STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
ALVIN ANDREW CLAYTON, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1985-11-07
No. 85-101
UPCHURCH and COWART, JJ., concur.
478 So. 2d 436 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1985)

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Synopsis

The Florida Supreme Court's decision in S.L.W. v. State, which held that failure to comply with the written waiver requirement of Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.290(d)(4) rendered statements per se inadmissible, was quashed. This appellate court reversed the trial court's suppression of Clayton's confession, finding no evidence of involuntariness and that the rule violation alone does not mandate exclusion.


Holding

The failure to comply with Rule 8.290(d)(4) does not render statements per se inadmissible. A court must examine the totality of circumstances to determine whether the statements were voluntary. Clayton's statements were admissible because there was no substantial evidence they were involuntary; he was 16 years old, not threatened or coerced, and expressly acknowledged his statements were knowing and voluntary.


Headnotes

[1] A waiver of counsel made out of court by a minor requires a written waiver with at least two attesting witnesses who attest to its voluntary execution, under Florida Rule…

[2] Failure to comply with Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.290(d)(4) does not automatically render inculpatory statements inadmissible if the statements were otherwise v…

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Key Quotes

“Whether the failure to comply with Fla. R.Juv.P. 8.290(d)(4) renders inadmissible inculpatory statements obtained from a child absent a valid waiver of counsel obtained pursuant to that rule?”

The certified question answered by the Florida Supreme Court in the negative, establishing that rule violations alone do not mandate per se exclusion

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Facts & Procedural History

Alvin Andrew Clayton, a 16-year-old minor, was questioned by police at his high school in the presence of the principal about a burglary in September …

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Opinion of the Court
COBB, Chief Judge.

COBB, Chief Judge.

The appellee, Alvin Andrew Clayton, a minor, was questioned at his high school by the police, in the presence of the principal, about a burglary. After receiving Miranda 1 warnings, he admitted his involvement. This occurred in September, 1984, at which time Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.290(d)(4) provided:

A waiver of counsel made in court shall be of record; a waiver made out of court shall be in writing with not less than two attesting witnesses. Said witnesses shall attest the voluntary execution thereof.2

The state failed to obtain a written waiver. Clayton was charged with various counts of burglary and theft. His motion to suppress his admissions was granted by the trial court, and at the conclusion of the hearing the following colloquy occurred:

THE COURT: With regard to the motion to suppress filed by the public defender’s office, ... I’m going to grant the motion to suppress. I have read the law provided by counsel and understand the distinction between per se inadmissibility and viewing the surrounding circumstances, and based upon my understanding of those cases and the rule, I will grant the motion to suppress.

MR BRADLEY (Assistant State Attorney): Your Honor, for the record, can I ask whether the Court is granting that motion on the basis of involuntariness or the violation of the procedure of Juvenile Rule of Procedure?

THE COURT: I don’t think I need to make that distinction. I think that the facts should be — the facts when applied to the law in this case support my decision.

Although the trial court declined to make the distinction requested by the state, it is apparent from the record that the court’s determination was based on violation of the rule, rather than any finding of involuntariness of the statements. In March, 1985, the Florida Supreme Court quashed the decision relied upon at the hearing by defense counsel, S.L.W. v. State, 445 So. 2d 586 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). See State v. S.L.W., 465 So. 2d 1231 (Fla.1985). In that case, the First District had held that Rule 8.290(d)(4) was mandatory and statements taken in violation thereof were per se inadmissible. The Florida Supreme Court answered in the negative the certified question:

Whether the failure to comply with Fla. R.Juv.P. 8.290(d)(4) renders inadmissible inculpatory statements obtained from a child absent a valid waiver of counsel obtained pursuant to that rule?

As did the Florida Supreme Court in S.L.W., we have reviewed the instant record and find no substantial evidence that Clayton’s statements were involuntary. He was sixteen years old at the time, and was not threatened or coerced in any way. He expressly acknowledged in a tape-recorded statement that his statements to the police were knowing and voluntary.

REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

UPCHURCH and COWART, JJ., concur. . Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).

. This rule was amended effective January 1, 1985, eliminating the requirement of a written waiver. See Petition of the Florida Bar to Amend the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, 462 So. 2d 399 (Fla.1984).


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