SIROOS PIRZADEH, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
Siroos Pirzadeh was convicted of possession of opium after a jury trial and sentenced to consecutive prison terms. The appellate court reversed and remanded because the detective improperly reinitiated contact with Pirzadeh after he invoked his right to counsel, rendering his written statement inadmissible.
The trial court erred in denying the suppression motion. Detective Burke's actions constituted improper custodial interrogation that violated Pirzadeh's right to counsel. Once Burke informed Pirzadeh of the charges and no-bond status—which was reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response—Burke should have terminated the conversation, and Pirzadeh's reinitiation did not justify the detective's continuing dialogue.
[1] A custodial interrogation includes words or actions by police that they should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.
[2] Police conduct that informs a suspect of the charges against them and the potential consequences, after the suspect has invoked their right to counsel, constitutes an int…
Previewing 2 of 5 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“In the constitutional sense, an interrogation can be either the direct asking of questions or its "functional equivalent." The functional equivalent of interrogation includes any words or actions on the part of the police that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.”
Establishes the legal standard for what constitutes interrogation under the Fifth Amendment and Miranda doctrine.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePirzadeh was arrested, advised of Miranda rights, and invoked his right to counsel before being transported to jail. While being booked, Detective Bur…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Functional Equivalent Of Interrogation cases and more on FLexlaw
NICHOLS, A. W„ Associate Judge.
Siroos Pirzadeh was charged and brought to trial on four counts of trafficking in opium in various amounts. Following a jury trial, Pirzadeh was found guilty of three lesser included counts of possession of opium. He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each count with each count to run consecutively to the other. Pirzadeh raises eight points of appeal. We reverse on the first issue and find the remaining issues moot.
Prior to trial, Pirzadeh moved to suppress a written statement he made to Detective Andrew Burke of the Orange County Sheriffs Office on the basis that the statement was obtained in violation of his right to counsel under the Florida and United States Constitutions. The statement was made as follows:
I told the agent that I want to write the statement, I am writing this in my own free will, the agent promises nothing, I had 220 grams of opium in my store, I paid $6,000 and bought that six days ago, I am not an opium trafficker, I use that for my own, this 220 grams of opium should last me about one year, I buy the opium from the friend I know, when I bought that, the opium comes in candy wrapper, I have back problems and I use it to remedy pain, I own the gas station at 4316 Curryford Road, Orlando, Florida 32806, another agent read my rights and I chose to write the statement anyway.
During the suppression hearing, both sides stipulated that Pirzadeh was placed under arrest, advised of his Miranda1 rights, and invoked his right to counsel prior to being transported to the Orange County Jail. While being booked at the jail, Detective Burke approached Pirzadeh and explained to him what crimes he was being charged with and what the sentencing guidelines for those crimes were. Detective Burke also told Pirzadeh that he was not going to give Pirzadeh a bond at that time because he considered Pirzadeh a flight risk. At that time, Detective Burke did not ask Pirzadeh any questions or make any promises to him. Once Pirza-deh was advised of the charges and the no-bond status, Pirzadeh said he wanted to cooperate because he wanted a bond. Burke told Pirzadeh he still was not going to give him a bond and that he should get an attorney and seek a hearing.
This back and forth dialogue continued between Detective Burke and Pirzadeh with Pirzadeh claiming he would cooperate and wanted a bond, and the detective stating he would not get a bond. During this continuing exchange, the detective testified he told Pirzadeh that Pirzadeh could cooperate, but he was not going to recommend a bond. Pirzadeh told Detective Burke that he still wanted to cooperate and that he wanted a bond. The detective told Pirzadeh that if Pirzadeh wanted to cooperate, that would be fine, but the detective would not give him any assistance and would continue to recommend no bond. The trial court denied Pirzadeh’s motion to suppress and Pirzadeh’s written statement was read into evidence and a blown-up copy published to the jury.
The issue in this case is whether the trial court erred in denying Pirzadeh’s motion to suppress his written statement. As it was stipulated that Pirzadeh was in custody at the time he spoke with Detective Burke and that Detective Burke initiated the contact, the only issue is whether Detective Burke’s actions constituted an improper custodial interrogation.
In the constitutional sense, an interrogation can be either the direct asking of questions or its “functional equivalent.” The functional equivalent of interrogation includes any words or actions on the part of the police that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response. Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1980).
In Larson v. State, 753 So. 2d 733 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000), the Second District Court of Appeal found that an officer who held a conversation with a defendant about the crimes for which he was charged, and told the defendant that he was facing a twenty-five-year sentence, was conducting an interrogation of the defendant because those statements were reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the defendant.
The current case goes beyond Larson. Not only did the detective inform Pirzadeh of the crimes with which he was charged and the possible sentence, but also told Pirzadeh he would not be given a bond. Whether or not Pirzadeh believed that the detective had any control over the bond is immaterial. Once the detective told Pirza-deh about the nature of the charges against him, he should have terminated the confrontation as it became clear that continuing the conversation would lead to an incriminating response.
The State argues that Pirzadeh reinitiated the conversation after invoking the right to counsel. The United States Supreme Court has held that when an accused has invoked his right to counsel, all interrogation must cease immediately until counsel is made available, unless the accused reinitiates further communication with law enforcement. Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981).
The State relies on Oregon v. Bradshaw, 462 U.S. 1039, 103 S.Ct. 2830, 77 L.Ed.2d 405 (1983); Francis v. State, 808 So. 2d 110 (Fla.2001), and Hill v. State, 772 So. 2d 19 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 790 So. 2d 1104 (Fla.2001), for the proposition that Pirzadeh reinitiated the conversation. The State’s reliance is misplaced. In Bradshaw, the defendant asked the police officers, “Well, what is going to happen to me now?” In Francis, the defendant knocked on the door of the interrogation room and asked what was going on after being inside for three and one-half hours. And, in Hill, the defendant requested a meeting with a detective after a visit from his probation officer. There is no question that it was Detective Burke, and not Pirzadeh, who initiated the contact after Pirzadeh invoked his right to counsel. All Pirzadeh did was respond to the renewed contact by continuing to express his interest in cooperating and in getting a bond. The law concerning Miranda warnings and the right to counsel establishes a policy whose purpose is to prevent what happened in this case.
The trial court should have granted Pirzadeh’s motion to suppress the written statement — the result of the improper initiation of conversation after invocation of the right to counsel.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
GRIFFIN and MONACO, JJ„ concur. . Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
COX v. State, 26 So. 3d 666 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)…investigative file, we find (as did the trial court) that Cox re-initiated discussion allowing for the resumption of his interrogation. See Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 484-85, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981); see also Pirzadeh v. State, 854 So. 2d 740, 743 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)(“[W]hen an accused has invoked his right to counsel, all interrogation must cease immediately until counsel is made available, unless the accused reinitiates further communication with law enforcement.”). Nevertheless, Cox…
-
Cooper v. State, 27 So. 3d 715 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)…ement directed to the defendant was clearly the “functional equivalent of interrogation.” Id. at 73. We also found the nature of the statement to be “accusatory” and “reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.” Id. In Pirzadeh v. State, 854 So. 2d 740, 742 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003), where the defendant invoked his right to counsel after being informed of his Miranda rights, the court found that the officer notifying the defendant of the crimes charged, possible sentence, and lack of bond was the “funct…
-
Perrine v. State, 919 So. 2d 520 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)…rule was “designed to protect an accused in police custody from being badgered by police officers”); Pirzadeh v. State, 854 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003), we hold, distinguishing such cases as United States v. Gomez, 927 F. 2d 1530, 1539 n. 8 (11th Cir.1991),6 that the trial court did not err in finding that the tainted post -Miranda interrogation had been dissipated. The cases in…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (U.S. 1966)
- Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477 (U.S. 1981)
- Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291 (U.S. 1980)
- Oregon v. Bradshaw, 462 U.S. 1039 (U.S. 1983)
- Carlton A. Francis v. State, 808 So. 2d 110 (Fla. 2001)
- Larson v. State, 753 So. 2d 733 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)
- Carnell Hawthorne v. State, 772 So. 2d 19 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)