Lead Opinion
On Sеptember 14, 1984, defendant Mar-shall Donald Murphy was convicted of first degree murder. Essential to the state’s case was evidence of a confession defendant made to his probation officer who was supervising defendant in connection with an unrelated matter. This confession was the subject of extensive pretrial litigation which included a ruling by the United States Supreme Court that the confession was not compelled within the meaning of the privilege against compelled self-incrimination under the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution. Minnesota v. Murphy,
On October 29, 1974, Sherrie Cole and her friend, Pam McGee, both teenagers, accompanied defendant and another man, both in their twenties, to a bar in South Minneapolis. Near midnight, Cole, McGee, and defendant left the bar and walked to McGee’s home several blocks away. Leaving McGee there, Cole and defendant walked off toward Cole’s house approximately 12 blocks away.
On November 21, 1974, a bridgeworker found Cole’s nude, partially decomposed body covered with brush on the south bank of the railroad tracks near 29th Street and Cedar Avenue in South Minneapolis. This area is located between McGee’s house and Cole’s house. Cole’s clothing was scattered about the area and no identification was found. A pathologist concluded that manual strangulation was the cause of death and placed the time of death at approximately 3 weeks before the body was discovered. He noted several wounds on her left hand, caused by a sharp instrument, which he characterized as “defensive wounds.” Cole had also been cut on the chin and forehead and her jaw was fractured. The pathologist placed the time of the injuries at or shortly before death. A sexual assault examination was negative; a test for the presence of sperm was impossible due to the condition of the body.
Police officers questioned defendant concerning Cole’s death on three occasions. Although defendant’s roommate had turned over to the police a notebook containing Cole’s identification cards which he found in his and defendant’s attic, they were unable to gather enough evidence on which to charge defendant.
In 1980, defendant pled guilty to a charge of false imprisonment in connection with a prosecution for criminal sexual conduct unrelated to this matter. He was sentenced to 3 years’ probation with Mara Widseth eventually appointed as his probation officer. The terms of probation included that defendant pursue a course of treatment at Alpha House,
In July 1981, Widseth discovered that defendant had discontinued his course of treatment, but after discussing the matter with him, she decided that treatment was no longer necessary. In September 1981, an Alpha House therapist informed Wid-seth that defendant had admitted during therapy that he had committed a rape and murder in 1974 but was never charged for lack of evidence. After Widseth discussed this information with her superior and determined that she must turn it over to the police, she sent a letter to defendant which read, “To further discuss a treatment plan for the remainder of your probation, I am requesting that you contact me upon your receipt of this letter to set [up] an appointment.”
Defendant met with Widseth in her office in late September. She confronted defendant with the information she had received and he reacted with anger that the therapist had breached his confidence. He said he felt like calling an attorney. Wid-seth responded that he would have to deal with that outside of the office and that her main concern was the possibility that defendant would need further treatment because of the relationship between the two incidents.
At the omnibus hearing, defendant moved to suppress evidence of the confession on the ground that it was obtained in violation of his fifth amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination under the United States Constitution. The trial court denied defendant’s motion but certified the question to this Court as important and doubtful under Minn.R.Crim.P. 28.03. We reversed the trial court and remanded the case for trial holding, as a matter of federal constitutional law, the probation officer’s failure to warn defendаnt of his constitutional rights before she questioned him bars the use of his confession at trial. State v. Murphy,
The United States Supreme Court granted the state’s petition for a writ of certiora-ri and reversed. Minnesota v. Murphy,
1. Defendant’s primary challenge to his conviction is that the evidence of his confession to Widseth is inаdmissible under article 1, section 7 of the Minnesota Constitution. This issue is properly before us as our prior ruling rested solely on federal constitutional grounds. State v. Murphy,
Although this court has the power to provide broader individual rights under the Minnesota Constitution than are permitted under the United States Constitution, Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins,
The Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination is not self-executing. At least where the government has no substantial reason to believe that the requested disclosures are likely to be incriminating, the privilege may not be relied upon unless it is invoked in a timely fashion.
Id. at 559,
The Supreme Court reversed our decision and held that “the probation officer’s knowledge аnd intent have no bearing on the outcome of this case.” Minnesota v. Murphy,
Our question thus becomes whether the unique relationship between probationer and probation officer as seen in the light of the philosophy of the Minnesota criminal justice system requires us to adopt a view contrary to that expressed by the United States Supreme Court in this very case. We conclude that it does not and we thus hold that the interpretation given by the United States Supreme Court of the privilege against self-incrimination under the federal constitutional provision is also a correct statement of the law under article 1, section 7 of the Minnesota Constitution.
2. Defendant’s second claim is that there was insufficient evidence оf rape in the case and he was therefore wrongfully convicted of first-degree felony-murder. In reviewing this challenge, we must interpret the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. State v. Parker,
The evidence establishing a rape is substantial. Widseth testified that defendant told her he forced Cole into an allеy at knifepoint: “He said that while there in the alley, he raped her. After he raped her he stood up. When he stood up he looked back at her. He said that she looked so scared that he then killed her.” To a layperson, especially one convicted of a sex-related offense, the word “rape” means non-consensual sexual intercourse. Ample evidence corroborates the conclusion that defendant in fact raped Cole within the legal meaning of the word. First, he told Wid-seth that he raped Cole and then “stood up.” Second, all of Cole’s clothing had beеn removed. Finally, Cole’s body revealed signs of considerable violence, including a fractured jaw, facial lacerations, and defensive-types wounds on her hands.
We note that the statute in effect at the time of Cole’s death required a conviction of first-degree murder for one who “[clauses the death of a human being while committing or attempting to commit rape or sodomy with force or violence.” Minn.Stat. § 609.185(2) (1974) (emphasis added). The evidence clearly supports, at the very least, a finding of an attempted rape.
3. Defendant’s third contention is that the evidence was insufficient to prove he killed Cоle “while” he was raping her. Minn.Stat. § 609.185(2) (1974). In Minnesota, the felony-murder rule is applicable where the “felony and the killing * * * are parts of one continuous transaction.” Kochevar v. State,
4. Defendant also challenges the trial court’s refusal to submit third-degree murder to the jury as a lesser-ineluded offense. The determination of what, if any, lesser offenses should be submitted to the jury lies with the sound discretion of the trial court, LaMere v. State,
Defendant argues that the jury could have found he engaged in indecent liberties with Cole, not rape, which would constitute an element of third-degree felony-murder. Minn.Stat. § 609.195(2) (1974). As noted above, the evidence clearly supports a finding that defendant raped or attempted to rape Cole with force or violence and defendant offered no proof of mere sexual contact to rebut this uncontro-verted evidence. See State v. McDonald,
5. Defendant’s final claim is that he was denied a fair trial because the trial court erred in responding to a question from the jury during deliberations. In its final instructions, the trial court said, “The statutes of Minnesota provide that whoever causes the death of a human being while committing or attempting to commit rape or sodomy with force and violence is guilty of murder in the first degree.” The court did not define the term “while.” After deliberating a short time, the jury sent the court a question asking for a definition of “while.” Over defendant’s objection, the court instructed the jury, “This means defendant’s acts were part of one continuous criminal act.”
It is well established that the trial judge may, in his discretion, give additional instructions in response to a jury’s question on any point of law. Minn.R. Crim.P. 26.03, subd. 19(3). The court has the discretion to decide whether to amplify previous instructions, reread previous instructions, or give no response at all. Id. The only real limitation placed on the trial court is that the additional instruction may not be given in such a manner as to lead the jury to believe that it wholly supplants the corresponding portion of the original charge. Strobel v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Co.,
Both instructions given in this case were correct statements of the law. The second instruction was merely a clarification of the first. While the better practice
Affirmed.
Notes
. Alpha House is a treatment center for sex offenders.
. At the omnibus hearing, Widseth testified that she understood defendant’s statement not as an immediate request for counsel, but as a means of recourse against the therapist for the breach of defendant’s confidence. Defendant, however, testified that he believed he should have an attorney present. Even assuming defendant’s version to be true, since the confession was not obtained during a custodial interrogation, Minnesota v. Murphy,
. Most jurisdictions that recognize the felony-murder doctrine support the view that a killing by one trying to escape from or conceal a felony where there has been no break in the chain of events between the felony and the killing is within the scope of the felony-murder rule. E.g., Bizup v. People,
. This was an instruction originally requested by the state as a part of the final jury instructions. The trial court, however, denied the request at that time. Defense counsel asserted in his closing argument that the jury should define "while" as “during" or "at the time."
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
The crux of this appeal is whether the confession of Marshall Donald Murphy was obtained in violation of his privilege against compelled self-incrimination under article I, section 7 of the Minnesota Constitution. We decided State v. Murphy on the basis of federal constitutional law, holding that any failure on Murphy’s part to claim the privilege against self-incrimination when he was questioned by his probation officer without Miranda warnings did not bar his later reliance on the privilege when he sought suppression of his confession.
Today the majority holds that, the federal and staue compelled self-incrimination constitutional provisions being identical, and nothing in the philosophy of the Minnesota criminal justice system with regard to the unique relationship between probationer and probation officer requiring a contrary result, “the interpretation given by the United States Supreme Court of the privilege against self-incrimination under the federal constitutional provision is also a correct statement of the law under article 1, section 7 of the Minnesota Constitution.” Majority, at 771. I must respectfully disagree. Our own prior cases interpreting article I, section 7 do not support either the substance or breadth of such a holding.
I.
The majority opinion, quoting State v. Fuller,
*774 It is a fiction too long accepted that provisiоns in state constitutions textually identical to the Bill of Rights were intended to mirror their federal counterpart. The lesson of history is otherwise: the Bill of Rights was based upon the corresponding provisions of the first state constitutions, rather than the reverse.
Id. at 68-69 (quoting People v. Brisendine,
Similarly, Minnesota’s law on waiver of the privilege against compelled self-incrimination developed independently of federal constitutional interpretation. The state constitutional privilege against compelled self-incrimination is absolute when claimed, but may be waived. See State v. Falcone,
In contrast, the line of decisions of the United States Supreme Court on loss of the federal constitutional privilege against compelled self-incriminаtion stands for the proposition that if a witness under compulsion to testify makes an incriminating disclosure instead of claiming the privilege, the government is viewed as not having “compelled” the incrimination. Garner v. United States,
These different approaches — whether lack of compulsion is presumed, as under the federal constitution, or must be affirmatively shown, as under this state’s constitution — are also reflected in different Minnesota and federal rules as to the warnings of constitutional rights that must be given witnesses before a grand jury. In Minnesota, if a grand jury witness is a potential defendant, the prosecutor must advise the witness prior to questioning that he or she may be implicated by the testimony and should seek legal advice concerning constitutional rights. Falcone,
II.
This case, involving Murphy’s interrogation by his probation officer and the use of incriminating statements obtained therefrom as the basis of his criminal indictment and conviction, is analogous to our cases involving interrogations of grand jury witnesses and the use of incriminating statements obtained therefrom as the basis of criminal indictments against those witnesses. It is analogous to Rixon, where a transcription of an interrogation under subpoena of accused arsonists by state fire marshall’s deputies was submitted to and used by a grand jury to obtain their criminal indictment.
Under federal constitutional law Murphy lost his fifth amendment privilege by failing to assert it and the United States Supreme Court has found that the circumstances were not such as to overbear his free will, thereby exсusing his failure to assert the privilege. Under Minnesota law, however, with or without a warning,
. In State v. Gardiner, we made clear that the state constitutional guarantee against compelled incrimination “must receive a liberal construction, to the end that personal rights may be protected."
. Whether a waiver has been made is a factual determination. Berry,
. It is not necessary that the defendant has been intentionally misled to induce a waiver, as appears to have been the case in Gardiner, to be found to have acted involuntarily and thus, under Minnesota law, to be unable to make an
. The United States Supreme Court has identified certain well-defined situations in which some identifiable factor was held to deny the individual a " 'free choice to admit, to deny, or to refuse to answer.’” Minnesota v. Murphy,
. Before being interrogated by the fire mar-shall's deputies, the accused in Rixon were warned that incriminating questions need not be answered. 180 Minn, at 575,
