Taylor v. State

23 A.3d 851, 2011 Del. LEXIS 328, 2011 WL 2496044
Supreme Court of Delaware·Decided June 22, 2011·No. No. 434, 2010·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinions

BERGER, Justice,

for the majority:

In this criminal appeal we consider, among other issues, whether a witness’s out-of-court statement was voluntary, and therefore admissible under 11 Del. C. § 3507. For the first two hours after he was taken into custody, the witness denied any knowledge of the murder under investigation. The interrogating officer then handcuffed the witness to his chair leg and (falsely) told the witness he was going to be arrested. After breaking down and crying, the witness gave a statement incriminating appellant. The Superior Court reviewed the taped statement and concluded that the statement was voluntary because the witness’s will was not overborne. We hold that a statement given by witness who has been handcuffed and told that he is being arrested is presumptively involuntary unless the witness is given the same protections afforded to suspects who are in police custody. Accordingly, we reverse.

Factual and Procedural Background

One evening in August 2008, Jaiquon Moore was walking down West 5th Street, in Wilmington, Delaware. He passed three men — Allen Taylor, Timmy Carter, and Steven Sanders — who were sitting on some steps. After passing them, Moore turned back. The three men stood up and started approaching Moore. The men exchanged words. Then Taylor pulled out a gun and shot Moore twice. Taylor, Car[853]*853ter, and Sanders fled as a crowd gathered around Moore, who was dying.

The police never recovered the weapon or any shell casings. There was no DNA evidence, fingerprint evidence, video from surveillance cameras, or confession. The police did track Taylor’s cell phone calls. The police learned that about two hours after the killing, Taylor used his cell phone from a location about two miles from the crime scene. About one hour after that, the cell phone was tracked to Haddonfield, New Jersey, near the New Jersey Turnpike. The following afternoon, the cell phone was used in Brooklyn, New York, and continued to be used in the New York City area for about four days. Taylor was arrested in New York several months later.

Several witnesses testified at trial. Ra-heem Smith, a friend of Moore’s, testified that he saw Moore pass Carter, Sanders, and Taylor, and within seconds he heard gunshots. Smith did not see who shot Moore. Aieyenia Bailey gave conflicting statements to the police. In one, she said she saw Carter hand Taylor a gun. At trial, she testified that she did not see anyone with a gun. Lashelle Kent testified that Taylor shot Moore with a silver gun. Her testimony conflicted, to some extent, with her statement to the police. Sanders testified that he did not see the shooting. The State introduced his videotaped statement, in which Sanders identified Taylor as the person who shot Moore.

The jury convicted Taylor of first degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Taylor was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. This appeal followed.

Discussion

Taylor argues that his conviction should be reversed because Sanders’ statement, which was a significant part of the State’s case, was inadmissible. Under 11 Del. C. § 3507, a witness’s out-of-court statement may not be admitted as affirmative evidence unless the statement is voluntary. A statement is involuntary if the totality of the circumstances demonstrate that the witness’s will was overborne.1 This Court has recognized several factors that indicate a statement is involuntary: 1) failure to advise the witness of his constitutional rights2; 2) lies “about an important aspect of the case ... ”3; 3) threats that the authorities will take the witness’s child away4; 4) extended periods of detention without food5; and 5) extravagant promises or inducements.6

At the time of his interrogation, Sanders was 26 years old, unemployed and homeless. He was taken into custody as he got off of a bus. The police officer told him that he was being brought in on a domestic violence charge. At the station, Sanders was placed in an interrogation room, and Detective Matthew Hall started asking Sanders about the murder of Moore. Hall told Sanders that the police knew Sanders was on the street the night Moore was [854]*854shot, but that the police did not believe Sanders pulled the trigger.

For more than two hours, Hall demanded that Sanders tell him who shot Moore, and Sanders denied that he knew. Hall explained to Sanders that, by fleeing with the others, Sanders appeared to have conspired with them and appeared to be guilty. Hall then left the room for a few minutes. When he returned, Hall handcuffed Sanders to Sanders’ chair, and told Sanders: “Here’s the deal. I just got off the phone with the A.G.’s Office and you’re being arrested.”7 Sanders immediately started crying and yelling, “I do not know, I do not know.”8 and “I can’t go to jail.”9 Hall agreed, saying, “You’ve got two boys to think about.”10 Sanders then asked, “What is it that you want me to say?”11 Hall replied that he wanted Sanders to tell him the truth.

Sanders stopped crying and eventually agreed that he was on the block at the time of the shooting. When Sanders stopped providing information, Hall reminded him that Sanders had two boys to think about, and that, if he did not tell Hall who the killer was, the children “might be calling someone else Daddy”12 for the rest of Sanders’ life. Over the next 10 minutes, Sanders told Hall what he saw. Sanders said that he heard a shot and turned to see Taylor with a towel over his hand. Sanders saw sparks coming from the towel as he heard more shots being fired.

The trial court viewed the videotaped statement and concluded that Sanders’ will had not been overborne.

I. Voluntariness of Sanders’ Statement

This Court generally defers to the trial court’s factual determination as to voluntariness.13 There are circumstances unique to this case, however, that require a different analysis. As always, the totality of the circumstances must be considered. And, it is settled law that the police may use tactics such as deceit, threats, and promises without necessarily rendering the witness’s statement involuntary.14 But in this case, Hall handcuffed Sanders and told him that he was being arrested. That was a lie, but Sanders obviously believed Hall, because Sanders started crying and screaming that he did not know anything and that he could not go to jail.

The legal issue is whether the § 3507 statement of the witness was voluntary.15 Since custodial interrogations are inherently coercive, any statement by a defendant in custody is presumptively involuntary in the absence of certain procedural safeguards.16

This venerated principle of law was established by the United States Supreme [855]*855Court in Miranda17 in cases involving the custodial interrogations of suspects who are actually under arrest. In those situations, unless the procedural safeguards established by Miranda are adhered to, any statement by the accused cannot be admitted into evidence.

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

Taylor v. State, 23 A.3d 851, 2011 Del. LEXIS 328, 2011 WL 2496044 (Del. 2011).

23 A.3d 851 (Taylor v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Wing v. State
Supreme Court of Delaware, 2024
Com. v. Hall, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
State v. Garnett
Superior Court of Delaware, 2022
State v. Pierce
Superior Court of Delaware, 2018
State of Delaware v. Cody W. Shutak
Delaware Court of Common Pleas, 2017
Starling v. State
130 A.3d 316 (Supreme Court of Delaware, 2015)
Gray v. State
Supreme Court of Delaware, 2015
Wyche v. State
113 A.3d 162 (Supreme Court of Delaware, 2015)