State v. Wallace7/22/2004
nt made a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of his right to consult with an attorney. State v. Amorin, 61 Haw. 356, 604 P.2d 45 (1979); State v. Pahio, 58 Haw. 323, 568 P.2d 1200 (1977); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 [86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694] (1966).
10. When a suspect makes an ambiguous request for counsel during custodial interrogation, police have a duty to either cease all questioning or seek non-substantive clarification of the suspect's request. State v. Hoey, 77 Hawai'i 17, 881 P.2d 504 (1994).
11. Based on State v. Hoey, this court finds that Defendant's refusal to sign the waiver of rights section of M.P.D. form 103, while agreeing to talk with police at the same time, was ambiguous and equivocal.
12. All questioning of Defendant should have ceased at the point Defendant refused to sign the form.
13. Officer Adachi failed to clarify the ambiguity.
14. Officer Adachi should have clarified with Defendant whether or not his refusal to sign the form meant that he did want to consult with an attorney.
15. Defendant's incriminating statements obtained after Officer Adachi's failure to clarify the ambiguity, were obtained in violation of Defendant's constitutional rights under Article I, Sections 5 and 10 of the Hawaii State Constitution, as well as *1281 the 5th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution.
(Emphases added.)
This timely appeal followed.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
"We answer questions of constitutional law by exercising our own independent judgment based on the facts of the case.... Thus, we review questions of constitutional law under the 'right/wrong' standard." State v. Jenkins, 93 Hawai'i 87, 100, 997 P.2d 13, 26 (2000) (citations, some quotation signals, and some ellipsis points omitted). Accordingly, "[w]e review the circuit court's ruling on a motion to suppress de novo to determine whether the ruling was 'right' or 'wrong.' " Id. (citations and some quotation signals omitted).
State v. Locquiao, 100 Hawai'i 195, 203, 58 P.3d 1242, 1250 (2002) (quoting State v. Poaipuni, 98 Hawai'i 387, 392, 49 P.3d 353, 358 (2002)).
III. DISCUSSION
A. Whether Wallace was in Custody
"It is a fundamental tenet of criminal law that 'the prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination.' " [FN4] State v. Naititi, 104 Hawai'i 224, 235, 87 P.3d 893, 904 (2004) (quoting Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966)) (emphases in original).
FN4. A suspect must be advised "of his right to remain silent, that anything he says can and will be used against him, that he has the right to have his attorney present, and that if he cannot afford counsel, one will be appointed for him prior to any interrogation." State v. Kalai, 56 Haw. 366, 368, 537 P.2d 8, 11 (1975) (construing Miranda, 384 U.S. at 467-74, 86 S.Ct. 1602).
The "Miranda rule[ ]" ... is, at core, a constitutionally prescribed rule of evidence that requires the prosecution to lay a sufficient foundation--i.e., that the requisite warnings were administered and validly waived before the accused gave the statement sought to be adduced at trial--before it may adduce evidence of a defendant's custodial statements that stem from interrogation during his or her criminal trial....
The prosecution's burden of establishing that the requisite warnings were given, however, is not triggered unless the totality of the circumstances reflect that the statement it seeks to adduce at trial was obtained as a result of "custodial interrogation," which, as the United States Supreme Court defined it in Miran
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