State v. Daniel

2008 Ohio 2050, 886 N.E.2d 295, 146 Ohio Misc. 2d 9
CourtClermont County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedApril 4, 2008
DocketNo. 2007 CR 0580
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2008 Ohio 2050 (State v. Daniel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Clermont County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Daniel, 2008 Ohio 2050, 886 N.E.2d 295, 146 Ohio Misc. 2d 9 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2008).

Opinion

Haddad, Judge.

{¶ 1} This matter came before the court on February 11, 2008, pursuant to a motion to suppress and a motion in limine filed by the defendant. Upon hearing oral arguments on the motions, the court took the matter under advisement and now renders the following decision.

[12]*12 FINDINGS OF FACT

{¶ 2} The defendant, Phillip R. Daniel, was indicted on July 18, 2007, on one count of sexual battery. It is alleged that on or about July 3, 2007, in Batavia, Ohio, the defendant engaged in sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the defendant, when the defendant knew that the other person submitted because the other person was unaware that the act was being committed. Specifically, the defendant is accused of inserting his finger into the vagina of the alleged victim, L.C., who was asleep at the time.

{¶ 3} The defendant filed a motion to suppress and a motion in limine on January 17, 2008. In his motion, the defendant argues that the court should exclude and/or suppress all evidence obtained as a result of his arrest, including his statements to the police. In support of his motion, the defendant argues that he was not given his Miranda warnings prior to information being obtained by the investigating officer; therefore, the defendant asserts that all questions answered by him while he was in custody were involuntary. Further, the defendant contends that the statement given to Investigator Pavia should be suppressed because the investigator made untruthful statements on several occasions as to the events that took place. He also asserts that the investigator made misleading statements about the reason for the interview and probable outcome of the matter, resulting in involuntary statements by the defendant. Finally, the defendant argues that his recorded statement contains untrue statements made by the police officer that the jury should not be permitted to hear and contains questions about punishment and other related statements that are prejudicial to the defendant under Evid.R. 403.

{¶ 4} A hearing was held on the motions on February 11, 2008. The uncontro-verted evidence from that hearing shows that Officer Perkins and Sergeant Brown of the Union Township Police Department, after having spoken to the alleged victim and her boyfriend, appeared at the defendant’s residence on July 3, 2007. Officer Perkins testified that he knocked on the defendant’s front door, but the defendant did not answer. He then proceeded to the sliding door and knocked again. The defendant answered and permitted the officers to enter the residence. Officer Perkins testified that the defendant had been drinking, but appeared only to be fatigued. There was no evidence presented to indicate that the defendant was intoxicated at the time of this initial encounter. Officer Perkins testified that he and Sergeant Brown did not draw their weapons and that the defendant was not handcuffed at this time. Upon entering the residence, the officers spoke to the defendant about the alleged incident. Officer Perkins testified that the defendant was sitting on his couch during the questioning and was permitted to freely move about the room. The defendant was asked about the evening of July 3, 2007. The defendant asked the officers whether there had [13]*13been a complaint filed, to which Officer Perkins explained that L.C. had filed a complaint alleging that the defendant had touched her inappropriately. The defendant responded that he was never in the room, but then proceeded to give an explanation about letting his friend’s dog into the bedroom where the alleged victim and her boyfriend were asleep. He explained that he tripped and that any touching of the alleged victim was accidental.

{¶ 5} Officer Perkins testified that he and Sergeant Brown then went to their police car to obtain a written statement form. Officer Perkins then went back into the defendant’s home to obtain a written statement. Sergeant Brown was not present when the defendant gave his written statement. The defendant indicated in his written statement that he had been in the alleged victim’s bedroom. Officer Perkins testified that he wrote the questions asked during his conversation with the defendant on the written forms and asked the defendant to write an answer to the questions. After obtaining the defendant’s written statement, Officer Perkins left the defendant’s residence without placing the defendant under arrest. Officer Perkins testified that this initial encounter with the defendant lasted approximately 30 to 45 minutes.

{¶ 6} Detective John Pavia of the Union Township Police Department testified at the hearing that he received the report taken by Officer Perkins and contacted the defendant to set up an interview. The defendant appeared on his own volition at the Union Township Police Department on July 5, 2007, for this interview. After Detective Pavia and the defendant were introduced, Detective Pavia placed the defendant in an interview room. Detective Pavia testified that the defendant was not handcuffed and was not deprived of food, water, the ability to use the restroom, or any other essentials. The defendant’s keys were lying on the table at all times, within the defendant’s reach. The defendant was told at the beginning of the interview that he was not under arrest, would not be arrested that day, and was free to leave whenever he wished. The defendant then responded to a series of questions by the detective regarding the alleged incident. The video shows that the defendant changed his explanation regarding the events of the night in question several times during the course of the interview. Detective Pavia testified that the interview lasted approximately 30 to 40 minutes, and the defendant was permitted to leave when the interview concluded. After the interview, the defendant was told by Detective Pavia that the interview would be turned over to the prosecutor’s office to determine whether he would be indicted. The defendant asked the detective whether he needed an attorney, to which the detective responded that he could not give legal advice. The defendant indicated that he understood and proceeded to leave. Detective Pavia testified that there were no conversations with the defendant regarding the alleged incident after they left the interview room.

[14]*14 LEGAL ANALYSIS

Motion to Suppress Officer Perkins’s Interview July 3, 2007

{¶ 7} The defendant’s first argument at the hearing was that the oral and written statements provided to Officer Perkins by the defendant on the night of July 3, 2007, should be excluded because those statements were not voluntarily made. The defendant argued in his written motion that information was obtained from the defendant without the officer’s giving the defendant his Miranda warnings; therefore, all questions answered by the defendant were answered involuntarily.

{¶ 8} The United States Supreme Court case of Miranda v. Arizona provides, “[T]he prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination. By custodial interrogation, we mean questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.” Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 U.S. 436, 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694.

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State v. Williams
2016 Ohio 5827 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2008 Ohio 2050, 886 N.E.2d 295, 146 Ohio Misc. 2d 9, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-daniel-ohctcomplclermo-2008.