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State v. Sawyer6/13/2001
Reporter of Decisions
Submitted on Briefs: January 18, 2001
Majority: WATHEN, C.J., and CLIFFORD, RUDMAN, DANA, and SAUFLEY, JJ.
Dissent: ALEXANDER and CALKINS, JJ.
The State appeals from a judgment of the District Court (Augusta, Vafiades, J.) suppressing, as involuntary, a statement made by William Sawyer, Jr. We vacate the judgment.
BACKGROUND
The officer testified to the following facts at the suppression hearing. In December of 1999, at approximately 1 a.m., an officer on routine patrol observed a truck heading toward him passing another vehicle. To avoid a collision, the officer was forced to pull over into the breakdown lane. The officer clocked the truck at 73 mph in a 50 mph zone, proceeded to turn on his blue lights, and turned his cruiser around to follow the vehicles. While following the vehicles, the officer passed a driveway and saw two sets of taillights. He turned around a second time and pulled into a residential driveway. The court found that " he red truck was parked up the driveway, the white vehicle was behind the truck and partially to the left," and "the officer parked behind the white car." The officer stated that he was conducting an investigatory stop based on a civil violation, and the court determined that the officer "thought it was important to talk to the driver of the vehicle regarding his dangerous pass and his speed."
The officer observed four males in the driveway, including Sawyer who was standing by the front fender of the truck. The court found that the officer requested that Sawyer come talk to him, asked Sawyer if he was the driver of the truck, and Sawyer answered affirmatively. Next, the officer requested Sawyer's license and conducted a field sobriety test, during which Sawyer told the officer he had been drinking too much. The officer agreed, placed him in handcuffs, and placed him in the cruiser. The officer did not administer Miranda warnings prior to questioning Sawyer.
Sawyer was charged with criminal OUI pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2411 (1996), and pleaded not guilty. Sawyer filed a motion to suppress the statements and arrest, and a hearing was held at which only the officer testified. The court made the following determinations: the officer was justified in making an investigatory stop, the officer subjected Sawyer to an interrogation, Sawyer was not in custody, Miranda warnings were not required, Sawyer's statement that he was the driver of the truck was not made voluntarily, and Sawyer's statement that he had been drinking too much was a spontaneous statement made voluntarily. As a result, the court suppressed Sawyer's involuntary admission to operating the truck and suppressed the arrest because probable cause for the arrest was partially based on Sawyer's involuntary statement. The State's motion for reconsideration was denied, and the State filed this timely appeal pursuant to 15 M.R.S.A. § 2115-A (1980) and M.R. Crim. P. 37B.
SAWYER'S ADMISSION
The State contends the court reached two legally inconsistent conclusions by using similar facts to determine that Sawyer was not in custody but his admission that he was the driver was involuntary. The State further contends the court erred in its factual findings and its application of the law. Sawyer contends the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his admission to operating the truck was voluntary.
In concluding that Sawyer's admission to operating the truck was involuntary, the court made the following findings:
The burden is on the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's statements were voluntary.
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