State of Maine v. Glidden

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedApril 2, 2015
DocketKENcr-14-1144
StatusUnpublished

This text of State of Maine v. Glidden (State of Maine v. Glidden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Maine v. Glidden, (Me. Super. Ct. 2015).

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.

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

2 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).

3 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.

4 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.

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Related

Maryland v. Shatzer
559 U.S. 98 (Supreme Court, 2010)
Florida v. Powell
559 U.S. 50 (Supreme Court, 2010)
Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Fare v. Michael C.
442 U.S. 707 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Edwards v. Arizona
451 U.S. 477 (Supreme Court, 1981)
California v. Prysock
453 U.S. 355 (Supreme Court, 1981)
Moran v. Burbine
475 U.S. 412 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Duckworth v. Eagan
492 U.S. 195 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Davis v. United States
512 U.S. 452 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Missouri v. Seibert
542 U.S. 600 (Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Strain
779 P.2d 221 (Utah Supreme Court, 1989)
State v. Schwartz
467 N.W.2d 240 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1991)
State v. Lockhart
2003 ME 108 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2003)
State v. Medrano
751 N.W.2d 102 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2008)
Henson v. United States
563 A.2d 1096 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1989)
People v. Bolinski
260 Cal. App. 2d 705 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
State v. McCluskie
611 A.2d 975 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1992)
State v. Knights
482 A.2d 436 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1984)
State v. Durepo
472 A.2d 919 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1984)

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State of Maine v. Glidden, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-maine-v-glidden-mesuperct-2015.