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State v. Hoppe5/22/2003
Oral Argument: December 6, 2002
SYKES, J., dissents (opinion filed). PROSSER, J., joins dissent.
REVIEW of a decision of the Court of Appeals. Affirmed.
. The petitioner, State of Wisconsin, seeks review of an unpublished court of appeals decision affirming the circuit court's order granting Paul Hoppe's motion to suppress statements he made to police officers during their investigation of the death of Jacqueline Simon, Hoppe's girlfriend. The State argues that the court of appeals erred in giving undue weight to Hoppe's condition when it concluded that Hoppe's statements were involuntary. We agree with the court of appeals that the circuit court's findings as to Hoppe's condition were not clearly erroneous and that, under the totality of the circumstances, Hoppe's statements were involuntary. Accordingly, we affirm.
I.
. On Saturday, March 6, 1999, shortly after 6:00 p.m., police were dispatched to Paul Hoppe's apartment to investigate a death. The police found Hoppe sitting in the living room with Jacqueline Simon's body on the floor next to him. Simon was Hoppe's girlfriend. Hoppe appeared to be in poor physical condition. He was shaking and was unable to walk on his own. Initially, because of Hoppe's long history of alcohol abuse, they thought he was intoxicated.
. Hoppe was transported to the hospital but was not placed under arrest. Blood tests at the hospital indicated that he was not intoxicated. Rather, it was determined that Hoppe was suffering the effects of severe alcohol withdrawal. Captain Kevin Manthey, the officer in charge of the investigation, who had known Hoppe for 25 years, asked and received permission from Hoppe for an interview.
. Prior to the interview, a physician prescribed Librium to control possible delirium tremors. However, the police asked a nurse who was preparing to administer the medication whether she could hold off the medication so they could interview Hoppe. The nurse was concerned about withholding the Librium, but she wanted to cooperate with the officers and thought it would be appropriate to delay administering the Librium as the police had requested.
. Captain Manthey began the first interview with Hoppe at approximately midnight on March 6 and it ended about an hour and fifteen minutes later, at 1:14 a.m. on Sunday, March 7. This interview was tape-recorded. During this interview, Hoppe was confused about the date and gave confusing and conflicting statements about his whereabouts and the events of the previous couple of days. He denied harming Simon, and said that he found her dead at approximately 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hoppe also said that he had gone to a local tavern on Saturday afternoon and drank six beers. He insisted that he drank the beer even though Captain Manthey told him his blood alcohol level was .00.
. During this first interview, Hoppe agreed to submit to a "voice stress test." Hoppe had difficulty following the instructions for this test, repeatedly answering control questions truthfully when told to answer falsely, even though the officer gave him the actual false answers to repeat. After being told three times how to answer the questions, Hoppe finally answered the control questions falsely, as instructed.
. The next morning at 9:00 a.m., Dr. Frederick Bronson, Hoppe's treating physician, saw Hoppe and diagnosed him as suffering from chronic alcoholism, alcohol withdrawal, threatened delirium tremors, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and chronic brain syndrome secondary to alcohol abuse. According to Dr. Bronson, Hoppe was confused and remained confused for the first three or four days of his hospital sta
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