five is a challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence; and issue six contends the written warnings were insufficient.

Custody Defined

Sander filed a pretrial motion to suppress his statements and the trial court held a Jackson v. Denno1 hearing after which it denied the motion. Sander’s first three issues all rest on the assertion he was in custody at the time he confessed. If he was not, these issues have no merit.

In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the Supreme Court held that law enforcement officers must inform a suspect in custody that his statements may be used against him, that he has the right to an attorney during the interrogation, and that if he cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent him. Otherwise, any statements obtained from the defendant during the custodial interrogation are inadmissible at trial. Id. 384 U.S. at 492, 86 S.Ct. 1602. Similarly, Texas law requires that the defendant be warned of his rights before a custodial interrogation if the resulting confession is to be admissible at trial. Tex.Code CRiM. PROC. Ann. art. 38.22 (Vernon 1979 & Supp.2001). Before either warning requirement is triggered, however, the individual confessing must actually be in custody. Illinois v. Perkins, 496 U.S. 292, 296, 110 S.Ct. 2394, 110 L.Ed.2d 243 (1990). See Dowthitt v. State, 931 S.W.2d 244 (Tex.Crim.App.1996). The determination of whether the defendant was in custody at the time of the confession depends on the objective cireum-stances-of the interrogation. Stansbury v. California, 511 U.S. 318, 322, 114 S.Ct. 1526, 128 L.Ed.2d 293 (1994).

So was Sander “in custody”? Essentially, the “inquiry is simply whether there [was] a ‘formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement’ of the degree associated with a formal arrest.” Stansbury, 511 U.S. at 322, 114 S.Ct. 1526 (quoting California v. Beheler, 463 U.S. 1121, 1125, 103 S.Ct. 3517, 77 L.Ed.2d 1275 (1983)); see also Nenno v. State, 970 S.W.2d 549, 556 (Tex.Crim.App.1998) overruled in pari on other grounds by State v. Terrazas, 4 S.W.3d 720, 727 (Tex.Crim.App.1999).

As in Dowthitt, Sander makes both state and federal constitutional challenges to the admissibility of his statements, but does not argue that the concept of custody differs under the two constitutions. The Court of Criminal Appeals has held that the protections against self-incrimination provided by Article I, Section 19 of the Texas Constitution are identical to those provided by the Fifth Amendment. Tex. Const, art. I, § 19. “[W]e will analyze the [custody] issue from a federal constitutional perspective and presume that the state law standard is the same.” Dowthitt, 931 S.W.2d at 254 n. 4. In Lagrone v. State, 942 S.W.2d 602, 612 (Tex.Crim.App.1997), the Court of Criminal Appeals addressed the challenges under the state and federal constitutions with the following explanation:

[W]e find no violation of the defendant’s Fifth Amendment rights. We also note that appellant has failed to provide us with any distinction or reason that the Texas Constitution provides greater protection than the Fifth Amendment.

As we have noted, here too appellant makes no distinction between the stan[913]*913dards appropriate under the federal and state constitutions.

SANDER’S INTERVIEW

With these standards in mind, we consider the objective circumstances of the Sander’s interview. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) was told by an informant that Sander was involved in internet child pornography, and obtained a search warrant for his house in Woodville, Texas. Agents were told that Sander “had adopted a young male, 10-11 years, ... for the purpose of sexually abusing the child.” This information was included in the affidavit the FBI filed requesting the search warrant.

The FBI agent contacted Sander at the local school where Sander was a teacher. He asked Sander if he would accompany the Special Agent and an investigator from the Tyler County District Attorney’s Office to the District Attorney’s office for questioning. According to the FBI agent and the investigator, Sander agreed to go voluntarily. He was told he was not under arrest. On the way to the District Attorney’s office, the FBI agent asked Sander for his house keys so the search warrant for his home could be executed without breaking into the house. Sander handed over his key ring, which contained both his house and car keys, and told them they could also search his office and car.

According to the State’s witnesses at the suppression hearing, their interview of Sander was noncustodial and low key. The interview initially focused on the alleged internet exchanges of child pornography which had attracted the FBI’s attention. Appellant was not handcuffed or restrained in any way. He was informed, several times, that he was not under arrest and could leave. He was allowed to visit the restroom without accompaniment; the restroom was close to the exit door. He was allowed to telephone his mother, stepfather and pastor and consult with them privately. When Sander asked if he should consult an attorney he was told that was his decision. His mother advised him to get an attorney but he did not.

At the suppression hearing, Sander’s mother disputed the State’s version of the interview. She stated that her private visit with her son was cut short, and that Sander was “visibly upset” and crying when she spoke to him. She also testified that when she asked an investigator, out of Sander’s hearing, whether she could “take him home,” she was told “No ma’am, not at this time, you cannot.” However, it is undisputed that he was allowed to leave with her later.2

SandeR Was Waened

The focus of the interview changed when a second FBI agent and an assistant U.S. Attorney arrived. While the first part of the Sander’s interview was being conducted by the first FBI agent, the second FBI agent interviewed the child victim and the child described the offenses for which Sander was convicted in this case. The second FBI agent subsequently confronted Sander with the child’s allegations when the second FBI agent arrived at the D.A.’s office.

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Sander v. State
52 S.W.3d 909 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)

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Bluebook (online)
52 S.W.3d 909, 2001 Tex. App. LEXIS 6024, 2001 WL 995397, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sander-v-state-texapp-2001.