State v. Goff

407 P.2d 55, 99 Ariz. 79, 1965 Ariz. LEXIS 310
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 28, 1965
Docket1558
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 407 P.2d 55 (State v. Goff) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Goff, 407 P.2d 55, 99 Ariz. 79, 1965 Ariz. LEXIS 310 (Ark. 1965).

Opinion

STRUCKMEYER, Vice Chief Justice.

On May 20, 1964, in Tuscon, Arizona, appellant Coy Virgil Goff shot and wounded one James Perry Turner with a .38 caliber revolver. Five shots were fired by Goff, three of which entered Turner’s body. Goff was tried and convicted of the crime of assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, in violation of A.R.S. § 13-249. From the conviction and sentence he appeals.

Appellant first complains that certain statements made by him to a Tucson police officer, Detective Julian Livingston, shortly after his arrest, were inadmissible at his trial for the reason that he was deprived of the right to consult with counsel. Factually, the record does not support appellant. Detective Livingston’s testimony, abstracted to its pertinent details, is:

“Well, Mr. Goff talked first. He told about an incident which had noth *82 ing to do with this case to start with, and after he told of this incident he said he—
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“He said that he would — he should get an attorney. I told him that he was right, that he would need an attorney, that he could call one on the telephone * * *.
* * * * * *
“I asked Mr. Goff if he would give us a written statement as to what happened at the bar concerning the shooting. He said he wanted to talk to his attorney before he would give us this statement. I asked him who his attorney was, if we could call him, get his attorney down there. He said he didn’t want to give me the name of the attorney, so, we never did take the statement.”

This testimony establishes that appellant was aware of his right to the assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution but chose not to avail himself of the right. Moreover,,since he refused to give a written statement, it suggests that he was aware of the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment.

Nevertheless, appellant asserts that he had an absolute legal right at this stage to be formally advised of .the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. He refers loosely to these constitutional guarantees as the rights to remain silent and to the assistance of counsel. There is not, of course, any specific provision in the Federal Constitution or law or Constitution of this state which guarantees to appellant the right of advice here claimed. There are decisions holding that the right exists (e.g., People v. Dorado, 42 Cal.Rptr. 169, 398 P.2d 361, cert. den. 381 U.S. 946, 85 S.Ct. 1793, 14 L.Ed.2d 710) and that it does not exist (e.g., People v. Hartgraves, 31 Ill.2d 375, 202 N.E.2d 33, cert. den. 380 U.S. 961, 85 S.Ct. 1104, 14 L.Ed.2d 152). We recently examined the case of Escobedo v. State of Illinois, 378 U.S. 478, 84 S.Ct. 1758, 12 L.Ed.2d 977, see State v. Miranda, 98 Ariz. 18, 401 P.2d 721, and rejected Dorado quoting and citing many'of the cases adopting the opposing view. We did not conclude from Escobedo that the Supreme Court of the United States held that arbitrarily and in every instance admissions made to police officers after an investigation has become accusatory are inadmissible in evidence unless a suspect has knowingly waived his right to counsel.

Waiver rests on equitable principles, Schindel v. Danzer, 161 Md. 384, 157 A. 283; that is, courts will insist upon fair play between parties to litigation and in prosecutions, for crimes. It is a rule of judicial policy, an. outgrowth of judicial abhorrence' that a person gain an unfair advantage through the aid of courts. *83 Pabst Brewing Co. v. City of Milwaukee, 126 Wis. 110, 105 N.W. 563. While there is an advantage to be gained by the prosecution in the introduction of an accused’s confessions, admissions or incriminatory utterances at his trial, the State is not required to divest itself of every advantage. It is an advantage obtained through trickery or affirmative conduct which tends to evade fundamental rights thereby denying due process of law which is forbidden. See Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 84 S.Ct. 1199, 12 L.Ed.2d 246. It is the unfair advantage obtained thereby which courts will not tolerate.

The objective of criminal procedures is to establish rules by which the truth may be ascertained so as to determine the guilt or innocence of those suspected or charged with offenses. To that end public policy demands an unceasing and unrelenting search for the truth. That the declarations of an accused are often highly relevant to the ascertainment of the truth cannot be doubted. That there is no public policy directed against self-incrimination likewise cannot be doubted. Public policy prohibits compulsory self-incrimination. Nor does public policy necessarily require that an accused be furnished the assistance of counsel prior to arraignment on an indictment or information. State v. Schumacher, 97 Ariz. 354, 400 P.2d 584.

Plainly, the search for the truth must yield when it clashes with constitutional rights. The truth may not be coerced. Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368, 84 S.Ct. 1774, 12 L.Ed.2d 908. It must not be the product of an unreasonable search or seizure. Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081. The assistance of counsel may not be denied after the accusatory stage has been reached. Escobedo v. State of Illinois, supra. But the public policy, implicit in the search for truth, is not to be unnecessarily frustrated; and unless a record were to disclose that the State, in the acquisition of evidence, has taken such an advantage that a defendant is deprived of a fundamental right, justice can be best served by the admission of all relevant voluntary declarations by which the truth may be determined.

There may be circumstances where an accused or even a suspect should be immediately advised as to his constitutional rights. We stress again that those suspected or accused of crimes should be fully ádvised at the earliest opportunity of all their rights so that there may be no doubt as to whether the awesome weight of the law has taken an unconscionable or unfair advantage. See State v. Preis, 89 Ariz. 336, 362 P.2d 660. We do not think, however, that incriminatory utterances should be barred for use in courts where, as here, a defendant is a mature, able-bodied man *84

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Bluebook (online)
407 P.2d 55, 99 Ariz. 79, 1965 Ariz. LEXIS 310, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-goff-ariz-1965.