STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
ERNEST W. DAVIS, III, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 2008-01-10
No. 1D06-5678
WEBSTER and ROBERTS, JJ., concur.
971 So. 2d 1017 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2008) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

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Holding

The court held that a suspect's statement "none of 'em" in response to being asked which officer they felt more comfortable talking to was an equivocal assertion of their right to terminate questioning, and thus officers were not required to clarify or cease interrogation.


Headnotes

[1] After a suspect knowingly and voluntarily waives Miranda rights, law enforcement officers have no duty to clarify an ambiguous or equivocal request to terminate questioni…

[2] A suspect must articulate their desire to cut off questioning with sufficient clarity that a reasonable police officer would understand the statement to be an assertion o…

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Facts & Procedural History

After being read his Miranda rights and waiving them, Ernest Davis was questioned about his father's death. When asked which officer he felt more comf…

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Opinion of the Court
HAWKES, J.

HAWKES, J.

The State appeals the trial court’s non-final order partially granting Defendant Ernest. Davis’s motion to suppress. We reverse. „ .

The following is a brief synopsis of the events léading up to Davis’s motion to suppress. On August 25, 2005, Officers Jim Spencer and Jerry Utsey sought out Davis to question him concerning his father’s death. When the officers found Davis, they told him they wanted him to come to the Sheriffs office for an interview concerning his father’s death. The officers told Davis he could ride with them and, because his truck was malfunctioning, he agreed. During the trip, another officer radioed Officer Spencer and informed him they had Davis’s brother. According to Officer Spencer, Davis overheard the report and stated, “You got us now.” Davis denied making the statement and asserted he asked if the officers had talked to the neighbor. After arriving at the Sheriff’s office, Davis was read his Miranda rights and signed a waiver form. Officer Utsey and Officer Jeffrey Shuler then began questioning him about his father’s death. During the interview, Davis stated on several occasions that he wanted to go home. He was eventually informed he could not go home because he was being detained and was officially a suspect.

Officer Spencer then came into the interview room, and the following conversation took place:

OFFICER SPENCER: Which one of these guys do you feel more comfortable talking with? Which one of these guys you wanna talk to Ernest?

DAVIS: None of ‘em.

OFFICER SPENCER: I mean which one would you feel more comfortable talking with? Give me an answer. I’m giving you a choice.

Davis did not answer again and Officer Spencer continued questioning him. Ultimately, Davis confessed to murdering his father and directed officers to the location of the gun he used to shoot his father. Davis was charged with first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm.

Subsequently, Davis filed a motion to suppress the statements and admissions made to officers during his interview and any evidence (including the gun) discovered as a result of those statements and admissions. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court entered an order partially granting Davis’s motion to suppress, concluding that his statement, “none of ‘em,” was an unequivocal assertion of his right to terminate further questioning.

A trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress is presumptively correct. See e.g., Connor v. State, 803 So. 2d 598, 605 (Fla.2001). However, appellate courts review mixed questions of law and fact that ultimately determine constitutional rights using a two-step approach. See id. The trial court’s findings of historical fact are given deference, but the appellate court reviews the constitutional issue de novo. See id.; see also Walker v. State, 957 So. 2d 560 (Fla.2007); Albritton v. State, 769 So. 2d 438 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). Accordingly, a trial court’s determination of whether a defendant’s statement constituted an unequivocal assertion of a Miranda right is reviewed de novo. See Connor, 803 So. 2d at 606. In Davis v. United States, 512 U.S. 452, 459, 114 S.Ct. 2350, 129 L.Ed.2d 362 (1994), the United States Supreme Court held that, after a suspect knowingly and voluntarily waives Miranda rights, a law enforcement officer may continue questioning unless the suspect clearly and unequivocally asserts his or her right to counsel. Thus, under Davis, law enforcement officers have no duty to clarify a suspect’s equivocal or ambiguous request and may continue questioning until the suspect makes a clear assertion of the right to counsel. See id.

In State v. Owen, 696 So. 2d 715, 717 (Fla.1997), the Florida Supreme Court recognized that the reasoning of Davis applies when a suspect makes an equivocal or ambiguous assertion of any Miranda right, including the right to terminate further questioning. The Florida Supreme Court explained:

A suspect must articulate his desire to cut off questioning with sufficient clarity that a reasonable police officer in the circumstances would understand the statement to be an assertion of the right to remain silent. If the statement is ambiguous or equivocal, then the police have no duty to clarify the suspect’s intent, and they may proceed with the interrogation.

Id. at 718 (quoting Coleman v. Singletary, 30 F. 3d 1420, 1424 (11th Cir.1994)). Thus, under Owen, after a suspect knowingly and voluntarily waives Miranda rights, law enforcement officers have no duty to clarify the suspect’s request and may continue questioning until the suspect makes a clear and unequivocal assertion of his right to terminate further questioning. Id. at 717-18, 719-20. Applying, this reasoning, the Florida Supreme Court held that Owen’s statements, “I’d rather not talk about it” and “I don’t want to talk about it,” were equivocal and, therefore, the law enforcement officers were not required to clarify his statements or to terminate further questioning. Id. at 720; see also Owen v. State, 560 So. 2d 207, 210-11 (Fla.1990).

In the instant case, the statement made by Davis was more, not less, equivocal than the statements made in Owen. When asked by Officer Spencer whether he was more comfortable speaking with either Officer Shuler or Officer Utsey, Davis replied “none of 'em.” When asked again, Davis did not reply and the questioning continued. Taken in context, Davis’s statement, “none of 'em,” was not an unequivocal or unambiguous request to terminate further questioning. It is unclear whether Davis was indicating that he was not comfortable talking with Officer Shuler or Officer Ut-sey, but would be comfortable talking with Officer Spencer, or that he did not want to continue the questioning at all. Thus, the officers were under no obligation to clarify Davis’s intent or to terminate further questioning. See Owen, 696 So. 2d at 717-18.

Accordingly, the trial court reversibly erred by partially granting the motion to suppress. The order partially granting the motion to suppress is REVERSED.

WEBSTER and ROBERTS, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Alvarez v. State, 15 So. 3d 738 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
    …tim took the suspect home to his apartment, was found not to have “sufficient clarity that a reasonable police officer in the circumstances would have understood Alvarez’s statements to be an assertion of a constitutional right.” In State v. Davis, 971 So. 2d 1017, 1018 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008), a suspect was asked which of three officers he would feel more comfortable talking to. He responded “none of them.” Id. The statement was found to be an ambiguous invocation since it was unclear whether the suspect meant t…
  • Spivey v. State, 45 So. 3d 51 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)
    …n consented to be interviewed after making this statement. We agree with the trial court’s ruling. A trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress carries a presumption of correctness. Connor v. State, 803 So. 2d 598, 605 (Fla.2001); State v. Davis, 971 So. 2d 1017, 1018 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008). We give deference to the trial court’s factual findings if they are supported by competent, substantial evidence but we review the trial court’s determination of constitutional rights de novo. Connor, 803 So. 2d at 605. Sp…
  • State v. Sepanik, 110 So. 3d 977 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)
    …on, “Just take, me to jail,” was not an unambiguous invocation of the right to remain silent and interrogator did not have to cease questioning or clarify whether defendant wanted the interrogation to end). To further illustrate, in State v. Davis, 971 So. 2d 1017, 1018 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008), police questioned the defendant about his father’s death after he waived his Miranda rights. During the interview the defendant stated on several occasions that he wanted to go home. Id. An officer asked the defendant, “Wh…

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