State v. McClain

442 N.E.2d 1131, 1982 Ind. App. LEXIS 1534
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 15, 1982
DocketNo. 4-1181A170
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 442 N.E.2d 1131 (State v. McClain) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. McClain, 442 N.E.2d 1131, 1982 Ind. App. LEXIS 1534 (Ind. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

MILLER, Judge.

The jury acquitted Calvin McClain of the charge of Robbery, a class C felony. The State appeals a reserved question of law pursuant to Ind.Code 35-1-47-2 and presents this single issue.1

“Whether the trial court erred when it granted the Defendant-Appellee’s motion in limine and subsequently sustained the Defendant-Appellee’s objection to the State’s offer of proof of a confession made by the Defendant-Appellee in open court at his first judicial appearance.”

We sustain the appeal, agreeing with the State the trial court erred in excluding McClain’s confession as such confession was voluntary and not the result of a custodial interrogation.

On April 10,1979 a male robbed the Miro-vich Clothing Store in Lake County, Indiana. That same day the manager and saleslady picked McClain as the robber out of 30 photographs. The manager also gave a statement to the police. McClain was not arrested until nine months later. The day after his arrest, on January 29, 1980, without counsel McClain appeared for his first judicial appearance before Judge Letsinger where the following exchange occurred:

BY THE COURT: Are you Calvin McClain?
ANSWER: [McCLAIN] Yes, sir.
[1132]*1132QUESTION [COURT]: Mr. McClain, I have several charges against you, this is Robbery, Class C, this is Robbery Class B, all of which are serious charges; and no attorney has entered his appearance to represent you, are you going to hire a lawyer?
ANSWER [McCLAIN]: The reason why I did the robberies, I needed money, so therefore I can’t hire an attorney because I don’t have any money. Like some of that up there ain’t true, your Honor, that Class B, I don’t know what’s happening with that, them other two, well what can I say.”

(R. 189).

After a change of venue from the judge and during his robbery trial, Special Judge Richard Maroc granted McClain’s motion in limine to exclude the admissions made to Judge Letsinger. The manager of Mirovich and three police officers testified for the State. However, McClain and his mother testified he was in the Hines V.A. Hospital at the time the robbery occurred. The jury found McClain not guilty.

It appears the trial court relied on a federal case, United States v. Dohm, (5th Cir.1980) 618 F.2d 1169 (en banc) to exclude McClain’s admissions. In Dohm, the defendant made damaging statements at a pre-trial bail hearing before a magistrate which statements were admitted at trial. On appeal, the court considered the issue of "whether the government’s use at trial of statements made by the accused at a pretrial bail hearing constitutes a denial of the accused’s fifth amendment rights against self-incrimination.” Id. at 1170, and con-eluded “when proper warnings are given, testimony presented by a defendant to meet bail requirements may be admissible against him at trial.”2 Id. at 1174. In Dohm the magistrate tried several times to warn the defendant not to hurt himself by speaking without a lawyer, but the warnings were confusing.3 Because the warnings were obfuscating, the appeal court reversed Dohm’s conviction and remanded for a new trial excluding the confession.

We acknowledge it to be good policy for trial judges to initially inform defendants, at a hearing such as occurred here, the advisability of having counsel, not.-to speak to the merits of the offense as their words might be used against them. In Miranda v. Arizona, (1966) 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, the Court pointed out a warning is needed to make the defendant aware he is in an adversary system, — that he is not with people acting in his interest. Id. at 469, 86 S.Ct. at 1625.4 However strongly we may urge trial courts to caution defendants before they speak, nevertheless, we hold McClain’s admissions should have been admitted. The Indiana Supreme Court has consistently held: [1133]*1133Minneman v. State, (1982) Ind. 441 N.E.2d 673 at pp. 676. See also Lucas v. State, (1980) Ind., 413 N.E.2d 578; Hatcher v. State, (1980) Ind., 410 N.E.2d 1187; Adams v. State, (1979) Ind., 386 N.E.2d 657; Hoskins v. State, (1978) 268 Ind. 290, 375 N.E.2d 191; Hill v. State, (1978) 267 Ind., 480, 371 N.E.2d 1303. Our supreme court in Staton v. State, (1981) 428 N.E.2d 1203 adopted the United States Supreme Court definition of interrogation given in Rhode Island v. Innis, (1980) 446 U.S. 291, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 as follows:

[1132]*1132“the procedural safeguards of Miranda apply only to what the United States Supreme Court has termed ‘custodial interrogation.’ Oregon v. Mathiason, (1977) 429 U.S. 492, 97 S.Ct. 711, 50 L.Ed.2d 714; Orozco v. Texas, (1969) 394 U.S. 324, 89 S.Ct. 1095, 22 L.Ed.2d 311; Bugg v. State, (1978) 267 Ind. 614, 372 N.E.2d 1156; Maxey v. State, (1969) 251 Ind. 645, 244 N.E.2d 650, cert. denied, (1970) 397 U.S. 949, 90 S.Ct. 969, 25 L.Ed.2d 130.”
[1133]*1133“ ‘Interrogation,’ as conceptualized in the Miranda opinion, must reflect a measure of compulsion above and beyond that inherent in custody itself.
We conclude that the Miranda safeguards come into play whenever a person in custody is subjected to either express questioning or its functional equivalent. That is to say, the term ‘interrogation’ under Miranda refers not only to express questioning, but also to any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect.”

Id. 446 U.S. at 300-01, 100 S.Ct. at 1689-90. In utilizing this definition, Indiana will admit statements into evidence which are made in response to a question by the police while the defendant is in custody if the court determines the response was volunteered rather than the result of the interrogation. See Staton v. State, supra; Johnson v. State, (1978) 269 Ind. 370, 380 N.E.2d 1236; Nading v. State, (1978) 268 Ind. 634, 377 N.E.2d 1345; Bugg v. State, supra; Lane v. State, (1977) 266 Ind.

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Bluebook (online)
442 N.E.2d 1131, 1982 Ind. App. LEXIS 1534, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mcclain-indctapp-1982.