State v. Burtis

664 S.W.2d 305, 1983 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 427
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedSeptember 29, 1983
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 664 S.W.2d 305 (State v. Burtis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Burtis, 664 S.W.2d 305, 1983 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 427 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

OPINION

SCOTT, Judge.

The appellant and Leo Drew, whose case is not before this Court, were convicted of armed robbery. Each received a sentence of twenty years in the state penitentiary. On appeal the appellant has presented eight issues for our consideration. In the first three he challenges the trial judge’s refusal to suppress the appellant’s statement. He contends that the confession was the fruit of an illegal arrest, that it was involuntary and that it was given after he invoked his Miranda rights.

Since the sufficiency of the convicting evidence is not challenged, no detailed factual recitation is necessary. The proof revealed that on June 4, 1981, Phillip Belew d/b/a Phil’s Grocery, located on Yildo Road in Bolivar, was robbed by three men. Two stood in front of the cash register as the third came in with a sawed-off shotgun. After the third man entered, the two near the cash register jumped over the counter and attacked Mr. Belew, taking his money from his wallet and pockets. They forced him to open the cash register and took its contents. They also took Mr. Belew’s rifle and fled.

On July 14, 1981, Sheriff Bill Kelley of adjoining Fayette County was investigating a robbery and a murder which took place in that county. From an informant Sheriff Kelley developed information that John Lee Jones and Leo Drew were involved in these crimes. The Sheriff also had a capias for Mr. Jones for failure to appear in court to answer charges of receiving and concealing stolen property. The sheriff obtained Mr. Jones’ address in Shelby County on July 15, and with the assistance of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department Cobra Unit arrested Mr. Jones at his residence. Shortly after his arrest Mr. Jones confessed, also implicating Mr. Drew and the appellant in the robbery of Mrs. Irene Johnson in Fayette County and other defendants in other crimes.

Upon learning this information Sheriff Kelley called the Circuit Court Clerk of Fayette County from Memphis and dictated an affidavit of complaint on the telephone. No oath was administered to the sheriff. The clerk signed and issued the warrants. They were given to a Fayette County offi *308 cer and delivered to Sheriff Kelley who signed and served the warrants.

The next defendant arrested was Mr. Drew, who also confessed, implicating the appellant in the robbery of Mrs. Johnson.

The appellant was arrested at his home in Shelby County by Sheriff Kelley and the Cobra Unit. Later that day he was questioned by the sheriff at a Shelby County Sheriff’s Department substation. He denied involvement in the Johnson robbery in which Messrs. Drew and Jones had implicated him.

The appellant was taken to the Fayette County Jail. The next morning he was taken to the Fayette County Courthouse to appear before the General Sessions Judge for the setting of bond. Prior to his appearance before the judge, the appellant called Sheriff Kelley aside and told him that he wanted to speak with him. Sheriff Kelley accompanied the appellant and the Circuit Court Clerk into the judge’s chambers. The sheriff advised the appellant of his Miranda rights. The appellant orally confessed to the Fayette County robbery in which he had already been implicated. That afternoon the appellant gave written statements, confessing his complicity in the Fayette County case and the robbery in Hardeman County, the subject of this case.

A magistrate or court clerk shall issue a valid arrest warrant upon the filing of a written affidavit of complaint made upon oath before him or another magistrate or neutral and detached court clerk capable of determining probable cause. Rules 3 and 4, T.R.Cr.P. In this case the arrest warrant for the appellant was issued upon the basis of unsworn statements telephoned by the sheriff to the Circuit Court Clerk. Thus the warrant was invalid. This Court has previously so held in the companion case of State of Tennessee v. John Lee Jones, et al, Tennessee Criminal Appeals, opinion filed at Jackson, June 10, 1982.

It is settled law that police officers may not enter a suspect’s house to arrest based upon probable cause unless they have a valid warrant or there are exigent circumstances excusing the necessity of obtaining a warrant. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 587-589, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 1381, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980). There were no exigent circumstances excusing the requirement of a valid arrest warrant in this case. Indeed, the sheriff sought a warrant, but failed to follow the requirements of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. Thus the entry into the appellant’s home to arrest him was illegal.

However, even though the arrest was illegal, the statement need not be suppressed if it was voluntary under the Fifth Amendment and there were sufficient intervening circumstances to break the causal connection between the illegal arrest and the confession, so that the confession is “sufficiently an act of free will to purge the primary taint”. Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590, 602, 95 S.Ct. 2254, 2261, 45 L.Ed.2d 416 (1975), Taylor v. Alabama, 457 U.S. 687, 102 S.Ct. 2664, 2667, 73 L.Ed.2d 314 (1982).

The fact that a confession may be voluntary for purposes of the Fifth Amendment is not by itself sufficient to purge the taint of an illegal arrest. A finding of “voluntariness” for purposes of the Fifth Amendment is merely a threshold requirement for Fourth Amendment analysis. Id., 102 S.Ct. at 2667-2668. The relevant inquiry is whether the confession was obtained by exploitation of the illegal arrest. Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 217, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 2259, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979).

To determine whether a confession has been purged of the taint of the original arrest, the following factors must be examined:

1. The giving of proper Miranda warnings;
2. The temporal proximity of the arrest and the confession;
3. The presence of intervening circumstances; and, particularly,
4. The purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct.

*309 Brown v. Illinois, supra, 442 U.S. at 603-604, 95 S.Ct. at 2261-2262, State v. Chandler, 547 S.W.2d 918, 920 (Tenn.1977).

The appellant also claims that his statement was involuntary because he was physically abused by the officers at the time of his arrest and later at the Fayette County Jail. He contends that he confessed only to prevent future abuse.

He also asserted that his Miranda rights were violated because he initially invoked his rights by denying any involvement in the robberies. However, the officers returned and questioned him later.

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Bluebook (online)
664 S.W.2d 305, 1983 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-burtis-tenncrimapp-1983.