State v. White

762 S.E.2d 726, 410 S.C. 56, 2014 WL 3844247, 2014 S.C. App. LEXIS 208
CourtCourt of Appeals of South Carolina
DecidedAugust 6, 2014
DocketAppellate Case No. 2011-201286; No. 5259
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 762 S.E.2d 726 (State v. White) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. White, 762 S.E.2d 726, 410 S.C. 56, 2014 WL 3844247, 2014 S.C. App. LEXIS 208 (S.C. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinions

GEATHERS, J.

Victor White was convicted of murder and armed robbery stemming from a shooting during an arranged marijuana purchase. The incident took place inside of the victim’s vehicle at an empty Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) parking lot. White appeals his convictions, arguing the trial court erred in admitting his recorded statement because the statement was the direct product of the impermissible tactic of “question first, give Miranda1 rights later,” which has been expressly forbidden by the Supreme Court in Missouri v. Seibert, 542 U.S. 600, 124 S.Ct. 2601, 159 L.Ed.2d 643 (2004), and our supreme court in State v. Navy, 386 S.C. 294, 688 S.E.2d 838 (2010). We affirm.

1. Voluntariness and Admissibility of White’s Statement

In both Seibert and Navy, the courts emphasized that Miranda’s warnings requirement cannot be skirted by interrogative tactics that undermine the very purpose of Miranda, i.e., unless and until such warnings and waiver are given, no evidence obtained as a result of interrogation can be used against a defendant at trial. See Miranda, 384 U.S. at 478-79, 86 S.Ct. 1602; Seibert, 542 U.S. at 617, 124 S.Ct. 2601; Navy, 386 S.C. at 303-04, 688 S.E.2d at 842.

[58]*58Here, there is conflicting evidence as to whether White’s statement was taken in violation of our supreme court’s holding in Navy. By White’s testimony, alone, he presents evidence that Navy’s forbidden “question-first, give Miranda warnings later” tactic was employed in his interrogation. On the other hand, the State points to the testimony of two investigators who stressed they did not elicit any information from White prior to his signing of the Miranda rights waiver form. The State argues the investigators’ testimony is further corroborated by the waiver form, which indicates White voluntarily waived his rights prior to answering any questions.2

Because there is conflicting evidence, the trial court was charged with making a finding that White received Miranda warnings and intelligently waived his right to silence prior to making a statement. See State v. Silver, 307 S.C. 326, 330, 414 S.E.2d 813, 815 (Ct.App.1992) (“Where there is conflicting evidence regarding the statements, the court must make a finding as to their validity.”). White concedes his statement was given “voluntarily.” However, he contests the timing of the Miranda warnings, which necessarily implicates State v. Navy and the issue of whether he intelligently and voluntarily waived his right to remain silent prior to making a statement. See State v. Miller, 375 S.C. 370, 380, 652 S.E.2d 444, 449 (Ct.App.2007) (finding the “intelligent waiver mandate” is in addition to the voluntariness requirement of Miranda).

In the pre-trial Jackson v. Denno3 hearing, the trial court did not make an explicit finding as to whether White’s statement was taken in violation of State v. Navy. Rather, the trial court simply found White’s statement was “freely and voluntarily given and the jury will be able to hear the statement.” Because White already conceded the voluntariness of his statement, but challenged the timing of the Miranda warnings with the taking of his statement as a Navy violation, the trial court was charged with making a factual finding as to this [59]*59issue, i.e., whether the interrogative procedure through which the statement was obtained comported with Navy. Therefore, the trial court erred by not making sufficient findings of fact as to the statement’s admissibility.

2. Harmless Error

Even if, as White argues, his statement was admitted in violation of Navy, we believe any error in its admission was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

In State v. Creech, 314 S.C. 76, 441 S.E.2d 635 (Ct.App. 1993), this court reiterated the Supreme Court of the United States’ holding in Chapman v. California4 that error of even constitutional magnitude may be deemed harmless if, “considering the entire record on appeal, the reviewing court finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not contribute to the verdict.” Id. at 86, 441 S.E.2d at 640 (citing Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967)); see also Taylor v. State, 312 S.C. 179, 181, 439 S.E.2d 820, 821 (1993). Similarly, in State v. Easler, our supreme court intimated that any error in the failure to suppress a statement allegedly taken in violation of Miranda is subject to a harmless error analysis. 327 S.C. 121, 129, 489 S.E.2d 617, 621-22 (1997); see also State v. Newell, 303 S.C. 471, 477, 401 S.E.2d 420, 424 (Ct.App.1991) (finding failure to suppress evidence for Miranda violation harmless where record contained overwhelming evidence of guilt); State v. Lynch, 375 S.C. 628, 636, 654 S.E.2d 292, 296 (Ct.App.2007) (“The failure to suppress evidence for possible Miranda violations is harmless if the record contains sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”).5 Harmless error rules, even in dealing with constitutional errors, “serve a very useful purpose insofar as they block setting aside convictions for small errors or defects that have little, if any, likelihood of having changed the result of the trial.” Chapman, 386 U.S. at 22, 87 S.Ct. 824.

[60]*60Here, considering the entire record on appeal, we conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that any alleged error in admitting White’s statement was harmless. White’s appellate counsel insists the admission of White’s statement was “devastating” because it allowed police to place White at the crime scene. However, notwithstanding White’s statement, cell phone evidence clearly placed Victim and White together at the time and place of the murder. With information “pinged” from Victim’s and White’s cell phones to nearby cell towers, investigators were able to triangulate Victim’s and White’s positions and movements leading up to the murder. The data confirmed Victim and White were near the KFC and within close proximity of each other at the time of the murder. Furthermore, the data also revealed that Victim’s last answered phone communication was an incoming call from White placed immediately before the estimated time of the murder.

Furthermore, the testimony presented at trial also placed White at the crime scene and overwhelmingly established White’s guilt. Reggie Miller, an accomplice, testified he and White agreed to participate in a robbery, under the guise of a marijuana purchase, on the night of the murder.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Phillip Wayne Lowery
Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 2022
State v. Short
Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 2021
State v. Williams
Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 2019
State v. Murray
Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 2016
State v. Medley
787 S.E.2d 847 (Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 2016)
STAFFORD v. GARELECK Et Al.
769 S.E.2d 169 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
762 S.E.2d 726, 410 S.C. 56, 2014 WL 3844247, 2014 S.C. App. LEXIS 208, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-white-scctapp-2014.