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Miller v. State2/9/2001
[No. 1719 - February 9, 2001]
Appeal from the Superior Court, Fourth Judicial District, Fairbanks, Niesje J. Steinkruger and Jane F. Kauvar, Judges.
While investigating a fire of suspicious origins, the police questioned suspect Douglas Miller. Miller denied involvement in the fire. After the police assured Miller that if he started the fire by accident it was "not that big a thing" and would be "an over and done deal," Miller admitted that he had set fire to a block of insulation but thought he had fully extinguished it. The state charged Miller with arson for setting the fire and he was convicted. We conclude that Miller's statement to the police was involuntary because it was induced by an implied promise not to prosecute Miller for a serious offense if he started the fire by accident. Further, we conclude that the jury may have convicted Miller even if it substantially believed his account of how the fire started, an account consistent with a reasonable understanding of "accident." We therefore reverse Miller's convictions.
Douglas Miller was residing without permission in a vacant warehouse in Fairbanks. On July 26, 1998, the warehouse caught on fire and the lower portion was extensively burned. The upstairs office was not burned. A witness to the fire observed Miller standing near the warehouse.
Deputy Fire Marshall Andrew F. Garcia determined that the fire had originated above the bumper of a bus that was located in the warehouse. The fire had then spread to the warehouse.
That night, Fairbanks Police Department Detective Leonard C. Brown interviewed Miller at the police station. During that interview, the police told Miller that he was free to leave at any time. Miller denied involvement with the fire. At the end of the interview at the station, Detective Brown drove Miller back to the warehouse to look for his belongings. Detective Brown went into the warehouse and saw two drawings and graffiti in the upstairs office. Detective Brown asked Miller if he was responsible for the drawings, and Miller said he was.
The next day, Miller was hitch-hiking on the Johansen Expressway in Fairbanks. Eric Engman, a photographer for the Fairbanks News-Miner, pulled up to photograph Miller. After photographing Miller, he offered Miller a ride. Before Miller took the ride, Detective Brown and Fairbanks Police Department Detective Aaron Ring arrived in an unmarked car. They pulled up between Miller and Engman's car. The detectives began to interview Miller. The detectives told Miller he was not under arrest. They did not tell Miller that he was free to leave.
After a few minutes, Detective Ring went over to Engman. Detective Ring identified himself and asked who Engman was. Engman told Ring that he was a photographer and that he was considering giving Miller a ride. Detective Ring left Engman, but came back a few minutes later. Ring told Engman that Miller had a criminal record and they needed to talk to Miller. Ring said that he would suggest that Engman not give Miller a ride. Miller did not hear what Ring said to Engman. Engman left without Miller.
The police interviewed Miller for approximately forty-five minutes on the expressway. During the interview, the police assured Miller that if he started the fire accidently " t's not that big a thing . . . not that big a thing at all." They told him if starting the fire was an accident, " t's done with. It's an over and done deal." They assured Miller that they were not there to arrest him. After these assurances, Miller told the police that he had burned some foam insulation to turn it into a piece of artwork. He had then poured catsup on the insulation to make
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