State v. Dailey

273 S.W.3d 94

STATE of Tennessee v. Kenneth C. DAILEY, III.

No. M2007-01874-SC-R11-CD.

Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Nashville.

October 1, 2008 Session.

January 2, 2009.

J. Carlton Drumwright, Brentwood, TN, for the appellant, Kenneth C. Dailey, III.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General & Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; Elizabeth T. Ryan, Associate Deputy Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson III, District Attorney General; and Pamela Sue Anderson, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

CORNELIA A. CLARK, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JANICE M. HOLDER, C.J., GARY R. WADE, and WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR., JJ., and E. RILEY ANDERSON, Sp. J., joined.

We granted permission to appeal the Defendant's certified question of law to determine whether the police violated the Defendant's constitutional rights by subjecting him to a custodial interrogation without first informing him of his constitutional rights as required by the Supreme Court's decision in Miranda v. Arizona. We hold that the Defendant's confessions, both obtained in violation of his federal and state constitutional privileges against self-incrimination, should have been suppressed. Accordingly, the Defendant's conviction must be vacated and the charge dismissed.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This matter is before us for the second time. After being charged with first degree murder, the Defendant filed a motion to suppress two incriminating statements he made to police officers concerning his role in the victim's homicide on the basis that he had been subjected to a custodial interrogation without the requisite Miranda warnings. After a hearing, the trial court denied the Defendant's motion. The Defendant subsequently entered a guilty plea to second degree murder but reserved for appeal the following certified question of law regarding the admissibility of his statements:

Whether the Defendant was subjected to a custodial interrogation by Metro Police Detectives on or about May 4, 2004 such that his subsequent statements were taken in violation of his rights pursuant to Article 1, Section Nine of the Tennessee Constitution, the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Defendant gave two statements to detectives on May 4, 2004. No Miranda warnings were given by the detectives prior to the first statement given by Defendant. It is the Defendant's position that this was a custodial interrogation thereby requiring Miranda warnings. Immediately following Defendant's first statement, Miranda warnings were given by the detectives and the Defendant gave a second statement. It is the Defendant's position that this second statement was obtained by the detectives using interrogation techniques expressly rejected by the United States Supreme Court in Missouri v. Seibert, 542 U.S. 600, 124 S.Ct. 2601, 159 L.Ed.2d 643 (2004). Testimony was given by Detective Mike Roland that the State's proof of Defendant's guilt consists entirely of the statements he gave on May 4, 2004 thereby making this question dispositive of the case.

The parties agree and the Court affirms that the certified question set out above is expressly reserved as part of the plea agreement and that all parties consent to this reservation. Further, all parties agree that this question is dispositive of the case.

On appeal the first time, the Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the record "does not demonstrate that the certified question is dispositive of the case." We granted permission to appeal and disagreed with the intermediate appellate court's analysis, concluding that the certified question was dispositive. We therefore remanded the case to the Court of Criminal Appeals for its consideration of the certified question on its merits.

On remand, the Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the evidence did not preponderate against the trial court's determination that the Defendant had not been in custody when he made his initial confession. The intermediate appellate court therefore affirmed the trial court's denial of the Defendant's motion to suppress. We granted the Defendant's application for permission to appeal.

FACTS

Metro Nashville police Detective Mike Roland testified at the suppression hearing that, in April 2004, a woman's severely decomposed body was found in an abandoned vehicle at Tommy's Wrecker Service in Davidson County. A piece of rope was wrapped around the woman's neck. The victim was transported to the Medical Examiner's Office for examination and was identified as Nancy Marie Lyons.

In an attempt to discover information about the victim, Det. Roland interviewed several of the Wrecker Service's employees. In conjunction with the investigation, all of the employees were asked to submit "elimination [finger]prints." The Defendant, Kenneth C. Dailey, III, was one of the employees interviewed and fingerprinted by the police. Although they had no forensic or other evidence linking the Defendant to the body, the police, based upon "gut feelings and instincts," subsequently decided that they wished to interview him further. Det. Roland asked the son of the owner of Tommy's Wrecker Service to tell the Defendant that the police needed to retake his fingerprints.

Det. Roland admitted that the real reason for requesting the Defendant to come down to the police station was to interview him and that a second fingerprinting was unnecessary. Det. Roland also testified that, at the time the Defendant reported for his second meeting with the police, they did not have probable cause to arrest him. Indeed, Det. Roland stated that he "had no evidence to arrest [the Defendant] on" and that he "had nothing on him." The decision to ask for new prints was made because the officer "didn't wanna [sic] scare him."

According to Det. Roland, the Defendant drove to the station at the appointed time and parked across the street. When the Defendant entered the police station, Det. Roland met him in the front lobby and asked him "if it was okay if [they], maybe, talked a little bit before [they] did the [finger]prints." Det. Roland described their initial interaction as "pleasant." When the Defendant agreed to speak with Det. Roland, the officer escorted him back to an interview room in the Criminal Investigations Division ("CID") area. The men passed through two sets of interior doors to reach the CID area. Det. Roland asked the Defendant to take a seat behind the table in the interview room. After the Defendant did so, Det. Roland left to retrieve his paperwork. Det. Roland testified that the Defendant was not in custody at this time and was not handcuffed; while he was gone, Det. Roland left the interview room door open and unguarded. When Det. Roland returned to the interview room, he was accompanied by Sergeant Pat Postiglione. They entered the interview room and closed the door behind them. Det. Roland testified that he was armed during the interview; he did not recall whether Sgt. Postiglione was armed. Det. Roland and Sgt. Postiglione proceeded to interview the Defendant.

The interview was videotaped and this Court has reviewed the tape. It shows the Defendant seated in a back corner of the room at a diagonal from the door, facing a table. Det. Roland is seated across the table and facing the Defendant. Sgt. Postiglione appears to be seated in front of the door, facing the Defendant. The following summarizes the events portrayed on the videotape.

The interview began with a few minutes of casual conversation about unrelated matters. The Defendant volunteered some information about how he sometimes closed up the wrecker shop, beginning with, "One thing I forgot to tell you," referring to his earlier conversation at the wrecker shop with an officer. All three men spoke in a conversational tone throughout the interview.

After approximately three minutes, Det. Roland asked the Defendant whether he had worked the weekend before the victim's body had been found. The Defendant answered affirmatively. Sgt. Postiglione then asked the Defendant if he worked every weekend, and the Defendant responded that he worked one weekend a month for the Wrecker Service. The Defendant explained that he would go to Tommy's Wrecker Service at 6 p.m. on the Saturdays he worked, close up the business at 10 p.m., leave in the business truck, and then return Sunday morning. Det. Roland then asked the Defendant if he remembered asking Det. Roland during the initial investigation whether the police would be able to solve the crime. The Defendant stated that he remembered asking that question and clarified that he was simply curious. Det. Roland then stated that they had "pretty much concluded" their investigation and told the Defendant that "this is where it gets a little bit tough for you."

Det. Roland informed the Defendant that his fingerprints had been found "in a place they shouldn't have been." The Defendant asked whether his prints had been found inside the car. Det. Roland responded that he was not going to tell the Defendant all of the information that he had. Det. Roland then told the Defendant that the matter was "very serious" for the Defendant and that the reason he wanted the Defendant to come to the station was to give the Defendant an opportunity to talk to them about the matter because the Defendant was "right in the middle of it." The Defendant responded, "okay."

Det. Roland told the Defendant that the problem he had was not whether the Defendant was involved (in the victim's death), but why her death happened. He told the Defendant he wanted to know "why did this lady die?" The Defendant answered, "I have no idea, I know nothing about it." Det. Roland then assured the Defendant that there was "no way around" the evidence they had and that the evidence was "there." Det. Roland acknowledged that...