State of Maine v. Glidden

Superior Court of Maine·Decided April 2, 2015·No. KENcr-14-1144·Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT KENNEBEC, SS. CRIMINAL ACTION Docket No. AUGSC-CR-14-1144

)

STATE OF MAINE, )

)

) ORDER ON MOTION TO SUPRESS V. )

)

TIFF ANY D. GLIDDEN, )

)

Defendant Tiffany D. Glidden (hereinafter "defendant") moves to suppress any and all statements, physical evidence, test results, and/or eyewitness identifications on two grounds: 1) the evidence was obtained after she asserted her Sixth Amendment right to counsel; and 2) the Miranda warnings she received did not adequately inform her of her right to counsel. 1 For purposes of the present motion, the parties have stipulated that the defendant was in custody at all pertinent times. I. Whether Defendant Invoked Her Right to Counsel:

On November 5, 2014, defendant arrived at the Waterville Police Department.

Officer William Bonney of the Waterville Police Department met the defendant in the parking lot and escorted her to an interrogation room to await the arrival of Detective Bryant Jacques of the Maine State Police. Officer Bonney had known the defendant for a number of years through his work in the Waterville community. Prior to Detective Jacques' arrival, Officer Bonney spoke briefly with the defendant. During this conversation, the defendant asked Officer Bonney a question on which she bases her argument that she invoked her right to counsel. In particular, the defendant maintains she

1 At the hearing, counsel for Ms. Glidden clarified that, for the purposes of the present motion, she was not pursuing her argument that her statements were involuntary.

invoked her right to counsel by asking, "I want my lawyer, what do I do?" The State contends the defendant was not invoking her right to counsel, but was instead asking, "If I want a lawyer, what do I do?''

At the hearing, the State introduced a DVD that contained both an audio and an audio-visual recording of the conversation. The following is a transcription of the pertinent conversation between the defendant and Officer Bonney:

Ms. Glidden: Ifl want a lawyer, what do I do?

Officer Bonney: Tell him.

Ms. Glidden: Tell him?

Officer Bonney: Umhuh.

Ms. Glidden: I think I have one, but for a different case.

Officer Bonney: Umhuh.

Ms. Glidden: She's my criminal lawyer. I didn't go to trial last week.

Officer Bonney: Did you fail to appear?

Ms. Glidden: Yeah, for unpaid fines.

Approximately one week after the defendant's arrest and interrogation, Officer Bonney wrote a report of the events and provided it to the District Attorney's office. In the report, Officer Bonney stated that the defendant had asked him, "What do I do if I want a lawyer?" The report notes that Officer Bonney informed Detective Jacques of this question well after Detective Jacques read the defendant her Miranda rights.

Upon reviewing the audio and audio-visual recording of the interaction, at the suppression hearing Officer Bonney conceded that his recollection of defendant's question was not accurate. Instead of asking, "What do I do if I want a lawyer," Officer

Bonney maintained that defendant asked, "If I want a lawyer, what do I do?" At the hearing, the defendant testified that she recalled asking Officer Bonney, "I want my lawyer, what do I do?"

In Miranda v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court established that a suspect subject to custodial interrogation has the right to consult with an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning pursuant to the Fifth Amendment. State v. Nielsen, 2008 ME 77, ~ 15, 946 A.2d 382 (discussing Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 469-70 (1966)f If a suspect invokes her right to counsel at any time during an interview with police, she "is not subject to further questioning until a lawyer has been made available or the suspect [her]self reinitiates conversation." Id. (quoting Davis v. United States, 512 U.S. 452, 458 (1994)). A valid waiver of the right to counsel "cannot be established by showing only that [the suspect] responded to further police-initiated custodial interrogation even if [s]he has been advised of [her] rights." Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 484 (1981).

"In order to invoke one's Fifth Amendment right to counsel, one must do so unambiguously." Id. at ~ 16 (citing Davis, 512 U.S. at 459); see also Maryland v. Shatzer, 559 U.S. 98, 103-04 (2010). "[I]f a suspect makes a reference to an attorney that is ambiguous or equivocal in that a reasonable officer in light of the circumstances would have understood only that the suspect might be invoking the right to counsel, our precedents do not require the cessation of questioning." Id. (quoting Davis, 512 U.S. at 459). Whether a defendant has invoked her right to counsel is an objective inquiry. Jd.

2 The Law Court has never adopted an equivalent to the Miranda rule or held that a violation of the Miranda safeguards requires application of an exclusionary rule as a matter of state constitutional law. State v. Durepo, 472 A.2d 919 (M3. 1984).

Once in custody, a defendant does not necessarily invoke her right to counsel every time she uses the word "lawyer" or "attorney." !d. at ~ 17. For example, a defendant's statement that he had "talked too much the way it is anyway, without a lawyer" did not amount to even an ambiguous request for an attorney. !d. (discussing State v. McCluskie, 611 A.2d 975, 977 (Me. 1992). Similarly, a defendant's statement in response to Miranda warnings that "his right to an attorney meant that 'I should wait until I see a lawyer,' was found to be an ambiguous invocation of the right to counsel, and his clarification that he would speak with the police officer at that time served as an unambiguous, valid waiver of the right." !d. (discussing State v. Alley, 2004 ME 10, ~ 28, 841 A.2d 803).

Here, the undersigned has reviewed both the audio and audio-visual recordings of the defendant's conversation with Officer Bonney multiple times. Although the conversation is less clear in the audio file, the audio-visual recording makes clear that the defendant asked, "If I want a lawyer, what do I do?" This question does not constitute an unambiguous assertion of the right to counsel and does not support Ms. Glidden's motion to suppress. See State v. Lockhart, 830 A.2d 433,444 (Me. 2003)(defendant's question as to whether officer thought defendant needed a lawyer was just that, a question, and the officer properly answered it. Neither the question, nor the exchange between the officer and defendant that followed, served to invoke defendant's right to an attorney.)

In summary, the undersigned finds the defendant did not invoke her right to counsel prior to being questioned by either Officer Bonney or Detective Jacques.

II. Whether Detective Jacques' Miranda Warnings Adequately Advised Defendant of Her Right to Counsel:

Following the aforementioned conversation, Detective Jacques arrived and began questioning the defendant. At the time of the questioning, defendant was twenty years old, sober, and had a tenth grade education. With defendant's permission, Officer Bonney stayed in the interrogation room for Detective Jacques' questioning. Following some preliminary questions, Detective Jacques purported to provide the defendant with the Miranda warnings. The audio and audio-visual recordings of the interrogation reveal the following pertinent interaction between the Detective and defendant:

Detective Jacques: I want to ask you some questions. Before I do so I want to explain your rights. If you have any questions ask me.

You have the absolute right to remain silent. Do you understand that?

Defendant: Yes.

Detective Jacques: Which means you don't have to say anything if you don't want to, all right? Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand that?

Defendant: Yes.

Detective Jacques: You have the absolute right to the advice of a lawyer before any questioning and to the presence of a lawyer here with you during questioning. Do you understand that?

Ms. Glidden: Yes.

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