KENNETH LEONDRY ANGLIN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that a mother's advice to her teenage son to tell the truth, even with the word 'clobber,' does not constitute undue threat or coercion rendering a confession involuntary.
[1] A confession is not rendered involuntary merely because a parent advises their teenage child to tell the truth.
[2] A parent's admonition to tell the truth to their child does not, in itself, constitute coercion or a deprivation of constitutional rights.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant, a 15-year-old, was arrested for his involvement in a robbery-murder. His mother was present, advised him to tell the truth, and signed a ca…
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Appellant Anglin was one of the participants in a robbery-murder, the facts of which have been detailed by this Court in Edward Cooper v. State of Florida, Case No. 0-436, opinion filed February 8, 1972. Appellant now appeals a judgment of conviction.
The only point posed by appellant requiring any comment is that the lower court committed reversible error in denying his motion to suppress a confession taken from him on the ground that the confession was involuntarily obtained.
Appellant, age 15 years, was arrested at his home shortly after midnight on July 23, 1970. The testimony of the arresting officer reveals that appellant’s mother was with him at the time of his arrest and told him to tell “the truth” or “she would clobber him.” Prior to being interrogated, appellant’s rights were explained to him and his mother and each signed a card acknowledging that they understood appellant’s rights. Appellant’s mother again told him to tell the truth about what had happened and at this time he gave a statement indicating his presence during the robbery-murder.
Appellant now contends that his mother’s use of the word “clobber” exercised an undue threat or coercion in order that a confession could be obtained. It may well be that an admonition by a parent to her teen-age son to tell the truth is held in some psychological circles to constitute a deprivation of the child’s constitutional rights. We have not reached such a conclusion in this jurisdiction. The moral upbringing of a child to be a useful citizen necessarily encompasses advice by a parent for the child to be truthful. The motherly concern of this parent for her offspring and at the same time her concern for the basic precepts of morality are to be commended. We find no element of a threat or coercion on the part of this mother and hold that the controverted confession was freely and voluntarily given by the appellant.
The judgment appealed is affirmed.
CARROLL, DONALD K., Acting C. J., and JOHNSON, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Cited By
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Eve Postell v. State, 383 So. 2d 1159 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)…m on the robbery. . Postell’s separate contention that her confessions were involuntary because her mother, present with Eve at ali times during questioning, told her to “tell the police everything,” deserves little discussion. See Anglin v. State, 259 So. 2d 752 (Fla. 1st DCA 1972) (where the court upheld a juvenile’s confession despite his mother’s exhortation to' tell the truth or she would “clobber” him). If anything, the mother’s presence tended to assure that no coercive police behavior would occur. Se…
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Anglin v. State, 302 So. 2d 777 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)…PER CURIAM. Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is denied. Anglin v. State, 259 So. 2d 752 (Fla.App.1st, 1972) ; and Cooper v. State, 258 So. 2d 464 (Fla.App.1st, 1972). RAWLS, C. J„ and JOHNSON and SPECTOR, JJ., concur.…