State v. Nakdimen

735 S.W.2d 799, 1987 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 2466
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJanuary 26, 1987
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 735 S.W.2d 799 (State v. Nakdimen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Nakdimen, 735 S.W.2d 799, 1987 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 2466 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

OPINION

ARTHUR C. FAQUIN, Jr., Special Judge.

Pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, the State appeals. The sole issue before this Court is whether the trial court erred in granting the defendant’s motion to suppress self-incriminating statements made by him to a police officer, in the absence of his attorney, after he had been advised of his Miranda rights, had refused to waive those rights, and had requested that his attorney be present during his questioning.

The State argues that the court erred in granting the motion.

In support of its argument, the State contends that the constitutional requirements concerning the admissibility of incriminating statements as set forth in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), apply only when there is a “custodial interrogation,” [800]*800and since the defendant was not “in custody” at the time his statements were made, the Miranda requirements did not apply, and his statements should not have been suppressed.

In the Miranda decision, the Court determined that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments’ prohibition against compelled self-incrimination required that “custodial interrogation” be preceded by advice to the putative defendant that he has the right to remain silent and that he also has the right to the presence of an attorney. 384 U.S., at 479, 86 S.Ct., at 1630. If the accused requests counsel, the interrogation must cease until an attorney is present. 384 U.S., at 474, 86 S.Ct., at 1627. Once the right to have counsel present during “custodial interrogation” has been invoked by the accused, the police may not continue to question him until counsel is available, unless the accused himself initiates further communication, exchanges, or conversations with the police. Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 484-485,101 S.Ct. 1880, 1885, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981).

Whether or not a suspect has been subjected to “custodial interrogation” requiring Miranda warnings is a factual issue, and when such questions are presented to the trial court for determination, each case must be controlled by its own facts, and all of the circumstances must be taken into consideration by the judge in making his decision. See State v. Morris, 224 Tenn. 437, 443, 456 S.W.2d 840, 842 (1970); Childs v. State, 584 S.W.2d 783, 788 (Tenn.1979). Certain rules, which have been laid down for the use of the trial judge in determining these questions, are set forth in the Morris and Childs decisions, supra, under the following general headings:

1. The nature of the interrogator.
2. The nature of the suspect.
3. The time and place of the interrogation.
4. The nature of the interrogation.
5. The progress of the investigation at the time of the interrogation.

224 Tenn., at 443, 456 S.W.2d, at 842; and 584 S.W.2d, at 788.

In the case sub judice, the trial judge, in suppressing the defendant’s complained-of statements, considered the “totality of the circumstances” and applied these rules in making his decision.

The evidence upon which the trial judge based his ruling was adduced at the defendant Nakdimen’s suppression hearing and revealed the following:

Henry Wood, a detective with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, began investigating the defendant Nakdimen for the alleged sexual abuse of his (the defendant’s) daughter as a result of a telephone call from the district attorney general’s office on November 28, 1984.

On that same day, as part of his investigation, Wood contacted Thelma Schroyer, of the Department of Human Services, who expressed to him the belief that the defendant, Barton Nakdimen, was responsible for the sexual abuse of this child.

On the next day, Wood contacted Nakdi-men, who was the only suspect at the time. Before he contacted him, however, Wood’s investigation was primarily focused on Nakdimen as the perpetrator of the alleged offense, and based upon the information that he possessed at that time, Wood felt that it was very critical to the prosecution of the case to obtain a statement from Nakdimen. In fact, Wood felt that it was necessary for one to be obtained from him before he could proceed on to the grand jury. So, using information that he received from Ms. Schroyer, Wood telephoned the defendant and asked him to come in for an interview.

According to the defendant, Detective Wood telephoned him twice on the morning of November 29, 1984, and insisted that he come to the detective’s office before noon of that same day. Although he followed the detective’s instructions, the defendant’s testimony indicated that he went to the Sheriff's Office only because he thought it was required by the authorities, and he felt he had no choice.

Upon the defendant’s arrival at the Sheriff's Office on the morning he received the calls from Wood, he was escorted by Wood to a small, windowless interrogation room. [801]*801His wife, who had accompanied him to the Sheriffs Office, was not permitted to go with them to the room or to be present when he was interviewed. She was required to remain at the front of the office, seated where the secretaries sat.

Before the interview began, Wood read the Miranda rights to the defendant and determined that he understood them. However, when Wood asked him if he would sign a waiver of these rights and give him a statement, he refused, stating that his attorney had advised him by telephone, earlier that morning, not to sign anything or provide information beyond his name, address, and telephone number.

When the defendant indicated to Wood that he wanted his lawyer present, Wood escorted him from the interrogation room to his desk in another room. From there, Wood telephoned the defendant’s attorney and told him that he “had his client in” his office and wanted to interview him, but that his client refused to talk to him. Wood also advised the attorney of the alleged offense and asked him to come down for the interview, which, apparently, had been arranged upon short notice. Because the attorney was engaged with another client at that moment, it was agreed that he and the defendant would meet with the detective on the following afternoon for an interview. However, the attorney indicated to Wood that the defendant would only give information concerning his name, address, phone number, social security number, etc.

At this point, the testimony becomes controverted.

According to the defendant’s testimony, he presumed that his attorney was coming down at that time, and he was not told that Wood and his attorney had set up an appointment for an interview for the next day. After Wood had completed the telephone conversation with his attorney, the defendant asked Wood whether he could leave at that time.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
735 S.W.2d 799, 1987 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 2466, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-nakdimen-tenncrimapp-1987.