JEFFREY COLQUITT, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1981-04-14
No. 78-2407
Before SCHWARTZ, NESBITT and BASKIN, JJ.
396 So. 2d 1170 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1981) Caution
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Jeffrey Colquitt was convicted of first-degree arson based on a confession obtained during custodial interrogation. The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed his conviction, finding that police violated Miranda rights by continuing to interrogate him after he repeatedly requested counsel without providing him access to an attorney.


Holding

The state failed to establish that the confession was freely and voluntarily obtained. Because the defendant continuously asserted his right to counsel throughout more than ten hours of custodial restraint, and police continued interrogation without providing him access to counsel or clear evidence that he reinitiated questioning, the admission of the confession violated Miranda principles.


Headnotes

[1] A confession obtained after a defendant in custodial restraint has exercised the right to counsel is inadmissible unless the defendant has had the opportunity to consult…

[2] Once a suspect in custodial interrogation requests counsel, further interrogation is prohibited unless the suspect has had the opportunity to consult with counsel or has…

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Once the defendant requested counsel, there should have been no further interrogation or re-interrogation unless the defendant either had the opportunity to talk with counsel or chose to reinstitute the questioning himself.”

Establishes the controlling legal principle that interrogation must cease upon request for counsel absent clear reinitiation by the suspect

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Colquitt worked at a hotel and was under surveillance as a suspect in a series of unexplained fires. On February 1, 1978, after a fire occurred at the…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
NESBITT, Judge.

NESBITT, Judge.

The dispositive point on this appeal is whether the state established that the defendant’s confession was freely and voluntarily obtained after he was in custodial restraint and had exercised his right to counsel. Finding that it did not, we reverse the defendant’s judgment of conviction of first degree arson, order that his confession be suppressed, and remand the cause for a new trial.

The defendant worked at a hotel. He was under surveillance as a suspect in connection with a series of unexplained fires. On February 1,1978, a fire inspector for the City of Miami Beach arrived at the hotel where the defendant was employed. Minutes after the fire inspector’s arrival, an unexplained fire was detected at the hotel. About thirty minutes later, the defendant was taken into custody as a suspect in connection with that fire as well as other unexplained fires. He was placed under formal arrest at approximately 10:15 P.M. on the same evening and given Miranda warnings. It is undisputed that after such advisory he requested assistance of counsel. Despite his request, the initial team of interrogators subjected him to a polygraph examination which he failed. Following the polygraph examination, the defendant was advised of the results. A new team of interrogators assumed responsibility for his further custodial interrogation. This new team of inter rogators again gave him Miranda warnings and he reiterated his desire for counsel.

Sometime between 4:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M. on the morning of February 2nd, an effort was made by the police to obtain the public defender’s services on the defendant’s behalf but to no avail. Subsequently, he was given a telephone book in an effort to reach an attorney of his choosing which also failed. At approximately 5:00 A.M. on the morning of February 2nd, the defendant telephoned his father-in-law about obtaining the services of an attorney. Shortly after that conversation, which was the only supportive assistance the defendant received, he allegedly gave a written waiver of his right to counsel and a confession. This was shortly followed by a taped waiver of his right to counsel and a taped confession.

In this case, it is clear that both sets of interrogators had knowledge of the defendant’s desire for counsel. Thus, it is clear from the state’s own witnesses that the defendant continuedly asserted his right to counsel during the more than ten hours that he was in custodial restraint. Consequently, it is also clear that the admission of his confession over objection violated the principles of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Once the defendant requested counsel, there should have been no further interrogation or re-interrogation unless the defendant either had the opportunity to talk with counsel or chose to reinstitute the questioning himself. Rhode Island v. Innes, 446 U.S. 291, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1980); Michigan v. Mosley, 423 U.S. 96, 96 S.Ct. 321, 46 L.Ed.2d 313 (1975).

This is not a case where the interrogation was terminated after a suspect requested counsel and was later resumed only under circumstances where it was apparent the defendant had changed his mind and desired to make a statement. Rivera Nunez v. State, 227 So. 2d 324 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969); see, Michigan v. Mosley, supra. Here, the defendant continuously indicated his desire for an attorney and consequently the state completely failed to show that the defendant thereafter exercised a knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to remain silent. Jones v. State, 346 So. 2d 639 (Fla.2d DCA 1977); Singleton v. State, 344 So. 2d 911 (Fla.3d DCA), cert. denied, 354 So. 2d 986 (Fla.1977).

For the foregoing reasons, the defendant’s judgment of conviction is reversed with directions to grant his motion to suppress the confession and to grant a new trial.

Reversed and remanded.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • State v. Brown, 592 So. 2d 308 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
    ….S. 823, 108 S.Ct. 87, 98 L.Ed.2d 48 (1987), involved the functional equivalent of interrogation as defined in Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. at 291, 100 S.Ct. at 1682, and therefore does not apply to the instant facts. Finally, Colquitt v. State, 396 So. 2d 1170 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), is not relevant to this case. Colquitt states: This is not a case where the interrogation was terminated after a suspect requested counsel and was later resumed only under circumstances where it was apparent the defendant had ch…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw