ROBERT DILLOW, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Robert Dillow appeals the denial of his motion to suppress a confession to burglaries, arguing it was involuntary due to alleged threats by a detective. The court reverses because the trial judge failed to make the required factual findings about witness credibility and voluntariness, instead deferring the credibility determination to the jury.
The trial court's denial of the suppression motion is reversed because the court failed to make the required factual determination that the confession was voluntary based on a preponderance of the evidence. Although a jury may later consider the voluntariness issue after the trial court determines admissibility, the trial court must first make explicit factual findings on the credibility of witnesses regarding the circumstances of the confession.
[1] A trial court must make a factual determination regarding the voluntariness of a confession before admitting it into evidence.
[2] The record must reflect with unmistakable clarity that a trial judge found a confession to be voluntary by a preponderance of the evidence.
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“it is the duty of the trial judge to determine the admissibility of all evidence. When the 'trial judge admits into evidence a statement or confession to which there has been an objection, on review the record must reflect with unmistakable clarity that he found that the statement or confession was, by the preponderance of the evidence, voluntary.”
Establishes the trial court's affirmative duty to make explicit factual findings about voluntariness based on preponderance of evidence standard
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDillow was charged with multiple burglary offenses and entered nolo contendere pleas while reserving the right to appeal the denial of his suppression…
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CANADY, Judge.
Robert Dillow appeals the denial of a motion to suppress a confession. Dillow was convicted of multiple burglary offenses based on nolo contendere pleas. He reserved the right to appeal the denial of the motion to suppress his confession to the various burglaries. Because the record shows that the trial court failed to make the necessary factual determination to justify denial of the motion to suppress, we reverse the order denying the motion.
Background
At a suppression hearing before the circuit court concerning the admissibility of Dillow’s confession to a detective, Dillow contended that his confession concerning multiple burglaries was involuntary, because it was made in response to threats by the detective to have Dillow’s ten-year-old son placed with the Department of Children and Families and to arrest Dil-low’s ex-wife for possession of marijuana. The court conducted a hearing of several hours on two different days. Dillow testified to the alleged threats. His former wife testified to the relevant circumstances. And the detective in his testimony denied that he made threats. After hearing the testimony, the trial court stated:
The motion is denied. And I am not taking either view. The jury can make that decision about who is credible and who isn’t. I know that the detective rebutted what Mr. Dillow had to say and I think what Mrs. Dillow added really didn’t — it didn’t do anything. I think she — her testimony was kind of in agreement with what Det.' Sessions indicated that he told her. Analysis
Once a trial court has determined that a confession is voluntary and thus admissible, the issue of voluntariness of the confession can be considered again and conclusively determined by the jury. Stephenson v. State, 645 So. 2d 161, 163 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). That does not mean, however, that the trial court can refrain from making the factual findings that are necessary to support the legal determination that the confession was voluntary and thus admissible.
[I]t is the duty of the trial judge to determine the admissibility of all evidence. When the 'trial judge admits into evidence a statement or confession to which there has been an objection, on review the record must reflect with unmistakable clarity that he found that the statement or confession was, by the preponderance of the evidence, voluntary. ... If an independent review of the record fails to disclose with unmistak able clarity that the trial judge found that the statement was voluntary ... or if it appears that he imposed upon the state a lesser burden of proof than preponderance of the evidence in weighing the question of voluntariness, it is reversible error. Peterson v. State, 382 So. 2d 701, 702 (Fla.1980); see also Lego v. Twomey, 404 U.S. 477, 92 S.Ct. 619, 30 L.Ed.2d 618 (1972); Sims v. Georgia, 385 U.S. 538, 87 S.Ct. 639, 17 L.Ed.2d 593 (1967); Rice v. State, 451 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984).
In this case, the trial court failed to make the required factual finding concerning the only issue before the court on the motion to suppress, the credibility of the witnesses with respect to the circumstances of the confession. The record shows the trial court’s failure to make the crucial credibility determination: “I am not taking either view. The jury can make that decision about who is credible and who isn’t.” Thus, the record does not “reflect with unmistakable clarity” that the trial court determined based on a preponderance of the evidence that the confession was voluntary. Indeed, the record “re-flectes] with unmistakable clarity” that the trial court did not make the required determination.
Conclusion
Accordingly, Billow’s convictions and sentences are reversed. We remand for further proceedings in which the trial court gives proper consideration to the motion to suppress and in which Dillow is afforded an opportunity to withdraw his plea.
Reversed and remanded.
KELLY and WALLACE, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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State v. Edenfield, 27 So. 3d 222 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010)…ose version of those facts should be believed— Deputy Frenton’s or Edenfield’s. On a motion to suppress, the circuit court is responsible for weighing the evidence and making factual findings concerning the credibility of witnesses. Dillow v. State, 884 So. 2d 508, 510 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004); Brown v. State, 852 So. 2d 60, 61 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). In this case, the trial court erred in not doing so because the determination of this factual dispute is the linchpin to a correct legal decision on Edenfield’s motion t…
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Mack v. State, 231 So. 3d 578 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017)…ecifically before the court and the record, with unmistakable clarity, supported the conclusion that the trial court found defendant’s statement to be voluntary by a preponderance of the evidence). This case is distinguishable from Dillow v. State, 884 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004), in which the Second District reversed the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to suppress because the trial court expressly refrained from making a crucial credibility determination as to the volun-tariness of the conf…
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Pavon v. State, 12 So. 3d 287 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)…consent to the inspection of his vehicle and apartment to be voluntary by a preponderance of the evidence. Therefore, the confession and evidence were rightfully admitted, and the denial of the motion to suppress was not error. See Dillow v. State, 884 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004). Affirmed.…
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
- Lego v. Twomey, 404 U.S. 477 (U.S. 1972)
- Sims v. Georgia, 385 U.S. 538 (U.S. 1967)
- Anton Kevin Peterson v. State, 382 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 1980)
- Rice v. State, 451 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)
- Stephenson v. State, 645 So. 2d 161 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)