EDYTHE ROBINSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Edythe Robinson appeals her second-degree murder conviction, challenging the admission of a videotaped police interrogation. The court reversed her conviction, finding that the police violated her due process rights by denying her attorney access to the interrogation room, failing to provide Miranda warnings, and secretly recording her statement without consent.
The court held that the videotaped statement should have been suppressed because the police conduct violated Robinson's due process rights. The admission of the videotape was not harmless error because it presented Robinson's demeanor to the jury in a manner that was highly prejudicial, portraying her as a woman attempting to explain her account rather than as a mourning widow.
[1] A defendant's due process rights are violated when police deny access to their attorney during an interrogation.
[2] A videotaped statement obtained in violation of a defendant's due process rights is inadmissible evidence.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There is little question that the police conduct in denying appellant access to her attorney violated her due process rights and the trial court erred by not suppressing the videotaped statement.”
Establishes the core legal violation—denial of attorney access during interrogation constitutes a due process violation requiring suppression.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRobinson's husband was murdered on May 20, 1985, and she became the prime suspect. Police called her to come to the station with her attorney, but whe…
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DAUKSCH, Judge.
Edythe Robinson appeals her conviction for second degree murder contending that a videotape of her statement to the police was improperly admitted into evidence. She contends that the videotape was so prejudicial that she should be entitled to a new trial. We agree.
Edythe Robinson’s husband was murdered on May 20, 1985, and she became the prime suspect. She gave numerous statements to the police concerning the events of her husband’s death. The first statement was given at the crime scene. The second and third statements were at an interview conducted at the police station on the same day as the crime. Both a written and audio-recorded statement were made at this time. The fourth statement was made during an interrogation the same evening as the murder. The fifth statement was in December 1985. The sixth statement, the videotape, which is the subject of this appeal, was made in June 1986.
Before the videotaped statement was made, the police called appellant and asked her to come to the station and make a statement. She said that she would be there with her attorney but when she arrived, her attorney was not there yet. The investigating officer said “Why don’t we go back and begin to get this show on the road” and she agreed. Although appellant had been given Miranda1 warnings before the previous statements, she was not given the warnings at this time. The officer proceeded with the interview. The video equipment was concealed behind a two-way mirror and not disclosed to appellant.
When appellant’s attorney arrived at the police station, he attempted to find her and was informed that she was already in interrogation with the police. The attorney demanded to see his client and was physically prevented from going to that part of the police station by uniformed officers. The attorney telephoned the state attorney’s office and advised them of the situation. The attorney was then asked by the police to wait outside the interrogation room or face the risk of being arrested for interfering with a police officer in the performance of his duties. The attorney was denied access to the interrogation room for at least thirty-five minutes before finally being permitted to enter. Upon entering the interrogation room, the attorney terminated the interrogation.
A motion to suppress the entire videotaped statement was denied. The videotape was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. During deliberations, the jury requested a video cassette player and requested to view the videotaped statement a second time.
There is little question that the police conduct in denying appellant access to her attorney violated her due process rights2 and the trial court erred by not suppressing the videotaped statement. Haliburton v. State, 514 So. 2d 1088 (Fla.1987); compare Harvey v. State, 529 So. 2d 1083 (Fla.1988). The egregious nature of the police conduct is clearly shown by the threat to arrest appellant’s attorney and physically preventing the attorney from entering the interrogation room. This conduct is aggravated by the fact that the police were aware that appellant was being represented by counsel and that he was to be present during the interview. Finally, the fact that appellant was not aware that her statement was being videotaped is the kind of conduct that shocks the sensibilities of civilized society and indicates a clear violation of appellant’s due process rights.
There is no question that the admission of the videotape was not harmless error. Although appellant’s statements were all uniform and presented no major revision, the videotape showed an actual picture of what appellant was like during police questioning. The videotape does not portray a mourning widow but rather the demeanor of a woman who is attempting to explain for the sixth time, and over a year later, her account of what happened when her husband died. We reverse the order denying the suppression of the videotape and the conviction. A new trial is ordered.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
ORFINGER and DANIEL, JJ., concur. . Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).
. Fla. Const, art. I, § 9.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Bedoya v. State, 779 So. 2d 574 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…dant does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a police interview room. See State v. Calhoun, 479 So. 2d 241 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985); see also Boyer; Johnson v. State, 730 So. 2d 368 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). Bédoya argues that Robinson v. State, 535 So. 2d 610 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988), supports his contention that the motion to suppress should have been granted. However, Robinson is distinguishable from the instant case. In Robinson, the defendant had agreed to speak with officers as long as her attorney was p…
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Bell v. State, 802 So. 2d 485 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)…ld under sixteen years of age. We affirm. Bell first asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress a videotaped statement because he was not made aware that his statement was being videotaped. He relies on Robinson v. State, 535 So. 2d 610 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988), which suppressed a videotaped statement. However, as explained in Bedoya v. State, 779 So. 2d 574, 579-80 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001), in Robinson, the defendant had agreed to speak with officers as long as her attorney was present. Whe…
Authorities Cited
- Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (U.S. 1966)
- Haliburton v. State, 514 So. 2d 1088 (Fla. 1987)
- Harvey v. State, 529 So. 2d 1083 (Fla. 1988)