State v. Hopkins

142 P.3d 1104
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided September 6, 2006·No. 33289-2-II·Published·Cited by 20 cases

Opinion

142 P.3d 1104 (2006)

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Devonn Shontelle HOPKINS, Appellant.

No. 33289-2-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

August 11, 2006.
Publication Ordered September 6, 2006.

*1105 Jodi R. Backlund, Manek R. Mistry, Backlund & Mistry, Olympia, WA, for Appellant.

Aileen B. Miller, Assistant Attorney General-Medicaid Fraud, Tacoma, WA, J. Andrew Toynbee, Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Office, Chehalis, WA, for Respondent.

BRIDGEWATER, J.

¶ 1 Devonn Shontelle Hopkins appeals her conviction of four counts of second degree child molestation and one count of second degree rape of a child. We affirm.

¶ 2 Devonn Hopkins, age 27, had several sexual encounters with 13 year-old K.R. These encounters began a few days after K.R.'s 13th birthday in April 2004, and included several instances in which Hopkins touched K.R.'s vaginal area with her fingers. The sexual behavior progressed until Hopkins performed oral sex on K.R.

¶ 3 Hopkins met Taylor Edmonds, K.R.'s older sister, in the military while they were both stationed in Korea. When they came back from Korea and were stationed at Fort Lewis, Edmonds introduce Hopkins to her family, and Hopkins began spending significant time with them. She often stayed the *1106 night and would sleep on the floor in K.R.'s room. K.R. shared the room with her younger sister, E.R.

¶ 4 K.R.'s family members became suspicious about Hopkins's relationship with K.R. E.R. testified that on one occasion she heard Hopkins and K.R. kissing in her bedroom. E.R. confronted K.R. the next day, but K.R. denied that anything happened. E.R. eventually told Edmonds about this incident. Edmonds confronted both K.R. and Hopkins, but both denied kissing.

¶ 5 Edmonds's suspicions continued, however, and in June 2004, she looked in K.R's diary. There, K.R. wrote that she loved Hopkins and that she and Hopkins had kissed. Edmonds took the diary to their mother, Jody Kephart. Kephart called the police and Hopkins's commanding officer, Captain Rhonda Jones, at Fort Lewis.

¶ 6 Lewis County Sheriff's Deputy Stacy Brown interviewed Kephart and K.R. K.R. initially denied the relationship because she did not want to get Hopkins in trouble but eventually related the specific details about the sexual encounters. Deputy Brown referred K.R. to the sexual assault clinic at St. Peter Hospital in Olympia.

¶ 7 Nancy Young, a nurse practitioner, examined K.R. and produced a report. Young had a family emergency, however, and did not testify at trial. Dr. Deborah Hall, her supervisor, testified instead, relating the contents of Young's report to the jury. In the report, Young documented that K.R. admitted that Hopkins had performed oral sex on her. Dr. Hall then testified that the physical exam was normal but consistent with the reported sexual activity.

¶ 8 Meanwhile, Captain Jones called Hopkins into her office and read Hopkins her Miranda[1] warnings from a preprinted card. Hopkins agreed to talk to Captain Jones, and Jones then told Hopkins about Kephart's allegations. Hopkins denied impropriety, but Captain Jones ordered Hopkins to have no contact with the family.

¶ 9 Shortly afterward, Agent Laurinda Acosta from the military's Criminal Investigation Division interviewed Hopkins. Acosta advised Hopkins that she was under investigation and then read Hopkins her Miranda rights. Hopkins acknowledged her rights and agreed to talk. Hopkins initially denied any improper behavior, but then confessed. Hopkins then wrote and signed a confession detailing several sexual encounters. The jury convicted Hopkins of four counts of second degree child molestation and one count of second degree rape of a child.

I. Confession

¶ 10 Hopkins argues that the Miranda warnings Jones and Acosta read to her were constitutionally defective because they explained that Hopkins had a right to a military lawyer at no expense rather than a civilian public defender. Her argument fails.

¶ 11 We review the adequacy of Miranda warnings de novo. United States v. San Juan-Cruz, 314 F.3d 384, 387 (9th Cir. 2002). There is no requirement that the warnings follow the exact language of Miranda. State v. Brown, 132 Wash.2d 529, 582, 940 P.2d 546 (1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1007, 118 S.Ct. 1192, 140 L.Ed.2d 322 (1998). But in order to be a valid warning, the wording cannot be affirmatively misleading. San Juan-Cruz, 314 F.3d at 387. We determine whether the warnings reasonably and effectively conveyed a suspect's rights, one of which is the right to have a counsel appointed if a suspect is unable to afford one. Brown, 132 Wash.2d at 582, 940 P.2d 546; Miranda, 384 U.S. at 473, 86 S.Ct. 1602.

¶ 12 Here, the military Miranda form Acosta used read:

I have the right to talk privately to a lawyer before, during, and after questioning and to have a lawyer present with me during questioning. This lawyer can be a civilian lawyer I arrange for at no expense to the Government or a military lawyer detailed for me at no expense to me, or both.

Appellant's Supplemental Clerk's Papers (ASCP) (filed Nov. 3, 2005) at 6. Acosta testified that she read this warning and had Hopkins read and initialed it. Hopkins acknowledged *1107 that she understood her rights by signing the waiver and agreed to speak to Acosta.

¶ 13 Hopkins now argues that this warning was misleading because it does not say that she had a right to a public civilian attorney and because it did not explain the difference between a military lawyer and civilian lawyer. But Hopkins cites no authority that Miranda requires a civilian attorney. Neither the rationale nor the language of Miranda suggests that an appointed attorney must be a civilian. The Miranda court reasoned that the presence of an attorney was needed to negate the coercive atmosphere of an interrogation. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 466, 86 S.Ct. 1602. A military attorney is as suited to that goal as a civilian one.

¶ 14 The warnings Acosta used clearly conveyed that Hopkins had the right to consult an attorney. Moreover, though Hopkins argues that a military attorney may not have the same confidentiality requirements, the warning stressed that the conversation with the attorney would be private. Accordingly, the warnings reasonably conveyed Hopkins's rights.

¶ 15 Two additional factors weigh against her position. First, the rules expressed in Miranda govern criminal interrogations by military authorities. United States v. Tempia, 16 USCMA 629, 635, 37 CMR 249, 1967 WL 4235 (1967). Tempia specifically required that if the accused is "indigent a lawyer will be appointed to represent him." Tempia, 16 USCMA at 637. In explicitly addressing Hopkins's claim that a military lawyer may not have the same loyalty and confidentiality requirements, we turn to Tempia where the court stated that an accused is entitled to a lawyer

who is peculiarly and entirely the accused's own representative; who owes him total fidelity; to whom full disclosure may be safely made in a privileged atmosphere;... a legal advisor of his own — not one ...

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State v. Hopkins, 142 P.3d 1104 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

142 P.3d 1104 (State v. Hopkins) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State Of Washington, V. John H. Scannell
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2025
Dependency Of T.T.B.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
State Of Washington v. Ronelle Ashton Williams
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2020
State Of Washington v. Salah A. Mahamud
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2019
State of Washington v. Curtis Charles Anderson
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018
State Of Washington v. Juan Jose Rodriguez-montoya
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018
State Of Washington v. S.D.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2016
State v. Lui
315 P.3d 493 (Washington Supreme Court, 2014)
In re the Detention of Coe
286 P.3d 29 (Washington Supreme Court, 2012)
State v. Hubbard
279 P.3d 521 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2012)
State v. Smith
165 Wash. App. 296 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2011)
State v. Fleming
155 Wash. App. 489 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2010)
State v. Lui
221 P.3d 948 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2009)
State v. Classen
176 P.3d 582 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2008)