State v. MICHAEL L.

441 A.2d 684, 1982 Me. LEXIS 611
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedFebruary 23, 1982
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 441 A.2d 684 (State v. MICHAEL L.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. MICHAEL L., 441 A.2d 684, 1982 Me. LEXIS 611 (Me. 1982).

Opinions

ROBERTS, Justice.

The, juvenile defendant, Michael L., appeals from an order of the Superior Court, Aroostook County, denying his appeal and affirming the judgment of the District Court, Van Burén, which adjudicated him to have committed the offenses of burglary, 17-A M.R.S.A. § 401, theft by unauthorized taking, 17-A M.R.S.A. § 353, and criminal mischief, 17 — A M.R.S.A. § 806. We affirm the adjudication that the juvenile committed the offenses of burglary and theft and reverse the adjudication that the juvenile committed the offense of criminal mischief.

The adjudications as to burglary and theft relate to events which occurred on the evening of June 20,1979, when Michael was 15 years old. On that date, Michael and seven other juveniles entered the Van Bu-rén District Secondary School. There was testimony to the effect that the group went to the school, attempted to get inside through a window in the driver education room but failed as the window had been nailed shut. Michael then went home to get a hammer to open the window. One of the group entered the school through the window and opened a door to let the others in. The group eventually congregated in the teachers’ lounge where a soda machine was located. One of the juveniles testified that when he arrived at the lounge the machine was either broken and open, or just in the process of being opened, and Michael was standing near it. Michael was one of the group to take soda out of the machine. Approximately six dollars were also taken from the machine. The Van Burén police chief testified that Michael admitted to being “involved in the Coke machine.”

The second incident, which resulted in the complaint alleging criminal mischief, occurred in the fall of 1979 when Michael and other juveniles climbed onto the roof of a storage room attached to a public library. While on the roof they tore pieces of asphalt roofing off and threw them through the air.

[687]*687I. Statutory Procedures

The Van Burén police chief first learned of Michael’s involvement in these episodes on March 1,1980. On March 3, he informed the area intake worker that he was then investigating a number of juvenile cases. He interviewed Michael and his father on March 4 or 5. He testified that he was then investigating over twenty unsolved crimes at the time and still (on March 4 or 5) had quite a few leads to follow relating to this matter. On April 2 he turned twelve cases, including Michael’s case, over to the intake worker.

Michael’s counsel uses these facts to argue that the police failed to immediately notify an intake worker as required by 15 M.R.S.A. § 3203(1) and that he was, therefore, denied the benefits and protections of 15 M.R.S.A. § 3301.1 We find no merit in this argument. The commentary to subsection 1 of section 3203 states the subsection “was amended in 1978 by P.L. 1977, c. 664 to require the officer to refer a case to an intake worker once he has decided that juvenile court proceedings should be commenced against the juvenile.” 15 M.R. S.A. § 3203 (Commentary — 1979) (emphasis added). Here, the police were still conducting their investigation in March when Michael claims they should have referred the case to an intake worker. No decision had yet been made as to whether juvenile court proceedings should be commenced. We think it would indeed be anomalous to require police to refer cases to intake workers before they have even completed their investigations. Absent a showing of dilatory police practices, the word “immediate,” as used in the statute, refers to that point in time at which the police have decided on the basis of their investigation that court proceedings should be brought. Defense counsel has made no showing that the referral was not here accomplished promptly and expeditiously.

II. Admissibility of Admissions Made By Michael L.

Michael next attacks the admissibility at trial of his admission, given in the presence of the Van Burén police chief, that he had been involved with the break in the school and the theft from the soda machine. The appellant claims that the admission was involuntary, that promises of leniency were made to him and that the police chief deliberately used a parent to secure the admission.

The confession was made to the police chief in the presence of Michael’s father. The chief gave Michael a Miranda card which Michael read and said he understood. The chief then advised Michael that he had information that Michael had been involved in the school incident. Michael didn’t say anything. Michael’s father then said: “Did you do this?” Michael replied that he had been involved in the incident at the school.

Defense counsel claims that the police used Michael’s father “to cause a confession from the child” and that such conduct is contrary to fundamental fairness [688]*688and governmental fair play. The juvenile court did not find that the police conduct was coercive, nor do we. We have previously rejected a per se rule requiring the notification of an adult interested in a juvenile’s welfare prior to interrogation in favor of a totality-of-the-circumstances test as the standard by which to measure the waiver of Miranda rights by a juvenile. State v. Ann Marie C., Me., 407 A.2d 715, 724-25 (1979). See Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707, 725, 99 S.Ct. 2560, 2572, 61 L.Ed.2d 197, 212 (1979). Here, of course, the juvenile’s parent was with him during the questioning and, indeed, asked the question which resulted in the juvenile’s admission in the presence of the police officer. The police informed Michael of his rights but did not do so in the presence of Michael’s father and, in fact, never informed Michael’s father of his son’s Miranda rights. Though it would be preferable to advise an adult interested in a juvenile’s welfare of the juvenile’s Miranda rights, as well as the interrogation itself, failure to do so does not mechanically render a subsequent waiver per se invalid. Failure to notify an adult of the juvenile’s Miranda rights is a factor to be used, in addition to such factors as the juvenile’s age, experience, education, background, intelligence, and capacity to understand his rights, see Fare v. Michael G, 442 U.S. 707, 725, 99 S.Ct. 2560, 2572, 61 L.Ed.2d 197, 212 (1979), in assessing whether a juvenile has effectively waived his Miranda rights. Ann Marie G, 407 A.2d at 724. We do not, however, give such a failure disposi-tive weight. Id.

Following a hearing the District Court judge found beyond a reasonable doubt that the statements made by Michael were made freely and voluntarily. Applying the totality-of-the-circumstances test, we find rational support exists for that determination. See State v. Bleyl, Me., 435 A.2d 1349, 1358 (1981); State v. Simmons, Me., 435 A.2d 1090, 1092 (1981); State v. Farley, Me., 358 A.2d 516, 519 (1976). Here, we find nothing in the record which would have compelled the conclusion that Michael’s free will had been overridden by the question addressed to him by his father. See Simmons,

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State v. NICHOLAS S.
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State v. MICHAEL L.
441 A.2d 684 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1982)

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