LYNN PITTS SILLING, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1982-06-11
No. AD-255
ERVIN and BOOTH, JJ., concur.
414 So. 2d 1182 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1982) Caution
Cited by 8 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

Lynn Pitts Silling was convicted of burglary with intent to assault and aggravated battery with a firearm. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding that testimony about statements she made to jail personnel after invoking her right to counsel violated Edwards v. Arizona and were inadmissible.


Holding

The court held that Deputy Taylor's testimony about appellant's statements was inadmissible because: (1) there was no evidence that appellant voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived her previously invoked right to counsel as required by Edwards; and (2) the conversation was initiated by Deputy Taylor, not by appellant, violating the Edwards rule that police cannot interrogate a suspect after counsel is invoked unless the suspect initiates further communication.


Headnotes

[1] Once an accused expresses a desire to exercise her right to counsel, she cannot be interrogated further by police until afforded counsel, unless she initiates further com…

[2] Statements made by an accused after invoking the right to counsel are inadmissible if the accused did not initiate further communication with law enforcement.

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 right to counsel is invoked, it must be voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived”

Establishes the standard required under Edwards v. Arizona for permitting further interrogation after a suspect invokes counsel.

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

Appellant was arrested and given Miranda warnings, which she acknowledged and waived. At the arrest scene, she explained to Deputy Wasden that she had…

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
THOMPSON, Judge.

THOMPSON, Judge.

Appellant was convicted and sentenced for one count of burglary with intent to assault and for two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. Appellant alleges error as to four points, one being that the trial court erred in allowing testimony regarding statements she allegedly made after invoking her right to counsel. We agree and reverse and remand for a new trial.

Deputy Wasden arrested appellant and immediately read her her Miranda rights. Appellant acknowledged her understanding of these rights and waived her right to remain silent. Deputy Wasden and defendant then proceeded to her apartment so she could make arrangements for her young son. Subsequently, while they were still at appellant’s apartment, Deputy Wasden again advised her of her Miranda rights. She again indicated that she understood these rights and again waived her right to remain silent. Appellant then proceeded to explain to Deputy Wasden that she had gone to her husband’s apartment to procure her son’s clothes he had left there after a recent visit with his father. Appellant and her husband, Mark, were not divorced but had been living separately. Appellant knew that Mark had been living with another woman, Carla. Appellant then told Deputy Wasden that when she touched Mark’s apartment door it came open.

Accordingly, she proceeded into the apartment and into the bedroom, where she saw Mark and Carla lying nude in bed. Deputy Was-den then asked appellant if that was when she began firing. At this point, appellant said she did not want to answer anymore questions without conferring with an attorney. Deputy Wasden did not question appellant further. Subsequently, Deputy Wasden took appellant to the county jail, where she was booked by Deputy Taylor. Deputy Wasden told Deputy Taylor that appellant had been given her Miranda rights. Deputy Taylor did not read appellant her Miranda rights nor did he apprise her of her right to counsel as required by Rule 3.111(c), Fla.R. Crim.P.

However, Deputy Taylor asked appellant “why she did it?” At trial Deputy Taylor testified that appellant responded with something along the line of “I was tired of him messing me over.” Appellant objected to the admission of this statement.

In view of Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981), decided subsequent to the trial in this case, Deputy Taylor’s testimony on this point was inadmissible. Edwards held that once the right to counsel is invoked, it must be voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived. In the instant case, there is no evidence that appellant voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived her right to counsel that she had previously specifically invoked. Edwards further held that once an accused expresses a desire to exercise her right to counsel, she cannot be interrogated further by police until afforded counsel, unless she initiates further “communication, exchanges or conversations with the police.” Id., 451 U.S. at 484-486, 101 S.Ct. at 1885, 68 L.Ed.2d at 386. There is no evidence that the conversation with Deputy Taylor was initiated by appellant. Indeed, from the testimony it appears that Deputy Taylor initiated the conversation by asking her a question.

Accordingly, Deputy Taylor’s testimony on this point is inadmissible. We therefore reverse appellant’s convictions and sentences and remand for a new trial.

The remaining three points raised by appellant are without merit. For the foregoing reasons, we reverse appellant’s convictions and. sentences and remand for a new trial consistent with this opinion.

ERVIN and BOOTH, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Gonzalez v. State, 449 So. 2d 882 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
    …stion, and those which have applied the Edwards teaching to find that statements were illegally obtained are easily distinguishable on their [*886] facts. See State v. Padron, 425 So. 2d 644 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983) (continuous custody); Silling v. State, 414 So. 2d 1182 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982) (continuous custody, same offense); Porter v. State, 410 So. 2d 164 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) (continuous custody, same offense). We hold that Edwards is not applicable to preclude the admission into evidence of a defendant’s statement…
  • Deguster Blake Zeigler v. State, 471 So. 2d 172 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)
    …o invoking his right to counsel, he knowingly and voluntarily waived that right. Accordingly, the trial court erred in denying appellant’s motion to suppress. Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981); Silling v. State, 414 So. 2d 1182 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). Compare, Barfield v. State, 402 So. 2d 377 (Fla.1981). We have considered and find wholly without merit the state’s contention that our prior decision in Zeigler v. State, 404 So. 2d 861 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), decided the constit…
  • del Duca v. State, 422 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982)
    …ith the police. The state failed to establish a valid waiver by the defendant of his right to have counsel present during interrogation, under the standard set forth in Edwards. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new trial. Silling v. State, 414 So. 2d 1182 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). REVERSED AND REMANDED. OTT, C.J., and BOARDMAN, J., concur.…

Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw