SPRUILL v. STATE
Opinion
SPRUILL v. STATE
2018 OK CR 25
Case Number: F-2016-629
Decided: 07/19/2018
ETHAN JOHNSON SPRUILL, Appellant v. STATE OF OKLAHOMA, Appellee.
Cite as: 2018 OK CR 25, __ __
SUMMARY OPINION
¶1 Appellant, Ethan Johnson Spruill, was tried by a jury and convicted in Cleveland County District Court, Case No. CF-2014-322, of First Degree Manslaughter, in violation of 21 O.S.2011, § 711(2).1 The jury recommended as punishment twenty-three (23) years imprisonment. The Honorable Tracy Schumacher, District Judge, sentenced Spruill in accordance with the jury's verdict.2 Spruill now appeals. He raises the following propositions of error on appeal:
I. APPELLANT WAS DENIED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION THROUGH A DELIBERATE EFFORT BY LAW ENFORCEMENT TO OBTAIN AND RECORD INCRIMINATING STATEMENTS FROM AN INTOXICATED, UNSOPHISTICATED SUSPECT, IN VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL AND STATE CONSTITUTIONS;
II. THE STATE FAILED TO PROVE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT APPELLANT WAS NOT ACTING IN SELF-DEFENSE AT THE TIME HE SHOT AND KILLED AARON MCCRAY, MAKING THE EVIDENCE INSUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT HIS CONVICTION; and
III. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN REFUSING TO PERMIT DEFENSE USE-OF-FORCE EXPERT TESTIMONY TO AID AND ASSIST THE JURY IN ITS DETERMINATION OF WHETHER APPELLANT WAS ACTING IN SELF-DEFENSE IN THE SHOOTING INCIDENT.
¶2 After thorough consideration of the entire record before us on appeal, including the original record, transcripts, exhibits and the parties' briefs, we find that no relief is required under the law and evidence. Appellant's Judgment and Sentence is therefore AFFIRMED.
I
¶3 The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to suppress Appellant's statements. Johnson v. State, 2012 OK CR 5, ¶ 11, 272 P.3d 720, 726 (reciting standard of review for motion to suppress); Mitchell v. State, 2011 OK CR 26, ¶ 13, 270 P.3d 160, 169 (same). "The Fifth Amendment right [to counsel] arises when one who is in custody is interrogated." Taylor v. State, 2018 OK CR 6, ¶ 6, __P.3d__ (citing Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 469-70, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 1625-26, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966)). "Under Miranda, no statement obtained through custodial interrogation may be used against a defendant without a knowing and voluntary waiver of those rights." Taylor, 2018 OK CR 6, ¶ 6 (citing Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S. Ct. at 1612).
¶4 The record shows that Appellant was in custody at the time of his various recorded statements; that Appellant requested the presence of counsel repeatedly starting at the moment he was arrested in front of his apartment; that Appellant's statements were unwarned--that is, authorities never read him the warning mandated by Miranda, 384 U.S. at 479, 86 S. Ct. at 1630; and that Appellant refused to sign any waiver indicating that he understood his rights. However, the record also shows that Appellant's statements were not made in response to interrogation from authorities. See Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300-01, 100 S. Ct. 1682, 1689-90, 64 L. Ed. 2d 297 (1980) (the term "interrogation" for Miranda purposes "refers not only to express questioning, but also to any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect."). Rather, Appellant's statements were volunteered to virtually anyone who would listen while he was at the police department. Volunteered statements of any kind are not barred by the Fifth Amendment. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 478, 86 S. Ct. at 1630.
¶5 "Once a suspect in custody has asserted his right to speak only through counsel, all attempts at interrogation must cease. A suspect can, however, change his mind and decide to speak to police without counsel." Underwood v. State, 2011 OK CR 12, ¶ 31, 252 P.3d 221, 238 (internal citation omitted). Here, the State met its burden to prove that Appellant's statements were the product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice by Appellant. Id., 2011 OK CR 12, ¶ 33, 252 P.3d at 238. There is no constitutional prohibition to admission of these statements at trial despite Appellant's requests for counsel, see Frederick v. State, 2001 OK CR 34, ¶¶ 92-93, 37 P.3d 908, 934, or his intoxication. Coddington v. State, 2006 OK CR 34, ¶ 38, 142 P.3d 437, 448. Appellant's argument that he was uninformed of his rights and fearful of authorities when he made these statements is also not supported by the record. Proposition I is denied.
II
¶6 "Self-defense is an affirmative defense which admits the elements of the charge, but offers a legal justification for conduct which would otherwise be criminal." Davis v. State, 2011 OK CR 29, ¶ 95, 268 P.3d 86, 114; 21 O.S.2011, § 733. Pursuant to Oklahoma law, a person is justified in using deadly force if a reasonable person in the circumstances and from the defendant's viewpoint would reasonably have believed that he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury. Davis, 2011 OK CR 29, ¶ 95, 268 P.3d at 114. Appellant maintained, from his arrest through trial, that he acted in self-defense and the district court fully instructed the jury on self-defense. Thus, "the State was obligated to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Appellant did not act in self-defense." McHam v. State, 2005 OK CR 28, ¶ 10, 126 P.3d 662, 667.
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
2018 OK CR 25 (SPRUILL v. STATE) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.