On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 32A04-1003-CR-00187
When a defendant is represented by a lawyer for a particular offense, do the police violate his right to counsel if they approach him about a different offense? Under the Sixth Amendment, the answer is no. We hold that under the broader protections of Article 1, Section 13, of the Indiana Constitution, the right to counsel is violated only where the different offense is inextricably intertwined with the charge on which counsel is already representing the defendant. Nevertheless, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Facts and Procedural History
In August 2008, Christopher Jewell was arrested and charged with tattooing a minor, a class A misdemeanor, for allegedly taking his former stepdaughter T.S. to get a tattoo. 1 Detective Terry Judy investigated the case for the Hendricks County Sheriffs Department. Released on bond, Jewell retained counsel for the charge.
Shortly thereafter, but while the tattooing charge was still pending, T.S. got into an argument with her boyfriend. During the course of the argument, she revealed that Jewell forced a sexual relationship upon her while Jewell and her mother were married. T.S.’s mother contacted
Detective Judy arranged for T.S. to make recorded phone calls to Jewell in order to obtain evidence concerning sexual misconduct. T.S. made two such calls in late August 2008. Detective Judy was present and listening in during the calls and prompted T.S. with notes on things to say and questions to ask. During the course of the conversations, Jewell mentioned the pending misdemeanor charge and that he had obtained an attorney for that charge, but also made several potentially incriminating statements about sexual misconduct. (Tr. at 37-38, 40-46, 49-57, 65-66; State’s Ex. 7, 10.) At no point during the phone conversations did T.S. indicate that she was working with, or in the presence of, the police.
The State then charged Jewell with three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, two as class B felonies and one as a class C felony, 2 one count of felony child molesting, a class C felony, 3 and two counts of child seduction, a class D felony. 4 It eventually dismissed the tattooing charge.
Jewell moved to suppress the incriminating statements from the recorded conversations, claiming they were obtained in violation of his right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment and Article 1, Section 13, of the Indiana Constitution. Following a hearing, the trial court denied the motion. The court admitted the evidence at trial over Jewell’s renewed objection.
A jury found Jewell guilty of all six counts, and the trial court sentenced him to a total of forty years: consecutive twenty-year terms for the class B felonies with concurrent eight-year terms for each class C felony and concurrent three-year terms for each class D felony. Jewell appealed.
The Court of Appeals affirmed.
Jewell v. State,
We granted transfer, thereby vacating the opinion of the Court of Appeals, to consider whether an “inextricably intertwined” exception exists under Article 1, Section 13.
Jewell v. State,
I. Origin and Application of the “Inextricably Intertwined” Exception
The Sixth Amendment guarantees that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” U.S. Const, amend. VI. The purpose of this guarantee is “to ‘protec[t] the unaided layman at critical confrontations’ with his ‘expert adversary,’ the government,
after
‘the adverse positions of government and defendant have solidified’ with respect to a particular alleged crime.”
McNeil v. Wisconsin,
While the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel is broadly viewed as “offense specific,” most federal circuits traditionally recognized two exceptions. These were the “inextricably intertwined” (or “closely related”) exception and the “circumvention of Sixth Amendment right” exception, both inferred from the holdings of the U.S. Supreme Court in
Brewer v.
Williams
5
and
Maine v.
Moulton.
6
See, e.g., United States v. Covarrubias,
A. Federal Appellate Courts.
The Ninth Circuit provided probably the best articulation and application of the “inextricably intertwined” exception.
Covarrubias,
Following their arraignment, a federal agent from Immigration and Naturaliza
It noted that the exception has been applied “‘when the pending charge is so inextricably intertwined with the charge under investigation that the right to counsel for the pending charge cannot constitutionally be isolated from the right to counsel for the uncharged offense.’ ”
Id.
at 1223 (quoting
United States v. Hines,
The Covarrubias court then examined those factors and found the state crime of kidnapping and the federal crime of transporting illegal aliens to be “inextricably intertwined.” Id. at 1225-26. The timing of the two crimes overlapped and involved “a continuous course of conduct,” and the identity of the individuals overlapped as well — the defendants were perpetrators in both crimes and the kidnapped victim of the state crime was the transported illegal alien in the federal crime. Id. Furthermore, the court found that the situs for both crimes overlapped, to some degree, in Washington; the defendants had an identical motive for both crimes; and both crimes arose from the same set of facts. Id. The court also pointed out that, as a practical matter, the degree of relation between the crimes was easily apparent from the overlap in interrogations between the state and federal officers; “it would have been difficult to confine one’s questioning to the facts and circumstances of one offense without straying into a discussion of the other.” Id. at 1226 n. 8.
Other circuits used a similar analytical framework. For example, in
United States v. Arnold,
the Third Circuit applied the “closely related” exception where both charged offenses “(1) involve the same witness; (2) arise from the same facts and circumstances; (3) are closely related in time”; and (4) involve related conduct.
Still other cases provide examples in which the “inextricably intertwined” exception was considered but not satisfied under particular facts.
See United States v. Kidd,
B. Texas v. Cobb.
As Jewell acknowledges, in
Texas v. Cobb
the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the “inextricably intertwined” exception to the offense-specific nature of the Sixth Amendment in favor of a framework based upon the
Blockburger
test for double jeopardy.
In
Cobb,
the defendant’s neighbor’s home was burglarized and the neighbor’s wife and daughter were reported missing.
Id.
at 164-65,
Released on bond for the burglary, the defendant moved in with his father. A
The
Cobb
Court reversed, holding that “when the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches, it does encompass offenses that, even if not formally charged, would be considered the same offense under the
Bloclcburger
test.”
Id.
at 173,
Instead, the Court focused on two “critical considerations”: the importance of
Miranda
warnings before the police conduct any custodial interrogations and “society’s interest in the ability of police to talk to witnesses and suspects, even those who have been charged with other offenses.”
Id.
at 171-72,
Justice Breyer, however, challenged the majority’s presumption about the clarity of the
Bloclcburger
test, saying that it has been described as “ ‘a veritable Sargasso Sea which could not fail to challenge the most intrepid judicial navigator.’ ”
Id.
at 185,
C. The “Inextricably Intertwined” Exception in State Courts.
A survey of cases from other states reveals that several have used the “inextricably intertwined” exception.
See, e.g., Taylor v. State,
An exception is
Chenoweth v. State,
which both post-dates
Cobb
and examined the right to counsel and the “inextricably intertwined” concept under the Georgia constitution.
Oregon appears to recognize some version of the “inextricably intertwined” exception under its constitution, but not in those express terms.
See State v. Sparklin,
II. Indiana’s Right to Counsel Under Article 1, Section 13
A. The Scope of Indiana’s Right to Counsel.
The right to counsel protections afforded through Article 1, Section 13, of our Constitution are sometimes broader than those flowing from the Sixth Amendment — particularly in the context of
In
Hall v. State,
the Court of Appeals considered whether a defendant who requested counsel on one offense was entitled to counsel on other offenses.
The Court of Appeals acknowledged that the Indiana Constitution provides a more protective right to counsel than the Sixth Amendment, specifically in that Indiana’s constitutional right — contrary to the Sixth Amendment — can attach “prior to the filing of formal charges against the defendant,” but both provisions “guarantee the right to counsel at any critical stage of prosecution where counsel’s absence ‘might derogate from the accused’s right to a fair trial.’ ”
Id.
at 460 (quoting
Koehler v. State,
With this foundation of case law in mind, we proceed finally to the jurisprudential issue at hand: does the “inextricably intertwined” exception have a place within Indiana’s constitutional protections?
B. The “Inextricably Intertwined” Exception Under Section 13.
We agree with the U.S. Supreme Court in
Cobb
that a primary concern in assessing the scope of the constitutional right to counsel protections is “society’s interest in the ability of police to talk to witnesses
Furthermore, Justice Breyer’s observations in
Cobb
seem well taken.
See Cobb,
In light of our traditional view that Article 1, Section 13 provides broader protection than the Sixth Amendment, we believe the “inextricably intertwined” exception is appropriate under our Constitution. It properly reflects the balance we seek to maintain between society’s legitimate law enforcement needs and a defendant’s right to counsel.
The “inextricably intertwined” exception to the general rule that Section 13’s right to counsel protection is offense specific applies when it was objectively foreseeable that the pending offense, for which the right to counsel has already attached, was so inextricably intertwined with the offense under investigation that the right to counsel for the pending offense could not be constitutionally isolated from the right to counsel for the offense under investigation. 13 The inquiry focuses on the nature of the conduct involved rather than on the elements of the offenses. A reviewing court must examine and compare all the facts and circumstances — as known at the time of the investigation— related to the conduct, including the nature of the conduct, the identity of the persons involved (including the victim, if any), and the timing, motive, and location of the crimes. 14
None of those factors is particularly dis-positive, nor do all factors need to tip in favor of the exception for it to apply.
C. Applying the Test Here. We conclude that Jewell’s sexual misconduct was not — based on the facts and circumstances known to Detective Judy at the time of the phone calls — so closely related to the offense of tattooing a minor as to be inextricably intertwined. The respective offenses were not linked temporally or geographically, nor by any common motive in the record. It is true that the primary parties — Jewell, T.S., and Detective Judy — were the same. However, that does not end the inquiry.
The sexual misconduct occurred over a period of years, from 2004 to 2007, at both T.S.’s and Jewell’s homes, whereas the tattooing was a single incident at a single location — an otherwise-unrelated tattoo parlor — and took place almost a year after the sexual relationship ended. In fact, aside from the identity of the parties, the nuclei of operative facts for the two offenses are wholly and logically distinct. Not only would it be possible for Detective Judy to confíne his questioning to the facts and circumstances of one offense without straying into a discussion of the other, that is exactly what occurred.
Cf. Covarrubias,
Furthermore, while one might now hypothesize that Jewell’s conduct facilitating T.S.’s tattoo was some form of grooming related to the sexual misconduct, at the time Detective Judy conducted his investigation there was no indication that this could have been the case. Nor has this been claimed by any party. For that matter, while the motive for the sexual misconduct appears clear — Jewell’s own sexual gratification — there is no evidence whatsoever of any particular motive for the tattooing offense.
In sum, there is no evidence that it would have been objectively foreseeable for Detective Judy, at the time he conducted the phone calls, to believe the pending tattooing offense was inextricably intertwined with the alleged sexual misconduct. His inquiry into Jewell’s alleged sex crimes was a proper exercise of his responsibility to protect society by investigating potential criminal activities and did not violate Jewell’s right to counsel.
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s denial of Jewell’s motion to suppress the recorded phone conversations.
III. Jewell’s Forty-Year Sentence Is Appropriate
Jewell also appeals his forty-year sentence, claiming that it was “inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender.” Ind. Const, art. 7, § 4; Ind. Appellate Rule 7(B). We summarily affirm the Court of Appeals’ contrary conclusion. Ind. Appellate Rule 58(A).
Conclusion
We affirm Jewell’s conviction and sentence.
Notes
. Ind.Code § 35-42-2-7(c) (2008). T.S. was under the age of eighteen, and at that time her mother and Jewell had divorced. (Tr. at 67; App. at 21, 222.)
. Ind.Code § 35-42-4-9(a), (b) (2008).
. Ind.Code § 35-42-4-3(b) (2008).
.Ind.Code § 35-42-4-7(h) (2008 & Supp. 2010).
.
.
. This agent had been involved in the arrest of the defendants and the district court found the agent was aware that the defendants had counsel for the state charge.
Covarrubias,
.The defendant was indicted and charged with various drug-related offenses and was appointed counsel.
Kidd,
. The defendant was originally arrested on a state charge of aggravated robbery.
Cooper,
. The
Blockburger
test requires examination of whether each statutory offense "requires proof of a fact which the other does not.”
Blockburger v. United States,
. The defendant in
Chenoweth
was arrested for theft by receiving a stolen car.
Chenoweth,
. Like our Section 13, Article I, Section 11, of the Oregon Constitution provides, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right ... to be heard by himself and counsel....” Many of Oregon's constitutional provisions find their roots in our 1851 constitution.
See, e.g., State v. Davis,
. However, the right to counsel must still attach to at least one of the offenses. The exception does not change Indiana law regarding when the right attaches — it only addresses the breadth of that attachment with regard to other potential offenses.
. The
Cobb
Court worried that post-hoc analysis of a police officer’s investigation — in light of all subsequently discovered information — may deter police from conducting legitimate investigations of additional crimes.
See Cobb,
