THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Appellee, v. STEVEN WIPFLER, Appellant
No. 48568
Supreme Court of Illinois
October 5, 1977
68 Ill. 2d 158 | 368 N.E.2d 870 | 11 Ill. Dec. 262
To review sentences in the manner espoused by the majority vests the circuit courts with virtually unlimited discretion in imposing them. This broad discretion and the resultant disparity in sentences have been justly criticized. (See ABA Standards Relating to the Appellate Review of Sentences (Approved Draft 1968).) The implementation of the Constitution requires that sentences be reviewed not solely to determine whether there has been an abuse of discretion but whether the circuit court followed the constitutional and statutory guidelines. See
MR. JUSTICE DOOLEY joins in this dissent.
Michael J. Goldstein and Sheldon Sorosky, of Chicago, for appellant.
William J. Scott, Attorney General, of Springfield (James B. Zagel, Assistant Attorney General, of Chicago, of counsel), for the People.
MR. JUSTICE RYAN delivered the opinion of the court:
Defendant, Steven Wipfler, was indicted and tried separately for two burglaries. Each was tried to the court, and each resulted in a conviction. He was sentenced to serve terms of four years’ probation, the first 45 weekends to be spent in the Will County jail. Defendant appealed both convictions, contending that his confession, which was the cornerstone of the State‘s case at both trials, was the fruit of an illegal arrest or the result of coercion, or that it was obtained without a valid waiver by him of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 U.S. 436, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 86 S. Ct. 1602. The cases were consolidated for appeal. The appellate court, one justice dissenting, affirmed the convictions. (37 Ill. App. 3d 400.) The appellate court held that the defendant, at the inception of his station-house interrogation, was not under arrest, and so his subsequent confession did not result from an arrest made without probable cause. The court found, further, that the record of the hearing on defendant‘s motion to suppress supports the finding of the trial court that defendant made an uncoerced confession after being timely informed of his Miranda rights and knowingly and voluntarily waiving them. We granted defendant leave to appeal.
On the evening of February 4, 1974, an office trailer on a construction site in Bolingbrook, Illinois, was entered and set on fire. During the weekend of February 16, 1974, the Bolingbrook home of Jerald Kraushaar was burglarized and several items taken. During the investigation of the burglary of the residence the police officers contacted the occupants of adjoining residences making inquiries. At one house the officers talked to an 18-year-old boy whom they knew had a motorcycle. They told him they had seen motorcycle tracks near the house that had been burglarized. The youth stated that his motorcycle was inoperative but that he had seen Steven Wipfler and some other boys riding their motorcycles in that vicinity. The youth stated that if they wanted some information about the burglary they should contact Steven. At 8:30 a.m. on February 20, Detective Mahoney of the Bolingbrook police called the Wipfler home and was told by Steven‘s mother that Steven was at school. Mahoney told her that he would like to talk to Steven about some burglaries under investigation. She said she would tell Steven to go to the police station after school.
When defendant went to the station after school, he first spoke briefly with Police Chief Johnson, who had
The interrogation focused at first on the Kraushaar burglary. Defendant was asked what he knew about the incident and initially denied having any knowledge of it. The detectives asked if he would take a polygraph, but he declined, admitting that he did have some knowledge of the burglary but was not directly involved. Defendant was then asked about the break-in at the trailer, and again his initial response was to deny any knowledge of it. After more questioning he once again admitted to having some knowledge of it but denied involvement. He said that the trailer was entered by a group of youths he had met that same evening, and that during the break-in he waited for them in their car. When he was unable to name any of these acquaintances or even to identify the kind of car he was in, Detective Mahoney expressed disbelief. Defendant then said he would tell the truth about everything. Both sides agree that at this point Miranda warnings were given. Defendant was allowed to examine a waiver form, which he then signed. Questioning continued, and defendant admitted participation in both burglaries. This confession came after a total of 45 minutes to an hour of interrogation. Defendant then drove home, followed by Mahoney and Kuntz, where he surrendered several items taken from
Prior to trial the defendant moved to suppress his confession. Following a hearing the motion was denied and, as previously indicated, defendant was convicted of both burglaries.
Several issues are raised by this appeal. First, did the arrest of defendant occur when he entered the interrogation room, prior to the existence of probable cause, as defendant contends? Next, did defendant knowingly and voluntarily waive his Miranda rights? Finally, was defendant‘s confession the result of coercion by members of the Bolingbrook Police Department?
Both sides agree that there was no probable cause to arrest defendant until he admitted more than mere knowledge of the burglaries and agreed to tell the truth about “everything.” Defendant argues that, therefore, he was illegally arrested at the time he was asked to enter the interrogation room with Mahoney and Kuntz. The position of the State is that no illegal arrest occurred because defendant was in fact not arrested until after he agreed to tell the truth and not at any earlier point in his interrogation. We agree with the position taken by the State.
In People v. Clark (1956), 9 Ill. 2d 400, we indicated that the elements of a valid arrest were present when the police informed defendant of a violation, he submitted to their control, and “[t]he evidence clearly shows *** that the officers intended to effect the arrest and that the defendant so understood them.” (Emphasis added.) (9 Ill. 2d 400, 404.) Both the Federal courts and the appellate courts of this State have held that the intent of the officer and the understanding of the arrestee are two essential elements in the definition of arrest. (Moran v. United States (10th Cir. 1968), 404 F.2d 663; Hicks v. United States (D.C. Cir. 1967), 382 F.2d 158; Fisher v. United States (8th Cir. 1963), 324 F.2d 775; People v. Ussery (1974), 24 Ill. App. 3d 864; People v. Smith (1971), 5 Ill. App. 3d 341; People v. Bridges (1970), 123 Ill. App. 2d 58; People v. Jackson (1968), 98 Ill. App. 2d 238; People v. Mirbelle (1934), 276 Ill. App. 533. For a discussion of the relevance of the state of mind of the parties in determining whether an arrest has occurred, see Cook, Subjective Attitudes of Arrestee and Arrestor as Affecting Occurrence of Arrest, 19 U. Kan. L. Rev. 173 (1971).) It is also clear, however, that the component of an arrest which courts have labeled the arrestee‘s understanding is not identical to the arrestee‘s subjective beliefs at the time of arrest. The accepted test of understanding is not what the arrestee thought, but “what a reasonable man, innocent of any crime, would have thought had he been in the defendant‘s shoes.” (Hicks v. United States (D.C. Cir. 1967), 382 F.2d 158, 161; see also People v. Howlett (1971), 1 Ill. App. 3d 906.) Naturally, the beliefs of the individual arrestee, to the extent that they can actually be ascertained, are legitimate considerations. (Hicks v. United States (D.C. Cir. 1967), 382 F.2d 158, 161.) When, however, the apprehension engendered in an arrestee, even if such apprehension can be said to be reasonably held by the particular arrestee, does not coincide with what the reasonable, innocent man would have thought, then assessments of whether an arrest occurred must be guided by the reasonable man standard and not by the subjective belief of the arrestee. See Coates v. United States (D.C. Cir. 1969), 413 F.2d 371.
In the case at bar, the trial judge made the finding that defendant was not under arrest when his interrogation began. We believe that there is sufficient evidence in the record to support this finding, based upon the test of arrest articulated above. We cannot say that a reasonable, innocent man, under like circumstances, would have had
Having decided that a reasonable, innocent man would not have understood himself to be under arrest in this case, it is not necessary to our holding on this issue that we determine the intent of the officers. Nonetheless, we note that the manner in which defendant‘s presence was obtained, and the information the police had about defendant prior to interrogation, lends credence to the testimony of Officer Mahoney that defendant was not, in Mahoney‘s mind, under arrest at the time and that he could have left without police permission because there was “nothing to hold him for.”
In summary, then, there is ample evidence to sustain
The next issue we must consider concerns the warnings to defendant of his Miranda rights, and his waiver of those rights. While the majority of the appellate court implicitly found that defendant, though not arrested, was the subject of custodial interrogation, the dissenting justice contended that there is no such thing as “an interim stage of custodial non-arrest” (37 Ill. App. 3d 400, 406). His assessment of this case was that defendant was in custody and was therefore under arrest. We believe, however, that both the assessment of the dissent and the assumption of the majority are mistaken; defendant was, in fact, not under arrest and also not the subject of custodial interrogation.
The rules of Miranda apply to admissions made by a defendant while he is in custody “or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.” (384 U.S. 436, 444, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 706, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 1612.) Since the Miranda decision, courts have grappled with the question, in various factual settings, of whether an
“Such a noncustodial situation is not converted to one in which Miranda applies simply because a reviewing court concludes that, even in the absence of any formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement, the questioning took place in a ‘coercive environment.’ Any interview of one
suspected of a crime by a police officer will have coercive aspects to it, simply by virtue of the fact that the police officer is part of a law enforcement system which may ultimately cause the suspect to be charged with a crime. But police officers are not required to administer Miranda warnings to everyone whom they question. Nor is the requirement of warnings to be imposed simply because the questioning takes place in the station house, or because the questioned person is one whom the police suspect. Miranda warnings are required only where there has been such a restriction on a person‘s freedom as to render him ‘in custody.’ It was that sort of coercive environment to which Miranda by its terms was made applicable, and to which it is limited.” 429 U.S. 492, 495, 50 L. Ed. 2d 714, 719, 97 S. Ct. 711, 714.
In the case at bar, the record supports the interpretation that defendant was not compelled to come to the station, much less to answer questions, and that, regardless of defendant‘s subjective beliefs, he was not, and would not have been, forbidden to leave. The officers testified that he would have been permitted to leave because “there was nothing to hold him for.” (See Freije v. United States (1st Cir. 1969), 408 F.2d 100, 102-03.) In short, when the situation is viewed objectively, defendant was not in custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way, and so Miranda warnings were not required at the outset of the interrogation. As noted above, the officers testified that the Miranda warnings were given before any interrogation, whereas the defendant maintains to the contrary. Since no Miranda warnings were required at that point we need not consider this disputed question of fact. Even though the warnings may have been given, as the officers testified, these extra
In addition to the timeliness of the warning of Miranda rights, the question whether defendant voluntarily and knowingly waived those rights is also an issue. This, of course, is a question for the trial court‘s determination (People v. Simmons (1975), 60 Ill. 2d 173, 181), not to be disturbed unless against the manifest weight of the evidence. Defendant asserts, however, that the trial court erred by failing to consider his age and intelligence and the circumstances of the interrogation when it determined that his signing of the waiver form was a knowing and voluntary waiver of rights. Defendant contends that Simmons requires that, in the case of a minor defendant‘s waiver of rights, the trial record must affirmatively show that the trial judge considered all the proper factors in assessing voluntariness. We disagree. This court said in Simmons that voluntariness “must be determined from ‘the totality of the circumstances’ [citation] and consideration must be given to ‘both the characteristics of the accused and the details of the interrogation.’ [Citation.]” (60 Ill. 2d 173, 179.) Further, relying on In re Gault (1967), 387 U.S. 1, 18 L. Ed. 2d 527, 87 S. Ct. 1428, and Haley v. Ohio (1948), 332 U.S. 596, 92 L. Ed. 224, 68 S. Ct. 302, this court recognized that special care must be taken when determining the voluntariness of a minor‘s waiver of rights. It did not, however, require that a trial judge must recite a litany of the factors which guided him in his determination. On the contrary, in Simmons, the trial court record indicated that, in fact, the judge had stated that a borderline mentally retarded 16-year-old should be treated as an adult when being advised of his rights. Because of that, the case was remanded so the judge
Closely related to the issue of voluntariness of waiver is the question whether the confession itself was voluntarily made. The above precepts and admonitions of special care apply equally in determining voluntariness on this issue. A concise statement of the general rules with regard to voluntariness of confessions is the following from People v. Prim (1972), 53 Ill. 2d 62, 70:
“Whether a statement is voluntarily given depends upon the totality of the circumstances. The test is whether it has been made freely, voluntarily and without compulsion or inducement of any sort or whether the defendant‘s will was overcome at the time he confessed. [Citation.] In making its decision the trial court need not be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, and the finding of the trial court that the statement was voluntary will not be disturbed unless it is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence.”
The trial court found that defendant‘s statement was voluntary. We do not think that this finding was against
Defendant‘s position is that Chief Johnson‘s counseling of him to tell the truth, when viewed as part of the total interrogation process, should be considered as coercive and as having compelled him to confess, since Johnson occupied a special position of trust in relation to defendant. Decisions of this court have firmly established that, in the absence of a suggestion of benefit to the defendant, mere exhortation to tell the truth does not render inadmissible a subsequent confession. (People v. Taylor (1974), 58 Ill. 2d 69; People v. Joe (1964), 31 Ill. 2d 220; People v. Klyczek (1923), 307 Ill. 150.) What we must decide today is whether an exception should be made to this rule in instances when the urging of honesty comes from one who is trusted by defendant.
Defendant, arguing for the exception, relies on People v. Ruegger (1975), 32 Ill. App. 3d 765. In Ruegger, the appellate court, upholding the trial court‘s finding of involuntariness, stated that “the unusual factor that defendant was interrogated by a relative may have added an element of subtle compulsion to confess.” (32 Ill. App. 3d 765, 771.) We agree that the relationship of an interrogator to a party being questioned is a relevant consideration in assessing a statement‘s voluntariness. In the case at bar, then, if Chief Johnson‘s conversation with defendant were viewed as part of the interrogation process, the fact of his relationship to defendant would have been relevant even without the admonition to tell the truth. The exhortation to defendant to be honest adds nothing to this, since, as indicated in Taylor, Joe, and Klyczek, such advice can properly come from an interrogator. We do not
The existence of this close relationship between Johnson and the defendant coupled with the admonition to tell the truth do not per se render the subsequent confession involuntary. This fact is another facet in the totality of the circumstances to be considered by the trial judge in determining whether the confession has met the test of voluntariness. In this case, after considering all of the evidence the trial judge found that the confession was voluntary. In Ruegger, the trial court, after considering the relationship of the interrogator with the defendant as well as the other evidence, found that the confession was not voluntary. In Ruegger, the appellate court concluded that the finding was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. In this case, we likewise conclude that the finding of the trial court is not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Since we reject defendant‘s contention that Johnson‘s admonition must be considered coercive due to their relationship, we see no reason to upset the trial court‘s finding that the defendant‘s statements were voluntarily made and were not the product of coercion.
We conclude that the arrest of defendant was effected subsequent to the existence of probable cause, that he knowingly and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights, and that the confession that followed was voluntarily made and was properly admitted in evidence. We therefore affirm the judgment of the appellate court.
Judgment affirmed.
MR. JUSTICE GOLDENHERSH, dissenting:
I dissent. Relying on Hicks v. United States (D.C. Cir. 1967), 382 F.2d 158, the majority states: “The accepted
In Hicks, in distinguishing Seals v. United States (D.C. Cir. 1963), 325 F.2d 1006, the court said: “Seals ***, on which Appellant relies, is readily distinguishable from this case; Seals, unlike Appellant, was an acknowledged suspect at all times and the investigation was directed at his part in a robbery; furthermore, he was a high school student.” (Hicks v. United States (D.C. Cir. 1967), 382 F.2d 158, 162.) It is clear from the majority opinion that Chief Johnson, who “had allegedly been a sort of father image to defendant since the death of defendant‘s father,” said something to the effect that if “someone did something wrong he should be a man and admit it.” (68 Ill. 2d at 164.) I find it difficult to understand any reason for the statement if at that time defendant was not “an acknowledged suspect.” As in Seals he was also a high school student.
The constitutional rights which Miranda was designed to protect are so important that their effective exercise
As recognized by the majority, “The rules of Miranda apply to admissions made by a defendant while he is in custody ‘or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.’ (384 U.S. 436, 444, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 706, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 1612.)” (68 Ill. 2d at 168.) Clearly they applied here, and the confession which “came after a total of 45 minutes to an hour of interrogation” (68 Ill. 2d at 164) should have been suppressed.
MR. JUSTICE DOOLEY joins in this dissent.