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AFTER AN INITIAL WAIVER OF HIS RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT, DEFENDANT BECAME INCREASINGLY UNWILLING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND FINALLY SAID “MAYBE” HE SHOULD GET A LAWYER BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WANT TO INCRIMINATE HIMSELF, FROM THAT POINT ON THE INTERROGATION VIDEO SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined defendant’s motion to suppress statements made after the assertion of his right to counsel should have been suppressed:

… [T]he People admitted into evidence a DVD video recording of the first 50 minutes and 55 seconds of defendant’s custodial interrogation. … A review of that video recording shows that defendant was advised of and acknowledged his Miranda rights in writing roughly 16 minutes into the custodial interrogation, after having made small talk with the detective questioning him. For the next 24 minutes, defendant openly and respectfully answered questions regarding the events that transpired earlier that morning, including whether he entered the apartment building, which he maintained that he did not. However, 40 minutes into the interview, defendant became increasingly quiet and less eager to engage in conversation. Indeed, the detective spoke for roughly 3½ minutes, with little to no contribution from defendant, and attempted to appeal to defendant “as a father.” Defendant asked if he would be at the police station all weekend, to which the detective said, ‘no.’ The detective then asked defendant to tell him what had happened, but he was met with silence, prompting him to ask again. In response, defendant stated, “maybe I should get a lawyer. I completely understand what you’re saying and I agree with you, but I don’t want to f**k myself.” In our view, defendant’s marked change in expression and demeanor at this stage of the interrogation, together with his reference to an attorney and his clear statement that he did not want to incriminate himself, constituted an unequivocal request for counsel and an exercise of his right to remain silent … . Thus, the video recording of the interrogation should have been stopped at 48 minutes and 48 seconds, just before defendant unequivocally invoked his right to counsel. Accordingly, County Court should have granted defendant’s motion to suppress all statements made thereafter. People v Harris, 2019 NY Slip Op 53943, Third Dept 11-27-19

 

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