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State v. Steelman9/13/1978
se, a San Joaquin County officer, interviewed Steelman briefly in the Sacramento jail. Ambrose advised defendant of his rights according to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) and the defendant signed a waiver form. When Ambrose asked if he wanted to make a statement, Steelman replied that he would when the officers "found the white Datsun" (the Sandberg car). Then, apparently changing his mind, Steelman said that he had better wait until he had talked to an attorney. Ambrose interpreted this as an assertion of the right to counsel, ceased questioning and did not talk to the defendant again until 10 November.
Later in the afternoon of 8 November and after his arrival in Stockton, Steelman talked to Douglas Barr, an employee of the Sheriff's Office who had gone to school with defendant. Barr asked how Steelman had come to do these things. Steelman asked Barr to get a doctor. Steelman claimed that he had been struck by a tear gas canister during arrest and that drugs he had taken before the arrest were beginning to wear off and he was suffering withdrawal symptoms from heroin usage. Barr told him that a doctor was available. Although Steelman claimed that these symptoms continued during the next few days, none of the officers who saw Steelman during that time and who testified at the suppression hearing indicated that Steelman's symptoms were severe.
Steelman was booked and then taken to his cell and left alone for some time. Although Steelman claimed that he was not booked until the middle of the night and that he only had a couple of hours alone in his cell, the officers testified that he was booked at 10:45 p. m. and that he was not significantly disturbed until early morning when he was taken down for fingerprinting and photographing.
During the morning of 9 November, Steelman was arraigned and an attorney was appointed. Apparently there was little time to confer and it is not clear when Steelman first had an opportunity to confer with the attorney. The lawyer did have time, however, to advise Steelman not to talk with law enforcement officers until there had been time for a thorough discussion about the case.
In the early morning hours of 10 November, Sgt. Larry Bunting of the Tucson Police Department and Michael Tucker of the Pima County Sheriff's Office, spoke briefly with both Steelman and Gretzler. Steelman refused to waive his rights to an attorney. Bunting mentioned that Arizona had the death penalty which Steelman later testified he interpreted to mean that he could avoid the death sentence if he pled guilty. Bunting testified that this was not what he meant.
At 10:25 a. m. on 10 November, Steelman was interviewed by David Arellanes and Bill Miller of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. They advised him of his rights and told him that they didn't want to talk to him about the California charges. Steelman signed the waiver card and made an incriminating statement to the officers. During the session, Arellanes mistakenly told Steelman that Arizona did not have the death penalty.
The Pima County Officers, after talking with the Maricopa County officers, interviewed
Steelman again. Even though Steelman had asserted his right to an attorney the night before, they decided to talk with him again when they learned about the other statement. After separate warnings and an agreement by the officers not to allow the statement to be used in California, Steelman made a statement to each officer. Steelman claims that his understanding about the death penalty and his physical condition were the reasons for making both statements. These statements and
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