Summary
This appellate court opinion reverses a first-degree murder and armed robbery conviction after finding that the defendant's confession was involuntarily obtained through coercive police interrogation tactics over a 72-hour period. The court held that investigators flagrantly disregarded the defendant's repeated requests for counsel and phone calls, violating his Fifth Amendment rights and rendering the waiver of Miranda rights invalid. Consequently, the admission of the confession was not harmless error, warranting a remand for a new trial.
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Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Leverson's seventh-interview confession was involuntary under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments because it resulted from coercive police conduct, including repeated Miranda violations, denial of telephone access and counsel, prolonged detention, and threats.
- Whether the trial court's admission of the confession was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Whether Leverson's convictions should be reversed and the case remanded for a new trial.
Holdings
- Leverson's confession was involuntary because, considering the totality of the circumstances, the police's repeated violations of Miranda, denial of his repeated requests for counsel and telephone access, prolonged incommunicado detention, and coercive threats and insults over approximately 72 hours overbore his will.
- The admission of Leverson's involuntary confession was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because the confession materially contributed to the convictions and the remaining evidence did not overwhelmingly establish his guilt of all charged offenses.
- Retrial was not barred by double jeopardy because, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions.
Key quotations
“Simply put, we ask whether the confession is the “product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice by its maker.”” (¶ 91)
“Over the span of 66 hours, Leverson unequivocally requested counsel at least four different times. The police wholly dishonored that right through lies, obfuscation, or delay, never attempting to provide him counsel and continuing to question him throughout.” (¶ 108)
“The repeated violations of Miranda, the denial of his repeated requests for phone calls, and the length of time during which these violations occurred lead us to find Leverson’s inculpatory statement to the police to be involuntary, in violation of the fifth and fourteenth amendments.” (¶ 124)
“The State did not carry its burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the State could have obtained all these convictions absent the tainted confession.” (¶ 144)
Factual background
Police arrested 19-year-old Darrell Leverson after a vehicle crash and brief chase while investigating a series of robberies, carjackings, an attempted robbery, and a homicide. Over approximately 72 hours, police interrogated him seven times, repeatedly ignored or delayed his requests for counsel and telephone access, and used threats, insults, deception, and other coercive tactics. During the seventh interview, after fresh Miranda warnings and a written waiver, Leverson made inculpatory statements placing himself in the crime spree. The State also presented witness, DNA, firearm, and vehicle evidence, but the appellate court found that the confession materially connected Leverson to all of the offenses.
Procedural history
After a suppression hearing, the circuit court denied Leverson's motion to suppress his confession, finding that he invoked his right to counsel during the fifth interview but later reinitiated contact and knowingly and intelligently waived his rights before the seventh interview. A jury convicted him of all charged offenses, and the circuit court sentenced him to 72 years' imprisonment. The appellate court reversed the convictions and remanded for a new trial, declining to reach the sentencing challenge.
Remand instructions
The cause is remanded for a new trial. The court need not address the excessive-sentence claim on remand in this appeal.