State v. Robinson

209 N.W.2d 374, 87 S.D. 375, 1973 S.D. LEXIS 127
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 12, 1973
DocketFile 11059
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 209 N.W.2d 374 (State v. Robinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota 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. Robinson, 209 N.W.2d 374, 87 S.D. 375, 1973 S.D. LEXIS 127 (S.D. 1973).

Opinions

DOYLE, Justice.

Robinson, the defendant and appellant herein, was convicted of third degree burglary and given a sentence of three years in the state penitentiary, from which conviction and sentence he appeals.

The defendant was arrested by the son of the owner of the Town ’N Country Motel in Rapid City after the burglar alarm in his office indicated that one of the motel units had been broken into. The son blocked the driveway with his car preventing the [377]*377white Mustang — driven by Robinson with a companion passenger —from leaving the premises. Robinson initially ran away, but then returned and attempted to bribe the son not to call the police.

Officer Del Grosso, the first policeman on the scene, read the Miranda warning to the defendant; Robinson said that he did not wish to talk to him. Officer Del Grosso did not question him further, but took him to the police station where a second police officer, Detective Scherr, read Robinson and his companion the Miranda warning again in the presence of Officer Del Grosso. Following this, Robinson indicated that he was willing to make a statement to Detective Scherr. This statement amounted to a full voluntary admission of guilt by Robinson. The defendant was brought to trial and convicted by a jury. Prior to sentencing, the defendant consented to a presentence investigation. At the time of sentencing the judge had the report in hand, and upon motion of Robinson’s counsel, summarized the report in open court. The judge then gave Robinson an opportunity to rebut the adverse information by means of witnesses presented in court. After these proceedings the judge imposed the sentence indicated above. In this appeal Robinson claims error was committed in two respects.

The first claimed error concerns the Miranda warning. The defendant claims the trial court prejudicially erred in permitting Officer Del Grosso and Detective Scherr to testify as to statements obtained by them from defendant in custodial interrogation conducted in the office of Detective Scherr within fifteen minutes after defendant had stated to one of the officers that he did not wish to make any statements.

When Officer Del Grosso arrived at the motel he informed the defendant of his constitutional rights to remain silent and to have a counsel in accordance with the mandate of Miranda v. State of Arizona, 1966, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694. The defendant indicated he did not wish to talk to the officer and no further questions were asked. The officer took the defendant to the police station and there Detective Scherr again told the defendant what his rights were and asked him if he understood those rights. The defendant indicated he understood [378]*378his rights and was now willing to talk to Detective Scherr. At this point the defendant gave his confession which is now objected to as being contrary to his constitutional rights as stated in Miranda v. State of Arizona, supra. The defendant relies principally on two cases. People v. Fioritto, 1968, 68 Cal.2d 714, 68 Cal.Rptr. 817, 441 P.2d 625, and State v. Godfrey, 1968, 182 Neb. 451, 155 N.W.2d 438, cert. den. 392 U.S. 937, 88 S.Ct. 2309, 20 L.Ed.2d 1396.

The court in Fioritto took the position that once a defendant has declined to answer questions, regardless of subsequent events, he may not be questioned until counsel is appointed and he must voluntarily initiate any further statement in order for the statement to be admissible. Many courts have found Fioritto to be of no effect and against the great weight of the authority. In the majority of jurisdictions the determination as to whether an in-custody defendant has waived his Miranda rights depends in each case upon a careful analysis of the facts and circumstances of the case. McIntyre v. State of New York, 1971, D.C.N.Y., 329 F.Supp. 9; United States v. Anderson, 1968, 2 Cir., 394 F.2d 743; United States v. Brady, 1970, 2 Cir., 421 F.2d 681; United States v. Grady, 1970, 5 Cir., 423 F.2d 1091; Wilson v. United States, 1968, 5 Cir., 398 F.2d 331, cert. den. 1969, 393 U.S. 1069, 89 S.Ct. 727, 21 L.Ed.2d 712; Jennings v. United States, 1968, 5 Cir., 391 F.2d 512.

The defendant also relies on State v. Godfrey, supra. This is a leading case for a more liberal application of the Miranda rule. In this case the court approved a second questioning of the defendant. When first arrested the defendant declined to talk, but when questioned again six hours later the defendant confessed. The Nebraska court held such confession was admissible. The defendant in the present case relies on the following quotation from Godfrey:

“We recognize that the police cannot be permitted to attempt an in-custody interrogation and, upon being met with a refusal, return a prisoner to his cell and then attempt to repeat the procedure periodically until a statement is obtained.”

[379]*379The defendant fails however to quote the rest of that paragraph which reads as follows:

“However, an otherwise valid voluntary waiver of both the right to counsel and the right to remain silent, knowingly and intelligently made, followed by a statement, should not be transformed into invalidity merely because of silence at some prior time. One refusal to make a statement, when that refusal is fully honored, ought not to taint the substance of the entire subsequent procedures under the circumstances here.”

When this statement is taken in its entirety it applies to the present case and the second questioning by Detective Scherr after the defendant waived his rights is valid and the statement made by the defendant is admissible. There was no repeated interrogation of the defendant as referred to in the first sentence of the above quote.

The defendant also cites State v. Bishop, 1968, 272 N.C. 283, 158 S.E.2d 511, as a case which condemns the practice of continued, incessant harassment by interrogation. The court in this case stated:

“We do not interpret the portion of the Miranda opinion now under consideration to mean that when a defendant is ‘in custody’ and has been duly advised of his constitutional rights, and he states that he does not want to make a statement at the first questioning, that law enforcement officers are forever barred from asking another question. We do interpret it to mean that when a defendant is being interrogated and he indicates that he wishes to remain silent, that interrogation must not then be continued. The vice sought to be removed is the evil of continued, incessant harassment by interrogation which results in breaking the will of the suspect, thereby making his statement involuntary.”

The evidence in the present case does not disclose that the defendant was under continued, incessant harassment by the officers.

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State v. Robinson
209 N.W.2d 374 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
209 N.W.2d 374, 87 S.D. 375, 1973 S.D. LEXIS 127, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-robinson-sd-1973.