Lead Opinion
David L. Butzin appeals from the district court’s
The facts of this case are set forth in the Minnesota Court of Appeals opinion affirming Butzin’s convictions, State v. Butzin,
The sheriff’s office contacted Butzin’s father-in-law and asked him to tell Butzin that the sheriff wanted to question him at about 1:00 o’clock on August 26, 1985, at the Wadena County Law Enforcement Center. Butzin showed up as requested, and was questioned about the deaths of his wife and son. He was not arrested initially, but was given the following warning: “David, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you at no cost.” But-zin then proceeded to answer the questions put to him by Chief Deputy Sheriff Steven Young. Also present to assist with the questioning was Gary Nelson, a retired Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Agent. The questioning took place in Deputy Young’s office, and proceeded for аpproximately one hour. During this time Butzin stated that he did not know when Melody and Alex had died.
He was then interviewed for twenty-five minutes to an hour by Richard Polipnick, a private investigator the County had hired to assist in the investigation.
He spent the night in jail, and after breakfast thе next morning asked to speak with Deputy Young. He told Young that he had “not been totally honest the day before.” Young asked Butzin if he remembered the rights that had been read to him the day before, and he replied that he did. Young then asked Butzin what it was that he had not been honest about. Butzin replied that he had not accidentally bumped Melody, but that he had pushed her into
Butzin challenges the admissibility of his statements on the ground that he was not expressly advised of his right to have counsel present during interrogation. See Miranda v. Arizona,
“ ‘Interrogation,’ as conceptualized in the Miranda opinion, must reflect a measure of compulsion above and beyond that inherent in custody itself.” Innis,
Moreover, Butzin’s confession was not in response to the interrogation oí the day before. It was he who asked to renew his contact with Deputy Young after a night’s sleep and breakfast in the morning. He had already made а statement, but was at that point not under great pressure from the authorities to say any more. He had been warned the day before of his right to remain silent, and that his statements could be used against him. He stated that he remembered these warnings. Apparently for his own reasons he wanted to give an honest account of the events leading to the deaths of his wife and child. Cf. Oregon v. Elstad,
Finally, we reject Butzin’s claim that his confessions were involuntary. Our review of the record reveals no threats, рromises, violence, or other improper conduct on the part of the police in interrogating Butzin. Rachlin v. United States,
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.
Notes
. The Honorable Robert G. Renner, United States District Judge, District of Minnesota.
. The record reveals that Polipnick may have given Butzin a Miranda warning, but the substance of that warning is not part of the record on appeal. The State apparently places no reliance on Polipnick’s warning; neither party makes any reference to it in the argument portions of the briefs.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent.
The basic fallacy of the majority opinion relates to the finding that certain incriminating statements given by the defendant were harmless error. On this basis the court justifies the failure to decide the central issue raised on this appeal, to-wit: whether or not the defendant was given a proper warning under Miranda v. Arizona,
I find fault with this analysis for several reasons.
My basic concern is the attempt by the majority to apply a harmless error rule to the critical issue on appeal because of the subsequent alleged voluntary statement. Although I have some difficulty in viewing the “voluntariness” of the confession made to the police officers the second day, for purposes here, I will assume that it was voluntary and the statements made were incriminating in nature.
Here the initial warning given by the police officer at the time of Butzin’s initial interrogation failed to provide Butzin with the information that he had a right to consult with a lawyer prior to further questioning and to have the lawyer with him during the interrogation. This right is clearly pronounced by the Miranda decision,
David you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you at no cost. Do you understand these rights?
The critical issue in this case, which the majority chooses to avoid, is whether or not this warning, given on the day before his voluntary statement, was in fact an adequate warning. The issue that was argued vigorously by both sides in their briefs and orally beforе this court was whether or not this warning conveyed sufficient information to the defendant so that he could fully understand that he had a right to consult with a lawyer before he was interrogated and to have the lawyer with him during the interrogation. The parties have a right to have this issue passed upon.
The recent case of California v. Prysock,
In Miranda the Supreme Court made the following requirement clear: “[T]he need for counsel to protect the Fifth Amendment privilege comprehends not merely a right to consult with counsel prior to questioning, but also to have counsel present during any questioning if the defendant so desires.” Miranda,
In a decision decided just this last term, the Supreme Court in Duckworth v. Eagan, — U.S. -,
In the present case the majority opinion must implicitly assume that Butzin’s rights were violated in the fаilure to properly give the warning the first day but that that error is somehow harmless beyond a reasonable doubt for the simple reason that the defendant, while in custody, came forward in a voluntary manner and made a more incriminating confession.
Curiously, the majority emphasizes the fact that Butzin did not confess to too much and relies upon the statement by defendant’s counsel that the first interrogation was “not the stuff of premeditated murder, rather, arguably it’s [a] manslaughter type confession and it was certainly not what convicted him. The second statement * * * provided the proof of intent.” This approach totally misconceives and misunderstands the message of Miranda. Whether the statements are incul-patory or exculpatory, whether they incriminate a little bit or not at all is immaterial. See Miranda,
The Minnesota Court of Appeals faced this question and did not attempt to separate the two statements. See State v. Butzin,
The argument of the government, which the majority fails to discuss, is that the first day was not a custodial interrogation and that this case is in accord with California v. Beheler,
These arguments should be answered. I would find that there was a custodial interrogation at the commencement of Butzin’s interrogation on the first day at the police station. If not at the commencement, certainly at some intermediate phase of the interrogation a custodial accusatorial interrogation took place. It is true that Butzin came to the police station of his own volition. At the time he came, however, he was clearly a suspect. Further, the police had prepared a series of 150 questions to present to him during his initial questioning. It was during this initial questioning that Butzin stated he did not know whеn his wife and child had died.
Subsequent to the first interrogation, which lasted approximately one hour, Polip-nick, a private investigator for the county, arrived and questioned Butzin. Based upon the silent record we must assume he did not give any Miranda warning. In the interim the two officers once again set out to interrogate Butzin for another fifteen to twenty minutes, and then Polipnick came in and inquired of Butzin: “David, you’re in a world of hurt, aren’t you? Why don’t you tell me what happened out there at Cat Creek, David?” Butzin replied: “I lied, I was there.” Although this statement was incriminating, Butzin had not yet admitted his complicity in the crime itself. Polipnick left the office and once again the two deputies returned. Certainly at this stage, if not before, a custodial interrogation commenced. This interrogation led to a signed confession after which he was arrested and placed in jail.
I respectfully submit that for the majority to urge that it is unnecessary to address the issue of the adequacy of the Miranda warning, because Butzin's statement the next morning was voluntary and totally unrelated to the custodial questioning of the day before, is fundamental error. The case should be reversed and a writ issued conditioned on granting Butzin a new trial.
. The majority holds that the statements made the second day, following Butzin’s custodial arrest, were not "interrogation.” I seriously question this. Although Butzin requested to see the deputy and volunteered that he lied, what followed was clearly an interrogation. Once again he failed to receive a proper Miranda warning and the questioning which followed clearly sought to elicit incriminating answers. See Rhode Island v. Innis,
. As the court stated in Prysock:
It is clear that the police in this case fully conveyed to respondent his rights as required by Miranda. He was told of his right to have a lawyer present prior to and during interrogation, and his right to have a lawyer appointed at no cost if he could not afford one. These warnings cоnveyed to respondent his right to have a lawyer appointed if he could not afford one prior to and during interrogation.
Id.,
. It is urged by the government that Tasby v. United States,
.The Miranda warning the accused received in Duckworth included in pertinent part:
[T]hat he had the right to speak to an attorney before and during questioning, that he had "this right to the advice and presence of a lawyer even if [he could] not afford to hire one,” and thаt he had the "right to stop answering at any time until [he] talked to a lawyer.”
Duckworth,
. The majority also cites two other incriminating statements given to third parties. However, not even the government argues that the overall questioning by the police officers would be harmless error because of these other instances.
Concurrence Opinion
concurring.
I fully concur in the affirming opinion in this case. I write separately to advert to Chief Judge Lay's reliance on Duckworth v. Eagan, — U.S.-,
Although on its facts Duckworth is not Butzin, it seems fair to say that in principle Duckworth did reaffirm Miranda. In so doing, however, the Chief Justice, quoting California v. Prysock,
