Com. v. Green, M. ( 2019 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee
v.
MARSHA C. GREEN,
Appellant No. 994 WDA 2017
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered April 10, 2017
In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-CR-0005745-2016
BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., SHOGAN, J., and MURRAY, J.
MEMORANDUM BY BENDER, P.J.E.: FILED FEBRUARY 19, 2019
Appellant, Marsha Green, appeals from the judgment of sentence of 30
days’ incarceration, imposed following her conviction for two counts of driving
under the influence (DUI) and related offenses, including driving an
unregistered vehicle. Appellant challenges, inter alia, the trial court’s order
denying suppression of a statement she made while ostensibly subject to a
custodial interrogation. After careful review, we reverse the trial court’s order
denying suppression, vacate the judgment of sentence in part, reverse in part,
and remand for further proceedings.
The trial court summarized the facts adduced at trial as follows:
On February 19, 2016 at approximately 4:40 a.m.,
Pennsylvania State Trooper Timothy Schonbachler was dispatched
to the scene of an automobile accident on Interstate 376 near the
Boulevard of the Allies in the City of Pittsburgh. The vehicle had
been abandoned in the left lane of the interstate. Trooper
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Schonbachler had received word that the occupants of the vehicle
were not at the scene of the accident but had been located within
a half mile of the accident scene. Both of these people had been
observed walking on the Boulevard of the Allies, a busy
thoroughfare in the City of Pittsburgh, not far from the accident
scene. When Trooper Schonbachler arrived at the accident scene,
he observed that the vehicle was positioned against the concrete
barrier adjacent to the left lane of the interstate. The front left
tire had been dislodged from the axle and there was heavy
damage to the front of the vehicle. The driver’s seat was in a
forward position as though a smaller person had been driving.
Trooper Schonbachler began to obtain information concerning the
make, model and the registration for the vehicle. After receiving
information that [Appellant] and another person were in the
company of City of Pittsburgh police officers on the Boulevard of
the Allies, Trooper Schonbachler responded to that area.
Upon arriving to that area, Trooper Schonbachler
approached [Appellant]. [Appellant] is less than five feet tall. The
other person with her, a male, was very large. [Appellant] was
placed into the back of Trooper Schonbachler’s vehicle and he
asked her what had happened. He did not place handcuffs on her
and she was not taken into custody. Trooper Schonbachler did
not “Mirandize” [Appellant].[1] [Appellant] advised Trooper
Schonbachler that she was driving her friend home and she
thought she “blew a tire.” She recalled hitting the concrete
barrier. She told Trooper Schonbachler that she injured her leg
during the accident and Trooper Schonbachler’s personal
observations confirmed the injury. After [Appellant] made these
statements, Trooper Schonbachler detected an odor of alcohol
emanating from [her] breath and person. He noticed her speech
was slurred and she had bloodshot eyes. As a result, he asked
her whether she had been drinking before the accident.
[Appellant] responded that she had ended her employment that
night around 11:00 p.m. She went to a bar and had been drinking
alcohol until the she left the bar prior to the accident. At this
point, Trooper Schonbachler took [Appellant] to the hospital so
she could be treated for her injuries. The parties stipulated that
Trooper Schonbachler continued to observe additional signs of
impairment and signs of intoxication. The parties further
stipulated that Trooper Schonbachler would have testified at trial
that, based on his training and experience, [Appellant] was
____________________________________________
1 See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
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intoxicated to a degree that rendered her incapable of safely
operating a motor vehicle on the morning of the accident.
[Appellant] was placed under arrest at the hospital. No field
sobriety tests were conducted.
Trial Court Opinion (TCO), 1/22/18, at 2-3.
On August 24, 2016, the Commonwealth Charged Appellant with 1) DUI,
75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(a)(1); 2) DUI, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(a)(1); 3) driving an
unregistered vehicle, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1301(a); 4) driving while operating
privilege is suspended or revoked, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1543(b)(1); 5) required
financial responsibility, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(f); 6) driving on roadway laned for
traffic, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3309(1); 7) careless driving, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3714(a); and
8) immediate notice of accident, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3746(a)(2).
Appellant filed a suppression motion, and the trial court denied that
motion following a hearing held on December 1, 2016. On January 31, 2017,
after a non-jury trial held before the Honorable Anthony M. Mariani of the
Criminal Division of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, 2 the
court convicted Appellant on all counts. On April 10, 2017, the court
sentenced Appellant to 30 days’ incarceration, five months’ consecutive
probation, and a $750 fine for DUI at count 1, which merged for sentencing
purposes with the DUI conviction at count 2. The court also sentenced
Appellant to a concurrent term of 30 days’ incarceration, five months of
restrictive intermediate punishment, and a $500 fine for driving while
operating privilege is suspended or revoked. The court imposed no further
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2 The testimony from the suppression hearing was incorporated into the non-
jury trial. See N.T., 1/30/17-1/31/17, at 15.
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penalty for the remaining counts. The court also ordered Appellant to have a
drug and alcohol evaluation and to attend safe driving school.
Appellant filed a timely post-sentence motion on April 20, 2017, which
was denied on June 6, 2017. She filed a timely notice of appeal, and a timely,
court-ordered Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement. The trial court issued its Rule
1925(a) opinion on January 22, 2018.
Appellant now presents the following questions for our review:
I. Did the trial court err in failing to suppress the statements
that [Appellant] made to the police, as she was not informed
of her Miranda rights prior to the custodial interrogation?
II. Were [Appellant]’s rights under the Double Jeopardy Clause
of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article
1, § 10 of the Pennsylvania Constitution violated because
she was charged and convicted of two separate DUI
offenses, even though there was only one incident?
III. Was the evidence insufficient to sustain the DUI convictions
at counts 1 and 2 because the Commonwealth did not prove,
beyond a reasonable doubt, that [Appellant] imbibed a
sufficient amount of alcohol that she was rendered incapable
of safely driving a vehicle?
IV. Was the evidence insufficient to sustain the conviction for
count 3[,] driving [an] unregistered vehicle, because the
Commonwealth failed to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt,
that the vehicle was not registered?
Appellant’s Brief at 7.
We agree that the order denying suppression must be reversed;
however, for ease of disposition, we will address that issue last. See
Commonwealth v. Coleman, 130 A.3d 38, 41 (Pa. Super. 2015) (“Since a
sufficiency claim warrants automatic discharge rather than retrial, we address
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that issue at the outset.”); see also Commonwealth v. Smith, 568 A.2d
600, 603 (Pa. 1989) (“The question of sufficiency is not assessed upon a
diminished record.”).
In her second issue, Appellant argues that her double jeopardy rights
were violated when she was convicted on separate DUI counts arising out of
the same incident, based on this Court’s recent decision in Commonwealth
v. Farrow, 168 A.3d 207 (Pa. Super. 2017). As Appellant aptly explains in
her brief:
In Farrow, this Honorable Court found that where a single
DUI offense is subject to enhancements (such as for an accident
or a refusal), the Commonwealth must file a criminal information
that sets forth a single count under 75 Pa.C.S.[] § 3802, and
include enhancements under 75 Pa.C.S.[] § 3804 as subparts of
that single count. 168 A.3d at 218-19. This Honorable Court
explained that the Commonwealth must charge in this ma[nn]er
rather than charging multiple counts of DUI under § 3802 when
there is only incident of DUI. Id. Accordingly, in Farrow, this
Honorable Court vacated all but one DUI conviction that arose
from a single incident, and remanded so that the enhancements
could be placed under the single DUI count. Id. at 219.
Thus, under Farrow, this Honorable Court must vacate
[Appellant]’s DUI conviction at Count 2, 75 Pa.C.S.[] §
3802(a)(1)…. The [t]rial [c]ourt, in its Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion,
recognized that such action is necessary. [TCO] at 12.
Appellant’s Brief at 26. Indeed, the Commonwealth also concedes this issue.
Commonwealth’s Brief at 24. As the trial court and the parties agree, no
further analysis of this claim is required, as relief is clearly warranted under
Farrow in the circumstances of this case. Accordingly, we reverse Appellant’s
conviction for DUI at count 2.
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Next, Appellant asserts that there was insufficient evidence to convict
her for DUI.
A claim challenging the sufficiency of the evidence is a question of
law. Evidence will be deemed sufficient to support the verdict
when it establishes each material element of the crime charged
and the commission thereof by the accused, beyond a reasonable
doubt. Where the evidence offered to support the verdict is in
contradiction to the physical facts, in contravention to human
experience and the laws of nature, then the evidence is insufficient
as a matter of law. When reviewing a sufficiency claim[,] the court
is required to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the
verdict winner giving the prosecution the benefit of all reasonable
inferences to be drawn from the evidence.
Commonwealth v. Widmer, 744 A.2d 745, 751 (Pa. 2000) (internal
citations omitted).
Appellant argues that
[u]nder these circumstances, the Commonwealth did not establish
that the accident occurred because [Appellant] drove unsafely due
to alcohol instead of other factors, such as sleepiness due to the
time of day or the condition of the highway itself. As the
Commonwealth did not provide sufficient evidence to establish
that [she] drank enough alcohol to render her incapable of safe
driving, this Honorable Court must reverse [Appellant]’s DUI
convictions.
Appellant’s Brief at 34. We disagree.
The types of evidence that the Commonwealth may proffer in a
subsection 3802(a)(1) prosecution include but are not limited to,
the following: the offender’s actions and behavior, including
manner of driving and ability to pass field sobriety tests;
demeanor, including toward the investigating officer; physical
appearance, particularly bloodshot eyes and other physical signs
of intoxication; odor of alcohol, and slurred speech. Blood alcohol
level may be added to this list, although it is not necessary and
the two hour time limit for measuring blood alcohol level does not
apply. Blood alcohol level is admissible in a subsection 3801(a)(1)
case only insofar as it is relevant to and probative of the accused’s
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ability to drive safely at the time he or she was driving. The weight
to be assigned these various types of evidence presents a question
for the fact-finder, who may rely on his or her experience,
common sense, and/or expert testimony. Regardless of the type
of evidence that the Commonwealth proffers to support its case,
the focus of subsection 3802(a)(1) remains on the inability of the
individual to drive safely due to consumption of alcohol-not on a
particular blood alcohol level.
Commonwealth v. Segida, 985 A.2d 871, 879 (Pa. 2009).
Here, Appellant crashed her vehicle, in an apparent single-vehicle
accident, at approximately 4:00 a.m. She then abandoned that vehicle and
set off on foot. She admitted to Trooper Schonbachler that she had been
drinking, and he observed several signs of intoxication: her eyes were
bloodshot, she smelled of alcohol, and her speech was slurred. These are the
telltale signs of intoxication. Taken together, these circumstances would
permit a factfinder to conclude that Appellant had violated the DUI statute.
However, Appellant argues that “it was impossible to say that alcohol
caused the accident. Sleepiness, weather, lighting and the structure and
conditions of the roadway all could have caused the accident.” Appellant’s
Brief at 32. While we agree that absolute certainty is impossible to achieve,
that is not the requisite standard for a criminal conviction. Instead, the
standard is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, all of the factors
suggested by Appellant regarding other possible causes of the accident go to
the weight, not the sufficiency of the evidence. Here, it was established that
Appellant was drinking (both directly by her admission and through strong
circumstantial evidence), that she crashed her vehicle in suspicious
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circumstances, and that she fled the scene of that accident. Moreover,
Trooper Schonbachler testified that “[b]ased on his observation[s] and
training, …[Appellant] was impaired to the level that she was incapable of
safely driving a vehicle.” TCO at 11. This evidence strongly suggests that her
accident directly was related to her intoxication, and to the extent that some
other circumstances suggested a non-criminal cause of the accident, the trial
court was free to weigh that evidence and still conclude that Appellant had
consumed a sufficient amount of alcohol to render her incapable of safe
driving. Accordingly, we conclude that this claim lacks merit.
In Appellant’s fourth claim, she argues that there was insufficient
evidence to convict her of driving an unregistered vehicle. Both the
Commonwealth and the trial court concede that this issue is meritorious. See
Commonwealth’s Brief at 37; TCO at 13 (“After reviewing the record, this
[c]ourt agrees with [Appellant]. No evidence was presented at the trial that
[her] vehicle was unregistered and the conviction for this violation of the
vehicle code should be vacated.”). Accordingly, we reverse Appellant’s
conviction for driving an unregistered vehicle.
Finally, we address Appellant’s first claim, which concerns her admission
to Trooper Schonbachler that she had been drinking. It is undisputed that she
was not Mirandized before making that statement. Thus, Appellant contends
that the statement should have been suppressed because she was subject to
a custodial interrogation when she admitted to drinking prior to the accident.
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However, the trial court found that Appellant was not in custody for Miranda
purposes and, therefore, that her admission was not suppressible.
A law enforcement officer must administer Miranda warnings
prior to custodial interrogation. Commonwealth v. Johnson,
373 Pa. Super. 312, 541 A.2d 332, 336 (1988). The standard for
determining whether an encounter with the police is deemed
“custodial” or police have initiated a custodial interrogation is an
objective one based on a totality of the circumstances, with due
consideration given to the reasonable impression conveyed to the
person interrogated. Commonwealth v. Gwynn, 555 Pa. 86, ––
––, 723 A.2d 143, 148 (1998). Custodial interrogation has been
defined as “questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after
a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his
[or her] freedom of action in any significant way.” Johnson, 541
A.2d at 336 quoting Miranda[], 384 U.S. [at] 444….
“Interrogation” is police conduct “calculated to, expected to, or
likely to evoke admission.” Id. quoting Commonwealth v.
Simala, 434 Pa. 219, 226, 252 A.2d 575, 578 (1969). When a
person’s inculpatory statement is not made in response to
custodial interrogation, the statement is classified as gratuitous,
and is not subject to suppression for lack of warnings. Id.The appropriate test for determining whether a situation
involves custodial interrogation is as follows:
The test for determining whether a suspect is being
subjected to custodial interrogation so as to necessitate
Miranda warnings is whether he is physically deprived of
his freedom in any significant way or is placed in a situation
in which he reasonably believes that his freedom of action
or movement is restricted by such interrogation.
Commonwealth v. Busch, 713 A.2d 97, 100 (Pa. Super. 1998)
quoting Commonwealth v. Rosario, 438 Pa. Super. 241, 652
A.2d 354, 365–66 (1994) (en banc), appeal denied, 546 Pa. 668,
685 A.2d 547 (1996) (other citations omitted). Said another way,
police detentions become custodial when, under the totality of the
circumstances, the conditions and/or duration of the detention
become so coercive as to constitute the functional equivalent of
arrest. Commonwealth v. Ellis, 379 Pa. Super. 337, 549 A.2d
1323, 1332 (1988), appeal denied, 522 Pa. 601, 562 A.2d 824-9-
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(1989), citing California v. Beheler, 463 U.S. 1121, 1125, 103
S.Ct. 3517, 3520, 77 L.Ed.2d 1275 (1983).
The factors a court utilizes to determine, under the totality
of the circumstances, whether a detention has become so coercive
as to constitute the functional equivalent of arrest include: the
basis for the detention; its length; its location; whether the
suspect was transported against his or her will, how far, and why;
whether restraints were used; whether the law enforcement
officer showed, threatened or used force; and the investigative
methods employed to confirm or dispel suspicions. Busch, 713
A.2d at 101. The fact that a police investigation has focused on a
particular individual does not automatically trigger “custody,” thus
requiring Miranda warnings. Commonwealth v. Fento, 363 Pa.
Super. 488, 526 A.2d 784, 787 (1987).
Com. v. Mannion, 725 A.2d 196, 200 (Pa. Super. 1999).
Thus, there are two components of a custodial interrogation that must
be satisfied to trigger the requirement that police issue Miranda warnings:
first, the defendant must be in custody, that is, subject to the functional
equivalent of an arrest and, second, the at-issue statement must be prompted
by a police inquiry that was likely to evoke an incriminating response. If either
of these conditions is not met, suppression will not be warranted under
Miranda.
The trial court determined that Appellant was not in custody for
Miranda purposes, based on the following analysis:
In this [c]ourt’s view, the interaction between Trooper
Schonbachler and [Appellant] was not a custodial interrogation.
At the time [Appellant] made her statements to Trooper
Schonbachler, [she] had not been arrested. She was not being
detained and she was not placed in handcuffs. [Appellant] was
suffering from a leg injury and the incident occurred in February,
a month in which the average temperature is cold. Trooper
Schonbachler opted to ask [Appellant] questions to determine the
circumstances of the accident he encountered. He was simply
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attempting to gather information to complete his accident report.
There was no show, use or threatened use of force during the
interaction. There was nothing coercive about the interaction
during which [Appellant] made statements. The record is clear
that [Appellant] was not arrested until Trooper Schonbachler
made observations about [her] impairment after she had been
taken to the hospital. Therefore, this [c]ourt did not believe that
Trooper Schonbachler violated the requirements of Miranda
during his exhange with [Appellant].
TCO at 5. The trial court did not appear to base its decision on the nature of
Trooper Schonbachler’s questions. However, the Commonwealth asserts that
the Trooper’s questions related to ‘public safety,’ and were not intended to
elicit an incriminating response. See New York v. Quarles, 467 U.S. 649,
657 (1984) (holding that “the need for answers to questions in a situation
posing a threat to the public safety outweighs the need for the prophylactic
rule protecting the Fifth Amendment’s privilege against self-incrimination”).
Appellant argues that she was subject to a custodial interrogation
because:
First, Trooper Schonbachler investigated the car, and thought that
[Appellant] was responsible for the accident and that she left the
scene. Second, [Appellant] was separated from her companion
and placed in the back of two separate police cars by policemen
from two different units for an unspecified amount of time. Third,
Trooper Schonbachler closed the door to his police car, meaning
that [Appellant] was clearly not free to leave—indeed, she had no
way of leaving. Fourth, under these circumstances and without
Mirandizing her, Trooper Schonbachler asked [Appellant]
multiple questions designed to elicit incriminating responses.
Appellant’s Brief at 22. Appellant further contends that this Court’s decision
requiring suppression in Commonwealth v. Turner, 772 A.2d 970 (Pa
Super. 2003), compels the same result in this case.
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In Turner, this Court reversed the trial court’s order denying
suppression of Turner’s statement to police, under the following
circumstances:
On October 18, 1998, Police Officer Gabriel Torres responded in
uniform to a radio call regarding an automobile accident. Upon
arriving at the scene, Torres observed a white vehicle that
apparently had struck a parked vehicle. Turner was leaning
against the white vehicle, unsteady and barely able to stand.
Turner appeared to be falling asleep and failed to respond to
Torres’s questions. Torres did not smell alcohol on Turner’s
breath. Torres placed Turner in the back of his police car. In
compliance with his police department’s policy regarding
suspected DUIs, Torres radioed for a supervisor to come to the
scene. Sergeant Cassidy arrived on the scene, also in uniform.
After discussing the situation with Torres, Cassidy opened the door
of Torres’s police car, leaned in, and asked Turner if he had taken
any narcotics. Cassidy did not apprise Turner of his rights under
Miranda. Turner responded that he had taken cough syrup and
several pills. Subsequently, the officers arrested Turner.
However, Turner refused to consent to a blood test. Thereafter,
the Commonwealth charged Turner with [DUI]. Turner moved to
suppress his statement to Cassidy, asserting that his detention
and questioning by the officers violated his rights under the Fifth
Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1,
Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Turner, 772 A.2d at 972 (citation omitted).
The Turner Court first addressed the question of custody, finding that
Turner was subject to the functional equivalent of an arrest:
Torres testified that he “put” Turner into his police car, not
that he asked Turner if he wanted to sit in the car or offered the
back seat as a place to rest. Turner sat in the car while Torres
radioed Cassidy and waited for him to arrive. Torres also testified
that Cassidy had to open the car door in order to speak to Turner,
which suggests that Torres closed the door after he put Turner
inside the car. There is no suggestion in the record that Turner
closed the door himself. Based on the totality of the
circumstances, we conclude that Turner was physically deprived
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of his freedom to a level that was the functional equivalent of
being arrested and, therefore, was in custody.
Id. at 974 (citations omitted).
The Turner Court then considered whether the defendant had been
subject to an interrogation:
Cassidy, by opening the car door, leaning into the car and
questioning Turner regarding whether he had taken any narcotics,
was eliciting information. As a trained officer who observed
Turner’s physical condition, Cassidy should have known that
Turner’s response might yield an incriminating statement that
would lead to Turner’s arrest for driving under the influence.
Turner did not volunteer that he had taken cough syrup and
several pills; a uniformed officer specifically questioned him while
he was confined to the police car where another uniformed officer
had placed him. We conclude that the combination of Torres
putting Turner involuntarily into the police car and Cassidy
questioning Turner regarding his drug use while standing in the
police car doorway created a custodial interrogation.
Id. (citations omitted). The Turner Court then went on to conclude that the
trial court had erred in ruling “that Turner’s statement should not be
suppressed based on a violation of Miranda.” Id. at 976.
Appellant argues that the facts in Turner are sufficiently analogous to
the instant case and, thus, require the same result. She contends:
As in Turner, police put [Appellant] in the back of a police car,
closed the door and questioned her. Indeed, here, multiple police
officers placed [Appellant] in the back of two different police cars,
and escorted her from one to the other.
Also as in Turner, Trooper Schonbachler should have
known that his interrogation of [Appellant] would yield
incriminating statements. First, Trooper Schonbachler knew that
no one was at the accident scene when he arrived, admitted that
he thought that [Appellant] drove the car, and knew that it was a
crime to leave the scene of an accident. Yet, Trooper
Schonbachler asked [Appellant] questions that were designed to
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induce incriminating statements on 75 Pa.C.S. § 3746(a)(2)
anyway. Second, as soon as Trooper Schonbachler noticed the
smell of alcohol on [Appellant] he began asking her whether she
had been drinking and related questions, yet he still did not read
the Miranda warnings. As in Turner, [Appellant] did not
volunteer that she had been drinking until an officer “specifically
questioned [her] while [she] was confined to the police car[.]” Id.
at 974. As in Turner, Trooper Schonbachler was “a trained officer
who observed [Appellant’s] physical condition,” and “should have
known that [her] response might yield an incriminating statement
that would lead to [her] arrest for driving under the influence.”
Id.[] This Honorable Court suppressed the incriminating
statements in Turner, and the same result is required here. Id.
at 976.
Appellant’s Brief at 24-25 (some citations omitted).
We agree with Appellant. Indeed, there is an even more compelling
case for suppression here than there was in Turner. First, Appellant was in
custody for Miranda purposes. Pittsburgh Police apparently detained
Appellant before Trooper Schonbachler even came in contact with her. N.T.
Suppression, 12/1/16, at 6 (“[Trooper Schonbachler] [p]roceeded up to the
location where the City of Pittsburgh [Police] had [Appellant] and Mr. Scott.”).
Upon cross-examination, he admitted “that the City of Pittsburgh had her
stopped at the Boulevard of the Allies.” Id. at 12 (emphasis added). At that
point, Trooper Schonbachler “put [Appellant] in the back of [his] vehicle and
asked her what had happened.” Id. Nothing in the record suggests that
Appellant voluntarily sat in either police car. See Turner, 772 A.2d at 974
(“Torres testified that he ‘put’ Turner into his police car, not that he asked
Turner if he wanted to sit in the car or offered the back seat as a place to
rest.”). By contrast, the trial court’s analysis here focused solely on the fact
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that Appellant was not handcuffed, and had not been formally arrested. The
same was true of the defendant in Turner, as he was neither handcuffed nor
formally placed under arrest; nevertheless, this Court determined that he was
in custody for Miranda purposes.
The Commonwealth suggests the opposite conclusion based on its
reading of this Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Williams, 941 A.2d 14(Pa. Super. 2015) (en banc). However, that case is easily distinguishable
from the facts of this case. In Williams, a DUI case,
Officer Gregory responded to a 911 radio dispatch indicating an
accident. When Officer Gregory tried to awaken [the a]ppellant
and remove her from the ground, he detected a strong odor of
alcohol on her breath. Officer Gregory then called for an
ambulance and a tow truck. Officer Gregory assisted [the
a]ppellant to her vehicle and asked her to produce her driver’s
license and registration. When Appellant was unable to locate the
requested documents, Officer Gregory told her it was unimportant
at the moment, and to “sit tight” until the ambulance arrived.
Officer Gregory asked [her] what had happened and if she was
the only person involved in the accident. Appellant indicated she
was the only person involved with the accident, but was vague on
her response to the question of “what happened?”
Id. at 32–33. We held that Williams was not in custody, because no restraints
were applied, she was questioned in “public view at the accident scence[,]”
and the officer did not threaten her or draw his weapon. Id. at 33. Notably,
Williams was also not placed in a police car before being questioned.
Here, however, Appellant was not found unconscious at the scene of an
accident, she was found walking away from that location when she was
stopped by City of Pittsburgh police. Trooper Schonbachler then placed
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Appellant in his vehicle, and no evidence suggests that he asked Appellant to
enter his police car, and no evidence suggests that she complied voluntarily.
The facts of this case clearly mirror those of Turner, and are quite unlike
those of Williams. Accordingly, we conclude that, like the defendant in
Turner, Appellant was clearly in custody before Trooper Schonbachler began
asking her questions about the accident.
Next, we consider whether Appellant was subject to an interrogation.
The trial court found that Trooper Schonbachler was merely inquiring about
the circumstances of the accident. However, we find the circumstances of this
case demonstrate that Trooper Schonbachler, at a minimum, should have
known that his questions were likely to elicit an incriminating response from
Appellant. After he already suspected that Appellant had unlawfully fled the
scene of the accident, and after he detected alcohol on her breath, Trooper
Schonbachler asked Appellant if she had been drinking. Given Appellant’s
flight from the scene of the accident, this is even stronger evidence of an
interrogation than was present in Turner.
The Commonwealth argues that, because Trooper Schonbachler was
investigating an accident, the public safety exception to Miranda applies in
these circumstances, citing New York v. Quarles, 467 U.S. 649 (1984). For
the following reasons, we disagree.
In Quarles, officers were approached by a young woman, who
told them that she had just been raped by a black male,
approximately six feet tall, who was wearing a black jacket with
the name “Big Ben” printed in yellow letters on the back. She told
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the officers that the man had just entered an A & P supermarket
located nearby and that the man was carrying a gun.
The officers drove the woman to the supermarket, and
Officer Kraft entered the store while Officer Scarring radioed for
assistance. Officer Kraft quickly spotted [Quarles], who matched
the description given by the woman, approaching a checkout
counter. Apparently upon seeing the officer, [Quarles] turned and
ran toward the rear of the store, and Officer Kraft pursued him
with a drawn gun. When [Quarles] turned the corner at the end
of an aisle, Officer Kraft lost sight of him for several seconds, and
upon regaining sight of [Quarles], ordered him to stop and put his
hands over his head.
Although more than three other officers had arrived on the
scene by that time, Officer Kraft was the first to reach [Quarles].
He frisked him and discovered that he was wearing a shoulder
holster which was then empty. After handcuffing him, Officer
Kraft asked him where the gun was. [Quarles] nodded in the
direction of some empty cartons and responded, “the gun is over
there.”
Id. at 652. Although Quarles was in custody, and subject to an interrogation,
the High Court ruled that his statement was not suppressible under Miranda,
holding that “on these facts there is a ‘public safety’ exception to the
requirement that Miranda warnings be given before a suspect’s answers may
be admitted into evidence[.]” Id. at 655. The exception “does not depend
upon the motivation of the individual officers involved[,]” rather, it arises out
of an objective view of the attendant circumstances to the interrogation. Id.
at 656.
The police …, in the very act of apprehending a suspect,
were confronted with the immediate necessity of ascertaining the
whereabouts of a gun which they had every reason to believe the
suspect had just removed from his empty holster and discarded
in the supermarket. So long as the gun was concealed somewhere
in the supermarket, with its actual whereabouts unknown, it
obviously posed more than one danger to the public safety: an
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accomplice might make use of it, a customer or employee might
later come upon it.
In such a situation, if the police are required to recite the
familiar Miranda warnings before asking the whereabouts of the
gun, suspects in Quarles’ position might well be deterred from
responding. Procedural safeguards which deter a suspect from
responding were deemed acceptable in Miranda in order to
protect the Fifth Amendment privilege; when the primary social
cost of those added protections is the possibility of fewer
convictions, the Miranda majority was willing to bear that cost.
Here, had Miranda warnings deterred Quarles from responding
to Officer Kraft’s question about the whereabouts of the gun, the
cost would have been something more than merely the failure to
obtain evidence useful in convicting Quarles. Officer Kraft needed
an answer to his question not simply to make his case against
Quarles but to insure that further danger to the public did not
result from the concealment of the gun in a public area.
Id. at 657.
The public safety exception to Miranda is not applicable in this case.
Trooper Schonbachler’s question, regardless of his subjective intent, did not
serve to avert any risk to public safety. The accident had already occurred,
the vehicle in question was no longer operable, and Appellant had already
abandoned it in any event. In these circumstances, Trooper Schonbachler’s
inquiry into the number of drinks that Appellant had consumed did not serve
to avert “further danger to the public….” Quarles, 467 U.S. at 657. Rather,
the question was clearly eliciting an incriminating response in the
circumstances of this case.
Thus, we conclude that the trial court erred when it denied Appellant’s
motion to suppress. Appellant was subject to a custodial interrogation when
she responded to Trooper Schonbachler’s question regarding whether she had
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been drinking prior the crash. Accordingly, based on Turner, we are
compelled to reverse the order denying suppression, and to grant a new trial.
In sum, we reverse Appellant’s judgment of sentence with respect to
her convictions for DUI at count 2, and driving an unregistered vehicle. We
reverse the order denying suppression and vacate her judgment of sentence
in all other respects. We remand for a new trial consistent with this
memorandum.
Judgment of sentence reversed in part, vacated in part. Case
remanded. Jurisdiction relinquished.
Judge Shogan joins this memorandum.
Judge Murray files a concurring and dissenting memorandum.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 2/19/2019
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