PA Superior Court: Police Violate Miranda by Claiming They Won’t Use Defendant’s Statement in Court During Interrogation
Criminal Defense Lawyer Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Phillips, reversing the defendant’s conviction for murder and finding that the police violated his Miranda rights by initially giving his Miranda warnings but then telling him that they would not use his confession in court after they gave the Miranda warnings. The entire premise of Miranda is that an individual who is subjected to a custodial interrogation must be warned that they have the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, and that anything they say can can be used against them in court. Therefore, the police cannot give those warnings, subsequently undermine them by promising something false to the contrary, and then use the resulting confession in court.
The Facts of Phillips
The defendant was accused of committing a 2019 shooting in North Philadelphia that killed one man and injured another. Surveillance video showed the shooting. The shooter was on a bicycle and wearing a distinctive floral-patterned shirt. The Philadelphia Police received a tip for an Instagram account linked to a specific handle which appeared to implicate the account owner in the shooting. The police connected the defendant to that Instagram account and ultimately charged him with murder and related charges.
The Interrogation
Two Philadelphia homicide detectives interrogated the defendant at the police station while the defendant was in custody on unrelated charges. The detectives provided the defendant with his Miranda warnings. During the interrogation, the defendant admitted to ownership of the Instagram account, confirmed his presence at the crime scene, and claimed that he participated in the shooting as a lookout under the mistaken belief that the incident was only supposed to be a robbery, not a murder. Obviously, these statements did not help the defendant at his trial.
The key issue with respect to the confession arose when the defendant asked: “You all going to use this in court on me?” One detective falsely responded, “Nobody’s using anything in court,” in an apparent effort to assuage the defendant’s concerns. This statement directly contradicted the Miranda warning that anything said “can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
After making this false statement, the detectives continued questioning the defendant, ultimately eliciting inculpatory statements. The defendant later moved to suppress these statement, arguing that the detective’s promise of confidentiality invalidated his waiver of Miranda rights and rendered his statements involuntary.
The Motion to Suppress
The trial court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress. The court concluded that the detective’s statement was meant to address the defendant’s fear of retribution in being perceived as a snitch and did not negate his understanding of the Miranda warning. After a second trial (the first ended in a mistrial due to a COVID-19 outbreak), the defendant was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for first-degree murder along with additional consecutive sentences for other offenses.
The defendant appealed to the Superior Court, asserting that:
The trial court erred in admitting his statements to detectives because his Miranda waiver was invalid.
The trial court improperly sentenced him without considering mitigating factors, including his psychological background, due to its refusal to order a presentence investigation report.
The Superior Court’s Ruling
The Superior Court reversed the ruling of the trial court and held that the trial court should have granted the motion to suppress because the police violated the Miranda rule by lying to the defendant and telling him that his statement would not be used in court.
The Superior Court focused on the interrogation’s adherence to Miranda standards. Under the United States Supreme Court’s holding in Miranda v. Arizona, police must inform suspects of their rights, including the right to remain silent and the warning that anything said can be used against them in court whenever the police conduct a custodial interrogation. If they do not do so, then anything said by the defendant generally cannot be used in court, with some exceptions. Additionally, a suspect’s waiver of the Miranda rights must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.
The Superior Court evaluated whether the Miranda waiver was voluntary and whether the defendant really understood the rights he was giving up. In other words, the court asked whether the waiver was the product of free choice, without intimidation, coercion, or deception. It also evaluated whether the defendant understoodstood the nature of the rights and the consequences of waiving them.
The Superior Court found that the detective’s statement that “Nobody’s using anything in court” misrepresented the consequences of the defendant’s waiver. A reasonable person in the defendant’s’ position could have interpreted this as a promise that his statements would not be used against him. The Court emphasized that such false promises contradict the Miranda warnings’ purpose: ensuring suspects understand their statements can be used as evidence in court.
Because the detective’s statement undermined the Miranda warnings, the Superior Court concluded that the defendant’s waiver was invalid. Accordingly, the trial court should have suppressed the statement.
The Court also rejected the argument that this error was harmless. Without the defendant’s confession, the remaining evidence against him was largely circumstantial and consisted of:
Internet searches for extended 9mm handgun clips on the day of the shooting.
Cell tower data placing the defendant near the crime scene.
Surveillance footage showing a bicyclist in a floral-patterned shirt—similar to clothing associated with Phillips.
While this evidence could have suggested the defendant’s involvement, it lacked the direct and unequivocal nature of his confession. The confession was critical to the jury’s guilty verdict.
Therefore, the Superior Court vacated the defendant’s judgment of sentence and remanded the case for a new trial without the statement. It will obviously be harder for the Commonwealth to obtain a conviction on remand. Ultimately, the police are free to tell are sorts of lies during an interrogation, but they are not free to tell lies that undermine the Miranda warnings.
Facing criminal charges or appealing a criminal case in Pennsylvania?
Goldstein Mehta LLC Criminal Defense Attorneys
If you are facing criminal charges or under investigation by the police, we can help. We have successfully defended thousands of clients against criminal charges in courts throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We have successfully obtained full acquittals and dismissals in cases involving charges such as Conspiracy, Aggravated Assault, Rape, Violations of the Uniform Firearms Act, and First-Degree Murder. We have also won criminal appeals and PCRAs in state and federal court, including the successful direct appeal of a first-degree murder conviction and the exoneration of a client who spent 33 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Our award-winning Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers offer a free criminal defense strategy session to any potential client. Call 267-225-2545 to speak with an experienced and understanding defense attorney today.
