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State v. Carcieri.5/18/1999
ate v. DiPrete, 710 A.2d 1266, 1274 (R.I. 1998). The United States Supreme Court stated that its "approach has * * * been to identify [the violation] and then neutralize the taint by tailoring relief appropriate in the circumstances to assure" that the defendant does not suffer prejudice. Morrison, 449 U.S. at 365, 101 S.Ct. at 668, 66 L.Ed.2d at 568. Accordingly, we find that each alleged violation of § 12-7-20 must be considered on a case-by-case basis to determine the appropriate remedy.
In Morrison the defendant, Hazel Morrison, secured counsel because she was indicted for distributing heroin. Thereafter, two individuals from the Drug Enforcement Agency attempted to obtain statements from Morrison in the absence of counsel, and made several remarks to her insisting that the counsel of her choice was incompetent. 449 U.S. at 362, 101 S.Ct. at 666, 66 L.Ed.2d at 566. Despite the persistence of the agents seeking to elicit information, Morrison refused to cooperate and did not supply them with any incriminating information pertinent to her case. Id. at 362-63, 101 S.Ct. at 666-67, 66 L.Ed.2d at 567. Morrison then moved to dismiss the indictment based on a violation of her right to counsel. Id. at 363, 101 S.Ct. at 667, 66 L.Ed.2d at 567. The Court found that Morrison has demonstrated no prejudice with respect to her right to counsel, and therefore had not presented any justification for dismissing the criminal proceeding against her. 449 US. at 366, 101 S.Ct. at 669, 66 L.Ed.2d at 569.
Similarly, the facts in the instant case are insufficient to support an argument for dismissal of the charges. There is no evidence that the police officer obtained any incriminating evidence against Carcieri that could be utilized at trial. Moreover, the argument that Carcieri's statutory right to confer privately with counsel was violated is without merit. Section 12-7-20. This assertion is true since Carcieri was not speaking with his attorney, nor is there any evidence in the record that Carcieri had contacted his "friend" for the purpose of securing counsel. Therefore, absent a showing of substantial prejudice, we answer question 5 in the negative.
In Conclusion we answer questions 2 and 5 in the negative, and question 3 in the affirmative, with explanations as provided in this opinion. We decline to answer questions 1 and 4, and we order the papers in this case remanded to the District Court.
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