318 Ga. 39 FINAL COPY
S23A0842. THE STATE v. FRANKLIN.
BOGGS, Chief Justice.
Appellee Dequavius Dexter Franklin was indicted for the
murder of Jaquon Anderson and related offenses. Appellee filed a
generalized motion to suppress, through which he later challenged
the introduction of a statement he made to law enforcement while
in a hospital on January 4, 2022, and the State filed a corresponding
motion in limine to adjudicate the admissibility of the same. After
the trial court granted Appellee’s motion to suppress the January 4
statement he made to law enforcement on the basis that “the
statement was not voluntary” due to Appellee’s medication, medical
condition, and circumstances surrounding his physical condition,
the State appealed pursuant to OCGA § 5-7-1 (a) (4). The State
contends that Appellee’s statement was voluntary. We agree
because no evidence in the record shows that law enforcement
coerced Appellee’s statement and, accordingly, reverse. 1. When ruling on a motion to suppress, a trial court decides
whether a defendant’s statement is admissible based on the
preponderance of the evidence considering the totality of the
circumstances. See State v. Rumph, 307 Ga. 477, 477 (837 SE2d 358)
(2019). The State bears the burden of proof. See State v. Hinton, 309
Ga. 457, 457 (847 SE2d 188) (2020). We have previously explained
that “when reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a suppression issue,
an appellate court must construe the evidentiary record in the light
most favorable to the factual findings and judgment of the trial
court.” Walker v. State, 312 Ga. 332, 336 (862 SE2d 542) (2021)
(cleaned up). In cases where “some or all of the material facts [are]
undisputed,” we “properly may take notice of the undisputed facts
— even if the trial court did not — without interfering with the
prerogative of the trial court to resolve disputes of material fact.”
Hughes v. State, 296 Ga. 744, 746 n.4 (770 SE2d 636) (2015).1
1 Such undisputed facts include, among other things, those which “definitively can be ascertained exclusively by reference to evidence that is uncontradicted and presents no questions of credibility.” Hughes, 296 Ga. at 746 n.5. Audio or video evidence may match that description. See id. See also Rumph, 307 Ga. at 477-478. 2 Finally, we review de novo the application of the facts to the law —
that is, the trial court’s ultimate conclusion whether, under all the
circumstances, the defendant’s statement was voluntary. See
Doricien v. State, 310 Ga. 652, 656 (853 SE2d 120) (2020). See also
Beckwith v. United States, 425 U.S. 341, 348 (96 SCt 1612, 48 LE2d
1) (1976) (“When [a voluntariness] claim is raised, it is the duty of
an appellate court, including this Court, to examine the entire
record and make an independent determination of the ultimate
issue of voluntariness.” (cleaned up)).
2. Viewed in this light, the evidence in the record and presented
at the Jackson-Denno2 hearing showed the following. The arrest
warrant affidavit recited3 that on December 31, 2021, Detective
Alfred Hogan with the Atlanta Police Department responded to a
911 call reporting a shooting and armed robbery by two masked
assailants at a residence in Fulton County. Detective Hogan
discovered Anderson’s body lying in the main room of the residence
2 Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368 (84 SCt 1774, 12 LE2d 908) (1964). 3 We recount the affidavit’s factual allegations only for background.
3 and noticed a large amount of blood on the opposite side of the room
from Anderson as well as a black ski mask on the floor near his body.
Detective Hogan deduced that the blood on the opposite side of the
room did not belong to Anderson, and subsequent investigation led
Detective Hogan to believe that Anderson fired shots during the
robbery and injured an assailant and that the injured assailant fled,
leaving the blood and ski mask behind. Detective Hogan learned
while responding to the 911 call that someone wearing a black ski
mask delivered Appellee to Emory Hospital Midtown (“Emory”) and
that Appellee was suffering an abdominal gunshot wound.4
Appellee’s medical records were introduced at the hearing, but
there was no testimony offered about the records. Those records
show that Emory transferred Appellee to Atlanta Medical Center
(“AMC”) for surgery to remove his spleen, left kidney, and pancreas
and to repair his abdomen. AMC administered propofol, fentanyl,
and other medication to Appellee for anesthesia and pain relief. On
4 While at Emory, Appellee made a statement to law enforcement. The
trial court’s ruling that this statement was admissible is not at issue on appeal. 4 January 3, 2022, Appellee underwent a second surgery due to
respiratory failure and blood loss anemia and received nourishment
through a feeding tube.
Detective Hogan testified at the hearing that during his
investigation, he narrowed the suspects down to Appellee and a
second, unidentified person. Detective Hogan obtained a search
warrant for Appellee’s DNA, and on January 4, 2022, he obtained
the permission of hospital staff to interview Appellee and did so in
his hospital room; the interview was audio-recorded. Before the
interview he “ma[d]e efforts to make sure that [Appellee] was
physically and mentally capable and well enough to speak with
[him] during [the] investigation” by contacting hospital staff. During
the interview, only Detective Hogan and Appellee were in the room,
although nurses occasionally entered and exited. Detective Hogan
testified that Appellee was not under arrest at the time; that he had
not obtained an arrest warrant for Appellee; that Appellee was not
in handcuffs; and that neither Appellee’s hands nor feet were bound
together. Detective Hogan further testified that he believed that
5 Appellee comprehended English, understood the questions, and
answered the questions. Before leaving he executed the search
warrant for Appellee’s DNA by obtaining a buccal swab. He intended
to seek an arrest warrant for Appellee if the DNA results placed
Appellee at the crime scene.
The medical records show that Appellee remained in the
hospital until January 19, 2022. According to Detective Hogan’s
testimony and the arrest warrant affidavit, Detective Hogan later
learned that the DNA at the crime scene matched that of Appellee.
After the arrest warrant was issued, Detective Hogan arrested
Appellee.
Following the hearing, the trial court granted Appellee’s
motion to suppress the January 4 statement. In its order, the trial
court considered the testimony of Detective Hogan set forth above,
referenced Appellee’s medical records, and concluded:
Based on this medical history it is readily apparent that the statement the State is attempting to admit should not be admitted as Mr. Franklin was in no physical or mental condition to give a knowingly voluntary statement or waive his Fifth Amendment privilege.
6 Due to the medication the Defendant was receiving, his medical condition and the circumstances surrounding the Defendant’s physical condition, this Court exercises its[ ] discretion and finds that the statement was not voluntary and is inadmissible in the trial of this case.
3. The State argues that the trial court erred in excluding the
statement on the ground that it was “not voluntary.” We agree.
At the outset, we note that we read the trial court’s order as
ruling that Appellee’s statement was involuntary under the Due
Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because the order
focuses on “the medication [Appellee] was receiving, his medical
condition and the circumstances surrounding [his] physical
condition.” See State v. Chulpayev, 296 Ga. 764, 779 (770 SE2d 808)
(2015) (distinguishing statutory and constitutional voluntariness
analyses). Although the issues of whether Appellee’s statement was
involuntary under OCGA § 24-8-824 and whether he should have
been notified of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436
(86 SCt 1602, 16 LE2d 694) (1966), were raised by the parties, the
trial court’s order does not expressly make such rulings, and we do
not read the trial court’s order as making those determinations, so
7 we need not address them.
Constitutionally, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment demands that a confession or inculpatory statement be
“the product of a rational intellect and a free will” under the totality
of the circumstances.5 Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U.S. 199, 206, 208
(80 SCt 274, 4 LE2d 242) (1960). See also Doricien, 310 Ga. at 657;
Chulpayev, 296 Ga. at 771 (explaining “that the rule as to the
admissibility of an incriminatory statement is the same as that
applied to a full confession” (cleaned up)). The Supreme Court of the
United States has held “that coercive police activity is a necessary
predicate to the finding that a confession is not ‘voluntary’ within
the meaning of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment.” Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 167 (107 SCt 515,
93 LE2d 473) (1986). In Connelly, the Supreme Court reversed the
suppression of a confession that a defendant gave “without any
5 Appellee did not clearly raise a claim under the Due Process Clause of
the Georgia Constitution, so we need not address whether the same analysis would apply under the federal and state Due Process Clauses. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. I, Sec. I, Par. I. 8 prompting” by law enforcement and due to voices in his head that
demanded he confess. Id. at 159-163. The Supreme Court observed
that, although the mental condition of a defendant had become the
focus of voluntariness analyses “as interrogators . . . turned to more
subtle forms of psychological persuasion,” the Supreme Court’s
involuntariness cases remained “focused upon the crucial element of
police overreaching.” Id. at 163-164. The Supreme Court further
explained that requiring “state action” for a due process violation
was consistent with the general principle that “[t]he most
outrageous behavior by a private party seeking to secure evidence
against a defendant does not make that evidence inadmissible under
the Due Process Clause” and avoided applying the exclusionary rule
when it would not deter constitutional violations by the government.
Id. at 165-166.
In the context of statements made by a defendant while
intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, we have explained that
we determine whether a statement is involuntary by examining the
totality of the circumstances, including “lucidity, coherency, manner
9 of speech, and awareness of circumstances.”6 Evans v. State, 308 Ga.
582, 587 (842 SE2d 837) (2020). We take this opportunity to clarify
that the totality-of-the-circumstances standard we use to evaluate
voluntariness claims includes Connelly’s coercion predicate. Cf.
Nordahl v. State, 306 Ga. 15, 20 (829 SE2d 99) (2019) (observing the
“fundamental principle that this Court is bound by the Constitution
of the United States as its provisions are construed and applied by
the Supreme Court of the United States” (cleaned up)). Thus, even
if a defendant gives a statement while significantly intoxicated or
influenced by drugs, the statement is not involuntary as a matter of
constitutional due process absent some evidence of coercive conduct
by law enforcement in eliciting the statement. See Connelly, 479
U.S. at 164-167.
Although we have not always clearly expressed the necessary
6 Of course, those factors are neither required nor exclusive. Cf. Clark v.
State, 315 Ga. 423, 429 (883 SE2d 317) (2023) (disapproving specific nine-factor framework to determine whether a juvenile knowingly and voluntarily waived his or her Miranda rights under the totality of the circumstances). 10 predicate of coercion,7 our decisional law has incorporated this
predicate. See Torres v. State, 314 Ga. 838, 849 (878 SE2d 453)
(2022) (concluding that the defendant’s statement, given while
recovering from a gunshot wound, was voluntary, in part due to the
absence of evidence that officers threatened the defendant or
conditioned his receipt of medical care on his providing a statement
to them); Starling v. State, 299 Ga. 263, 266 (787 SE2d 705) (2016)
(rejecting the defendant’s argument “that the trauma of the
shooting, his recent surgery, and the pain medications he was taking
at the time rendered him incapable of knowingly and voluntarily
waiving his rights and making a statement” because, among other
things, there was no evidence that any promises or threats had been
made in connection with the interview); Rivera v. State, 282 Ga. 355,
359-360 (647 SE2d 70) (2007) (affirming admission of statements
obtained while the defendant was in a hospital where the defendant
“was neither threatened nor coerced”). That is because “[a]bsent
7 See, e.g., Russell v. State, 309 Ga. 772, 775-777 (848 SE2d 404) (2020);
Clay v. State, 290 Ga. 822, 826-827 (725 SE2d 260) (2012); Myers v. State, 275 Ga. 709, 713 (572 SE2d 606) (2002). 11 police conduct causally related to the confession, there is simply no
basis for concluding that any state actor has deprived a criminal
defendant of due process of law.” Connelly, 479 U.S. at 164. See also
State v. Troutman, 300 Ga. 616, 619 (797 SE2d 72) (2017)
(“Likewise, though [the defendant’s] mental state and intellectual
disabilities are factors to be considered, those factors without more
— i.e., deliberate tactics calculated to break the will of the suspect
— are insufficient to support a conclusion of coercive police activity.”
(cleaned up)). Because coercive police conduct is a necessary
predicate for a claim that a defendant’s statement was not
voluntary, the mere fact that a person is taking medication or
recovering from injury is not sufficient support for a conclusion that
the statement was not voluntary. See, e.g., Torres, 314 Ga. at 849;
Rivera, 282 Ga. at 359-360. “[W]hile mental condition is surely
relevant to an individual’s susceptibility to police coercion, mere
examination of the confessant’s state of mind can never conclude the
due process inquiry.” Connelly, 479 U.S. at 165. See also Troutman,
300 Ga. at 618-619.
12 Here, the trial court erred to the extent that it concluded that
Appellee’s statement was involuntary under the Due Process Clause
without considering whether there was coercive police conduct.
Instead, the trial court reached its conclusion based on “the
medication [Appellee] was receiving, his medical condition and the
circumstances surrounding [his] physical condition.” The trial court
cited no authority at all in support of its conclusion, much less any
decisions supporting the conclusion that a statement was
involuntary based only on such reasoning, and settled precedent
from the United States Supreme Court and this Court are to the
contrary.
The first two of the trial court’s bases for concluding that the
statement was not voluntary referred to Appellee’s medical
condition. But as we have just discussed, a defendant’s medical
condition — whether pain, the effects of medication, or some other
physical condition — is not by itself sufficient to render a statement
involuntary. See Connelly, 479 U.S. at 165; Troutman, 300 Ga. at
618-619. See also Torres, 314 Ga. at 849; Brown v. State, 304 Ga.
13 435, 440 (819 SE2d 14) (2018); Rivera, 282 Ga. at 359-360.
The trial court’s third reason for concluding that Appellee’s
statement was involuntary — “the circumstances surrounding [his]
physical condition” — is also arguably grounded only in Appellee’s
medical condition. But even assuming the trial court could have
been referring to something besides his medical condition or the
influence of medication alone, we see no evidence in the record of
any non-medical, coercive “circumstances surrounding [Appellee’s]
physical condition” that could support a conclusion that Appellee’s
statement was not voluntary as a matter of due process. We
reiterate that any such conclusion must rest on some evidence of
coercive police conduct, see Connelly, 479 U.S. at 164-167;
Troutman, 300 Ga. at 618-619, but no such evidence appears in the
record before us. The trial court’s order makes no mention of
coercion, much less any finding that Detective Hogan engaged in any
manner of coercive conduct; Appellee has never argued that any part
of the record showed coercive police conduct of any kind; and even
viewing the record in the light most favorable to the trial court’s
14 findings and judgment, see Walker, 312 Ga. at 336, no such conduct
is apparent. Absent evidence of coercive police conduct, and
considering all the circumstances here, we conclude that Appellee’s
January 4, 2022 statement to Detective Hogan was voluntary. See
Connelly, 479 U.S. at 167. See also Torres, 314 Ga. at 849;
Troutman, 300 Ga. at 618-619; Starling, 299 Ga. at 266; Livingston
v. State, 264 Ga. 402, 408 (444 SE2d 748) (1994) (“Regardless of a
suspect’s mental state, coercive police activity is a necessary
predicate to the finding that his confession is not voluntary within
Amendment. As there is no evidence of coercive police activity in this
case, [the defendant’s] contention that his statements were not
voluntary under the Fourteenth Amendment must fail.” (cleaned
up)); Wilson v. State, 257 Ga. 444, 448 (359 SE2d 891) (1987)
(applying Connelly to reject the defendant’s argument that, even in
the absence of any evidence of law enforcement coercion, his
statement was involuntary due to his alleged insanity).
Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s order suppressing
15 Appellee’s statement.
Judgment reversed. All the Justices concur.
WARREN, Justice, concurring.
I agree wholeheartedly with the majority’s conclusions that the
trial court did not apply the correct legal test in evaluating whether
Franklin’s statement to Detective Hogan was voluntary; that
Franklin did not contend that the record showed coercive police
conduct; that no such evidence is apparent from the record on
appeal; and that we should reverse the trial court’s suppression
order as a result.
I write separately, however, to flag my concern about an issue
related to the review of video and audio recordings contained in
records on appeal. Specifically, I am concerned about extending to
audio recordings our approach to reviewing video recordings, which
the majority opinion touches on here in footnote 1.
*
It is well established that when reviewing a trial court’s grant
16 or denial of a motion to suppress “in which the trial court has made
express findings of disputed facts,” this Court’s scope of review is
limited. Hughes v. State, 296 Ga. 744, 746 (770 SE2d 636) (2015).
We have summarized that review as follows:
First, an appellate court generally must accept those findings unless they are clearly erroneous. Second, an appellate court must construe the evidentiary record in the light most favorable to the factual findings and judgment of the trial court. And third, an appellate court generally must limit its consideration of the disputed facts to those expressly found by the trial court.
Id. at 746 (cleaned up).
On the other hand, we have noted that in cases where
some or all of the material facts may be undisputed, as where the defendant concedes a fact unhelpful to his cause in his motion to suppress, where the State admits a fact unhelpful to its case in connection with the motion, or where the State and defendant expressly stipulate to a fact[,] . . . an appellate court properly may take notice of the undisputed facts—even if the trial court did not— without interfering with the prerogative of the trial court to resolve disputes of material fact.
Id. at 746 n.4 (emphasis added).
As the majority opinion notes, video recordings in the record
are one potential source of “undisputed facts” of which an appellate
17 court may “take notice.” Hughes, 296 Ga. at 746 & n.4. Cf. Walker v.
State, 312 Ga. 332, 336 (862 SE2d 542) (2021); Vergara v. State, 283
Ga. 175, 178 (657 SE2d 863) (2008), disapproved of on other grounds
by Clark v. State, 315 Ga. 423 (883 SE2d 317) (2023); Green v. State,
275 Ga. 569, 572, 573 & n.11 (570 SE2d 207) (2002). We have
emphasized the limited scope of this approach; we may take notice
only “to the extent that material facts definitively can be ascertained
exclusively by reference to evidence that is uncontradicted and
presents no questions of credibility.” Hughes, 296 Ga. at 746 n.5
(citing Vergara, 283 Ga. at 178).
I acknowledge that we have occasionally applied the same
principle to an audio recording. See, e.g., Mitchell v. State, 314 Ga.
566, 573 (878 SE2d 208) (2022); Taylor v. State, 312 Ga. 1, 9 (860
SE2d 470) (2021); Rosser v. State, 308 Ga. 597, 605 (842 SE2d 821)
(2020); State v. Rumph, 307 Ga. 477, 481 (837 SE2d 358) (2019);
State v. Estrada, 300 Ga. 199, 199 (794 SE2d 103) (2016). But as far
as I can tell, this Court did so without grappling with potentially
relevant and material differences between video and audio
18 recordings. See, e.g., Mitchell, 314 Ga. at 573 (looking to
uncontradicted facts in audio-recorded statements to determine
whether OCGA § 24-8-824 was violated when a defendant made
statements to law enforcement, but citing for that proposition a case
in which we referenced only “a recording of a police interview”);
Taylor, 312 Ga. at 9 (looking to undisputed facts in an audio-
recorded statement to determine whether the defendant
unambiguously invoked his right to counsel under the United States
Constitution, but citing for that proposition a case in which we took
notice of undisputed facts from a video-recorded statement); Rosser,
308 Ga. at 605 (looking to undisputed facts from an audio-recorded
statement to analyze whether OCGA § 24-8-824 was violated when
the defendant made a statement to law enforcement, but citing for
that proposition a case in which we took notice of undisputed facts
from only a video-recorded statement); Rumph, 307 Ga. at 480-481
(looking to undisputed facts from one audio- and one video-recorded
statement, and noting that the trial court had not made express
credibility findings related to either recording and that the
19 defendant did not object to the admission of either recording);
Estrada, 300 Ga. at 200 (looking to undisputed facts from two audio-
recorded statements to determine if the defendant unequivocally
invoked his right to counsel under the United States Constitution
during the statements, but citing for that proposition a case in which
we took notice of undisputed facts from only a video-recorded
statement). Those differences might include more easily correlating
a voice with the person who is speaking, being able to visually
identify a person’s body language, and being able to visually identify
overt acts of coercion that an audio tape might not reveal, just to
name a few.8 I am thus concerned that extending this principle to
audio recordings may be more fraught than we realize.9
8 Practically speaking, these differences might mean that parties have
more to dispute with respect to the contents of an audio recording than they would for a video recording.
9 That our review of video recordings is limited to ascertaining and taking notice of undisputed facts should cut against most concerns about that principle or its extension to audio recordings. And we have conducted a review of this type for both video and audio recordings where a defendant did not object to the introduction of such recordings into evidence. Cf. Rumph, 307 Ga. at 480 (looking to undisputed facts from one audio- and one video-recorded statement; defendant’s counsel interposed objections to neither). I remain
20 Nevertheless, my concern about how we define and apply these
principles to video and audio recordings does not affect the bottom
line in this case. That is because we need not take notice of any facts
in the audio-only recording of Detective Hogan’s interview of
Franklin to conclude that Franklin’s claim fails. To that end, the
record shows that Franklin did not even raise (let alone offer
evidence of) the specter of law-enforcement coercion in hearings
before the trial court—hearings that included testimony and other
evidence beyond just the audio recording of his interaction with
Detective Hogan—and the trial court did not find that any type of
concerned, however, that a lack of precision in how we have historically explained this limited review could lead to appellate courts reviewing video recordings in a manner that extends beyond taking notice of undisputed facts and resembles something more like the fact-finding trial courts generally conduct in the first instance. Compare, e.g., Vergara, 283 Ga. at 178 (“‘[W]here controlling facts are not in dispute, . . . such as those facts discernible from a videotape, our review is de novo.’”) (quoting Lyons v. State, 244 Ga. App. 658, 659 (535 SE2d 841) (2000)) and Lyons, 244 Ga. App. at 659 (“Where controlling facts are not in dispute, however, such as those facts discernible from a videotape, our review is de novo.”) (citing Vansant v. State, 264 Ga. 319, 320 (443 SE2d 474) (1994)) with Vansant, 264 Ga. at 320-321 (“[W]here the evidence is uncontroverted and no question regarding the credibility of witnesses is presented, the trial court’s application of the law to undisputed facts is subject to de novo appellate review.”). Any such concern would be amplified if applied to audio recordings for the reasons described above. 21 coercion had taken place. I therefore do not view footnote 1 as being
part of the majority opinion’s holding, and we can save for another
day a more comprehensive examination of the issues I note above.
Decided January 17, 2024.
Murder. Fulton Superior Court. Before Judge Edwards.
Fani T. Willis, District Attorney, Kevin C. Armstrong, Assistant
District Attorney; Christopher M. Carr, Attorney General, Beth A.
Burton, Deputy Attorney General, Paula K. Smith, Senior Assistant
Attorney General, for appellant.
Jonathan R. Melnick, for appellee.