United States ex rel. Riley v. Franzen

653 F.2d 1153, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 11569
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 10, 1981
DocketNo. 80-2588
StatusPublished
Cited by47 cases

This text of 653 F.2d 1153 (United States ex rel. Riley v. Franzen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States ex rel. Riley v. Franzen, 653 F.2d 1153, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 11569 (7th Cir. 1981).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Petitioner-appellant Thomas Riley appeals from a judgment, entered after an evidentiary hearing, denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Riley argues that for two reasons the district court erroneously concluded that his confession, given during a custodial interrogation, properly was admitted into evidence at his state court trial. First, Riley asserts that by requesting to speak with his father during the interrogation he invoked his rights to silence and to the assistance of counsel, as delineated in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and that by failing to honor that request the police violated those rights. Riley also contends that his confession was involuntary. For the reasons given below, we affirm.

I.

A.

After a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Riley was convicted of two counts of murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to two concurrent terms of imprisonment of 75 to 225 years for the murder counts and to a term of imprisonment of 3 to 10 years for the involuntary manslaughter count, concurrent with the murder sentence. Prior to trial, Riley unsuccessfully moved to suppress his confession, presenting, inter alia, the two arguments pressed in these habeas proceedings.

Riley’s conviction was affirmed by the Illinois Appellate Court. People v. Riley, 49 Ill.App.3d 304, 7 Ill.Dec. 145, 364 N.E.2d 306 (1st Dist. 1977). That court also rejected Riley’s challenges to the admissibility of his confession. The Illinois Supreme Court denied leave to appeal and, with Justices Brennan and Marshall dissenting, the Supreme Court denied certiorari. Riley v. Illinois, 435 U.S. 1000, 98 S.Ct. 1657, 56 L.Ed.2d 91 (1978).

Having exhausted his available state court remedies,1 Riley filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the district court urging as grounds for relief the two arguments presented here. In an unpublished decision, the district court denied the petition without a hearing. United States ex rel. Riley v. Franzen, 79-C-1681 (N.D.Ill. August 16, 1979) (McMillen, J.). However, in a previous appeal, we remanded with instructions to conduct an evidentiary hearing.2 After the resultant evidentiary hearing, Judge McMillen made extensive findings of fact and again denied habeas relief. United States ex rel. Riley v. Franzen, 79-C — 1681 (N.D.Ill. October 7, 1980) (Unpublished Memorandum). This appeal followed.

B.

For our purposes the facts regarding the homicides themselves are set forth adequately in the opinion of the Illinois Appellate Court. People v. Riley, 49 Ill.App.3d at 307, 7 Ill.Dec. 145, 364 N.E.2d 306. Conse[1156]*1156quently, those facts will not be restated here. However, the facts pertinent to our disposition of Riley’s confession claims must be set forth in some detail. In this regard we note that Riley does not argue, nor does it appear, that the district court’s findings are clearly erroneous. However, we have found it necessary to amplify those findings by utilizing the parties’ stipulations which were submitted to the district court and by examining the evidentiary hearing transcript and state court record ourselves.

At approximately 5:15 p. m. on February 27, 1974, shortly after the shooting deaths of three young men at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois were reported to the police, Thomas Riley, then eight days short of his seventeenth birthday, and his brother Ernest, then eighteen years old, were arrested in connection with the homicides as they hitched a ride in the vicinity of the cemetery.3 The brothers initially were stopped by officers Pennix and Moore of the Robbins Police Department.4 Officer Pennix contacted the Alsip Police Department, which sent a patrol car driven by Alsip Police Officer Scaglione. Alsip Police Sgt. Rice also was present at this time.

Officer Scaglione drove the two brothers to the Burr Oak Cemetery.5 According to Riley, the drive took approximately five or ten minutes, during which Officer Scaglione neither advised the brothers of their “Miranda” rights nor questioned them.6 There were many police and police vehicles at the cemetery upon the brothers’ arrival there. Officer Scaglione parked the squad car approximately seventy-five feet inside of the cemetery gate. There, the brothers sat inside of the squad car for approximately twenty minutes until they were taken to the Alsip Police Station. United States ex rel. Riley v. Franzen, 79-C — 1681, Unpublished Decision at 4, Finding No. 4 (N.D.Ill. October 7, 1980) (hereinafter cited as “Decision”); E.H. at 19, 89; see also Stipulations, 110.7

[1157]*1157Essentially two things pertinent to our inquiry occurred during the brothers’ stay at the cemetery. First, the body of one of the homicide victims covered by a blanket was lying in Riley’s view. He “knew what was there but ... no coercive reference was made to it by any police officer.” Decision at 3-4, Finding No. 4. Also, “two young boys who had originally told the police where the suspects had fled were brought to the police car but were not able to identify the petitioner or his brother. The petitioner’s father and stepmother had been brought to the cemetery but were not allowed any contact with the petitioner.” Id. at 3, Finding No. 3; see also Stipulations, 112. There is no indication that Riley was interrogated at the cemetery or made any challenged statements while there.

Riley and his brother were driven from the cemetery separately. As Riley left the ,'emetery he was given Miranda warnings by a plainclothes police officer. Although Riley testified that he was “scared” and “nervous,” E.H. at 23, he also acknowledged that he understood the warnings when they were read to him.

Riley arrived at the Alsip Police Station at approximately 6:00 p. m.

[His] clothing was taken for the purpose of a laboratory examination, but he was shortly thereafter allowed to put on his underclothes and socks. He was also given a blanket which he wrapped around his waist.8 He was put in a cell next to his brother Ernest and, when they began conversing between themselves, a police officer handcuffed one hand of each boy to his respective bunk. This did not cause any particular discomfort, since the boys were able to sit down on their bunks, but it did prevent them from communicating further. This restraint was removed at or shortly after 8:00 p. m.

Decision at 4, Finding No. 5 (footnote added).

During this initial two hour period in the police station Riley overheard the father of one of the victims “accost the older brother verbally. [The father] did not have any conversation with the petitioner, however.” Decision at 6, Finding No. 8. Also, “[Riley’s] older brother Ernest had told him that since [Riley] was a juvenile, he should take the ‘weight’ if any charges were made.” Id. at 5, Finding No. 7.9 Riley’s father arrived at the police station at approximately 7:30 p. m.

At approximately 8:00 p. m.

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Bluebook (online)
653 F.2d 1153, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 11569, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-riley-v-franzen-ca7-1981.