Doerr v. StateDoerr v. State
Appellant Doerr, age sixteen, was charged with three counts of burglary. After the appropriate hearing, he was waived by the juvenile division to the criminal division of the court to be tried as an adult. He then moved to suppress certain statements made to the arresting officer. After denial of the motion, he withdrew his plea of not guilty and entered a plea of nolo contendere to the first count, specifically reserving the right to appeal the court‘s ruling on his motion to suppress. The state nolle prossed the remaining two counts. Following a presentence investigation, adjudication was withheld and appellant was placed on probation for a period of three years.
Detective Donald Hartery testified that prior to arresting the appellant he told appellant‘s mother that he intended to arrest her son. She tried to help Detective Hartery locate appellant. Hartery found appellant at an apartment later that night, arrested him, and took him directly to the juvenile detention center. After placing appellant in the patrol car Detective Hartery advised him of his rights. In response to questions, appellant admitted several burglaries. At the detention center appellant was again advised of his rights and he was again questioned. Detective Hartery identified the transcribed interrogation and stated that appellant had supplied him with details of the crimes, but he was unable to recall whether appellant‘s mother was notified before or after the interview since he did not talk with her personally.
Appellant argues that his statements should have been suppressed due to the failure of the arresting officer to comply with
“If the person taking the child into custody determines, pursuant to paragraph (c), that the child should be detained or placed in shelter care, he shall immediately notify the parents or legal custodians of the child... .” (emphasis supplied)
The thrust of appellant‘s argument is that noncompliance with the statute automatically requires suppression of his confessions. In support of this contention, he cites Dowst v. State, 336 So.2d 375 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976), wherein the First District stated that since
“We hold that when the Defendant, sixteen years of age, requested to speak to his parents and was denied, such request constituted a continuous assertion of his privilege against self incrimination and that any confession given by him before either (1) he is granted the right to make such call, or (2) the officer makes a good faith effort to so advise his parents, is inadmissible in evidence.” 336 So.2d at 376 (citations omitted).
Juvenile confessions have always been held to be admissible, though the courts have necessarily regarded them with closer scrutiny because of the age of the person involved. See T.B. v. State, supra. In State v. Francois, 197 So.2d 492 (Fla. 1967), our Supreme Court declined to adopt an exclusionary rule which would automatically exclude all confessions given by those who were still under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The United States Supreme Court has held that the admissibility of a juvenile confession depends upon the “totality of circumstances” under which it was made. Gallegos v. Colorado, 370 U.S. 49, 82 S.Ct. 1209, 8 L.Ed. 325 (1962). The more immature the juvenile may be, the greater likelihood exists that his confession will be deemed inadmissible. The fact that a juvenile‘s confession was given before he had the opportunity to talk with his parents or an attorney is certainly a factor militating against its admissibility. But, the existence
Courts are rightfully solicitous of the procedural due process rights of juveniles. Moreover, the courts have been scrupulous in preserving parental prerogatives over their children. See, e.g., L.C.L. v. State, 319 So.2d 133 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976), wherein this court reversed a trial judge‘s transfer of a juvenile case to the criminal division of the circuit court because of the court‘s failure to notify the juvenile‘s parents of the waiver hearing held under
Nevertheless, we are also cognizant of the necessity for the police to have the ability to take proper measures to cope with the mounting volume of serious crimes committed by juveniles in this state. The adoption of a strict exclusionary rule as urged by appellant could have the effect of voiding even those confessions of juveniles which are voluntarily given at the scene of the crime.
In reaching this conclusion, we have not overlooked the case of Roberts v. State, 285 So.2d 385 (Fla. 1973), in which a confession was suppressed for the failure to comply with the italicized portion of
“The person taking and retaining a child in custody shall notify the parents or legal custodians of the child and the principal of the school in which said child is enrolled at the earliest practicable time, and shall, without delay for the purpose of investigation or any other purpose, deliver the child, by the most direct practicable route, to the court of the county or district where the child is taken into custody ... .” (emphasis supplied)
Thereafter, the legislature eliminated the italicized language upon which the Roberts decision was based and substituted a milder version thereof which requires that a child who is to be detained or placed in shelter care shall be delivered to the intake officer without unreasonable delay.
It should be noted that the appellant does not contend that his confessions were involuntary. In the words of appellant when asked why he admitted his guilt to Detective Hartery, “I didn‘t want to hear his mouth.” He even admitted that he was familiar with the Miranda warnings because he had heard them when the police had interrogated him on other occasions. This is not a case like Tennell v. State, 348 So.2d 937 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977) (Opinion filed August 10, 1977) in which the absence of the juvenile‘s parents because of the failure on the part of the appropriate authorities to notify them was only one of several factors dictating the conclusion that the confession was involuntary. The appellant‘s motion to suppress was properly denied.
The resolution of the issue raised by this appeal can have substantial impact in the field of juvenile justice. Therefore, we have determined to certify this case to the Supreme Court as having passed upon the following question of great public interest:
IS ANY CONFESSION BY A JUVENILE AFTER HE IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY RENDERED INADMISSIBLE IF IT WAS GIVEN PRIOR TO NOTIFICATION OF HIS PARENTS OR LEGAL GUARDIANS PURSUANT TO
SECTION 39.03(3)(a), FLORIDA STATUTES (1975)?
AFFIRMED.
GRIMES and SCHEB, JJ., concur.
HOBSON, Acting C.J., dissents without opinion.