State v. Spaeth

2012 WI 95, 819 N.W.2d 769, 343 Wis. 2d 220, 2012 WL 2865888, 2012 Wisc. LEXIS 389
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 13, 2012
DocketNo. 2009AP2907-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 2012 WI 95 (State v. Spaeth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin 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. Spaeth, 2012 WI 95, 819 N.W.2d 769, 343 Wis. 2d 220, 2012 WL 2865888, 2012 Wisc. LEXIS 389 (Wis. 2012).

Opinions

DAVID T. PROSSER, J.

¶ 1. This case is before the court on certification by the court of appeals, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § (Rule) 809.61 (2009-10).1 Joseph J. Spaeth (Spaeth) appealed his convictions of four counts of child enticement after the Winnebago County Circuit Court, William H. Carver, Judge, declined to suppress an incriminating statement Spaeth made to Oshkosh police officers who were conducting a follow up investigation of incriminating admissions that Spaeth made to his probation agent during a compelled polygraph examination. Spaeth claims that his admissions to the agent were subject to use and derivative use immunity, and that the derivative use immunity covered the subsequent statement he made to Oshkosh police, even though this statement was preceded by a valid Miranda warning and Judge Carver found that the statement was voluntary. See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

[224]*224¶ 2. The court of appeals certified the case to this court, asking us "to clarify if a statement made to law enforcement following a probationer's honest accounting to an agent may become a 'wholly independent source' under Kastigar [v. United States, 406 U.S. 441, 460 (1972)] and, if so, under what parameters."

¶ 3. We hold that the statement that Spaeth made to Oshkosh police was derived from the compelled, incriminating, testimonial statement that he made to his probation agent. Thus, Spaeth's statement to police was not derived from a source "wholly independent" from his compelled testimony, as required by Kastigar and State v. Evans, 77 Wis. 2d 225, 252 N.W.2d 664 (1977), even though the statement was preceded by a valid Miranda warning. Consequently, Spaeth's statement to officers is subject to derivative use immunity and may not be used in any subsequent criminal trial. Therefore, we reverse the convictions of Joseph Spaeth and determine that his compelled statement to his probation agent, his subsequent statement to Oshkosh police, and any evidence derived from either statement must be suppressed in any criminal trial. This rule does not apply to a revocation hearing.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶ 4. In February 2006 Spaeth was on probation2 for first degree sexual assault of a child. His probation agent was Rebecca DeWitt (Agent DeWitt). On Febru[225]*225ary 15, 2006, Spaeth came to Agent DeWitt's office to participate in a polygraph examination. All sex offenders supervised by Agent DeWitt were required to take polygraph examinations at least once per year. Spaeth was required to take this examination, required to cooperate with the examiner, and required to answer questions truthfully. His failure to take the polygraph examination could have resulted in revocation of his probation. His failure to answer questions truthfully also could have resulted in a serious sanction.

¶ 5. Before taking the polygraph examination, Spaeth signed a "consent form" provided by Behavioral Measures Midwest, L.L.C., the company administering the polygraph examination. The form read in part:

[Plursuant to Wisconsin Administrative Code 332.15, my Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) Agent has requested I take a polygraph examination.
I understand that I am not required to consent to the administration of the examination, and that I can stop the examination at anytime that I desire. In regards to any admissions I make concerning offenses for which I am not on deferred adjudication, probation, or parole, or for which I have not been previously convicted by a court of law, I understand I have the right to have a lawyer present to advise me prior to any questioning and during any questioning. If I am unable to employ a lawyer, I have the right to have a lawyer appointed to counsel with me prior to and during any questioning. I have the right to remain silent and not make any statement at all and any statement I make can and may be used in evidence against me at my trial. I have the right to terminate the interview at anytime.

[226]*226¶ 6. The form given to Spaeth was not an accurate statement of the law for this probationer.3 Spaeth's failure to take the polygraph examination could have resulted in his revocation, and his refusal to sign the "consent form" could have been deemed a refusal to take the polygraph examination. In addition, any statements that Spaeth made during the polygraph examination were subject to use and derivative use immunity and could not be used against him at a criminal trial. Agent DeWitt later testified that Spaeth was aware that the polygraph results and the statements he made in the examination could not be used in a criminal prosecution.

¶ 7. A polygraph examination in these circumstances consists of three parts. First, there is pretest preparation in which the examiner goes through the rules that apply to the probationer and the probationer has an opportunity to admit in advance to any kind of rule violation. Second, there is the actual polygraph test during which the probationer is asked point by point whether he has violated any rule. Third, there is a post-test interview based on admitted rule violations and any apparent deception during the test.

¶ 8. On the morning of February 15, Spaeth signed the form, went through the pretest preparation, and took the test. Agent DeWitt was not present while the test was administered. However, following the test, she was told by the examiner that the polygraph showed that Spaeth was being deceptive.

¶ 9. Thereafter, Agent DeWitt discussed the results of the polygraph with the examiner in Spaeth's [227]*227presence. During this interview, Spaeth admitted violating his curfew, having unsupervised contact with minors, and engaging in physical contact with those minors — all violations of his rules of supervision. Specifically, Spaeth "said that he had been horse-playing with his nieces and nephews and he knew that to be wrong."

¶ 10. Believing that Spaeth had violated his supervision rules, Agent DeWitt contacted the Oshkosh Police Department to pick up Spaeth for a probation hold.

¶ 11. Before Oshkosh police officer Joseph Framke (Officer Framke) arrived, Spaeth admitted more: that he "may have brushed up against his nieces and nephews vaginas or butts or breast area." This admission changed Spaeth's status from someone who was about to be held for rules violations to someone who was about to be held in connection with a possible criminal offense. When Officer Framke arrived, he was told in Spaeth's presence that Spaeth had admitted to physical contact with minors that "may have been a sexual assault." Officer Framke later acknowledged that the agent told him that Spaeth "had made some comments about possibly having inappropriate contact with some nephews and nieces" and "having some contact with the vagina, breast and buttock area."

¶ 12. Officer Framke handcuffed Spaeth and put him in the back of his squad car.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 WI 95, 819 N.W.2d 769, 343 Wis. 2d 220, 2012 WL 2865888, 2012 Wisc. LEXIS 389, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-spaeth-wis-2012.