FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
MERRITT K. ALCORN JEFFREY A. MODISETT
Eckert Alcorn & Goering Attorney General of Indiana
Madison, Indiana
GEOFF DAVIS
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
BRENT CALLIS, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 39A04-9606-CR-252
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
II. Whether the polygraph interviews violated his right against self-
incrimination guaranteed by U.S. Constitution amend. V, and Indiana Const.
art. I, § 14;
III. Whether the trial court properly limited the testimony of his expert
witness;
IV. Whether he received ineffective assistance of counsel prior to his arrest;
V. Whether there was sufficient evidence to support the verdict; and,
VI. Whether the failure to record his polygraph interview violated his right
to due process guaranteed by Indiana Const. art. I, § 12.
years old, at her home. A few hours later, Niki received a gunshot wound to her head and
Callis telephoned for an ambulance. Niki died at the hospital approximately twenty minutes
later. Callis initially explained to the police that Niki had retrieved her father's gun and
threatened to kill herself, but that when he tried to take the gun away from her, it went off.
Callis was interviewed at the police station that evening and again on December 7th. His
mother and attorney were present for both interviews.
The police requested that Callis take a polygraph examination on December 12th to
be conducted by the state police. Callis was accompanied by his mother and attorney, who
both waited outside the room during the examination. At the conclusion of the examination,
Callis was questioned by the examiner. Because of concerns about Callis's honesty, another
polygraph examination was scheduled for December 15th. Callis again was accompanied
by his mother and attorney, who again both waited outside the room during the examination.
At the conclusion of this second examination, the examiner interviewed Callis about
inconsistencies in his story. Callis stated that Niki had given him the gun after she had
threatened to kill herself and that they had argued about the amount of time they spent
together. The interviewer stated:
I asked [Callis], "Did you just get so mad that you just lost control and shot
her," and his reply was, "I guess you could say that," and then he added to
that, "I did not mean to kill . . . ," or "did not mean to murder her."
(R. 1876). Callis asked to speak with his attorney and the interview ended. Callis was then
arrested for Niki's murder.
Callis filed a Motion to Suppress Statements and Polygraph Test Results. The trial
court ordered that the results of the polygraph examination would not be admissible, but that
the two post-polygraph interviews "were non-custodial, done after the defendant had ample
time to consult with both a custodial parent and counsel, and were free and voluntary
statements" and may be admitted into evidence. (R. 130). Upon interlocutory appeal of the
trial court's order, another panel of the Court of Appeals affirmed the order by an
unpublished memorandum opinion dated September 27, 1995.See footnote
5
A divided Supreme Court
denied transfer of the case.
Following a jury trial, Callis was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and reckless
homicide and judgment was entered on voluntary manslaughter.
(Ind. Ct. App. 1980)(citing Fair Share Organization v. Mitnick, 245 Ind. 324, 198 N.E.2d
765 (1964), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 843 (1964)). We first examine the legal issue decided in
the prior appeal.
This Court addressed "only the following restated issue upon our determination that
it is dispositive: Were the interviews in question custodial in nature?"See footnote
7
(R. 214). The panel
concluded that Callis's statements were made during a noncustodial interrogation, were
therefore admissible, and stated that it need not determine whether the provisions of Ind.
Code § 31-32-5-1 were satisfied. We now conclude that the issue of whether Callis's right
to counsel was violated, though resting on similar facts, was not decided in that opinion.
Callis correctly contends that the question of when an interrogation becomes custodial
is not determinative of when the right to counsel attaches. The guarantees of an accused's
right to counsel in both the Sixth Amendment and Art. I, Section 13 of the Indiana
Constitution apply "at any stage of the prosecution, formal or informal, in court or out, where
counsel's absence might derogate from the accused's right to a fair trial." Jones v. State, 655
N.E.2d 49, 54 (Ind. 1995)(quoting U.S. v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218 (1967)). The application of
this rule depends upon whether the challenged event occurred at a "critical stage" of the
proceedings. Manley v. State, 410 N.E.2d 1338, 1342 (Ind. Ct. App. 1980). The proper test
for determining whether a particular proceeding is a "critical stage," to which the assistance
of counsel guarantee applies, is whether the defendant is confronted with the intricacies of
the law or the advocacy of the public prosecutor or prosecuting authorities. Williams v.
State, 555 N.E.2d 133, 136 (Ind. 1990). In this state, the commencement of prosecution is
governed by Ind. Code § 35-34-1-1 in which the filing of an information or indictment begins
the formal criminal process. Little v. State, 475 N.E.2d 677, 683 (Ind. 1985).
Callis asserts that polygraph examinations and post-test interrogations constitute
critical stages in the proceedings, triggering the right to counsel, citing Casada v. State, 544
N.E.2d 189, 198 (Ind. Ct. App. 1989), trans. denied, and Greenlee v. State, 477 N.E.2d 917,
920 (Ind. Ct. App. 1985). In Greenlee, the defendant consented to a polygraph examination
during pre-trial plea negotiations. Following the examination, Greenlee made a damaging
admission to the examiner. Greenlee challenged the admissibility of the statement on appeal.
The court concluded that the examination and interrogation were critical stages of the
proceedings, but that Greenlee had waived his right to counsel. In Casada, the defendant,
prior to being arrested or charged, requested a polygraph examination and signed an
agreement stipulating to the admissibility of the results. After his conviction, Casada
appealed the admission of the polygraph examination results. The Casada court concluded
that the signing of the stipulation agreement was not a critical stage and the right to counsel
had not attached because Casada "had not been arrested, arraigned or indicted at that time."
Casada, 544 N.E.2d at 198. The court stated that polygraph examinations and post-test
interrogations were critical stages triggering the right to counsel, citing Greenlee, but
concluded that Casada had waived his right to counsel concerning the examination itself.
The Casada court, however, failed to distinguish between pre- and post-
arrest/indictment proceedings. The court stated that "[t]he sixth amendment, through the
fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution, and article 1 § 13 of the Indiana
Constitution provide an accused the right to counsel during a criminal proceeding or at a
critical stage, whichever is earlier." Id. at 197-98 (emphasis added). We find no support for
the assertion that the right to counsel can attach earlier than the initiation of criminal
proceedings.See footnote
8
We consider the Casada court's statement that "[e]ven though an accused's
sixth amendment right to counsel arising from an adversarial proceeding has not yet attached,
an accused may have the right to counsel," id. at 198, to be a misleading statement of the
law.See footnote
9
Callis's reliance on Greenlee and Casada is misplaced. Greenlee's polygraph
examination occurred after the initiation of criminal proceedings and the attachment of his
right to counsel. Although Casada's polygraph examination preceded his arrest, the court
concluded that his "sixth amendment right to counsel had not attached generally." Id. at 199.
We conclude that Callis's post-examination interview did not constitute a critical stage
because criminal proceedings had not been commenced. We hold that excluding Callis's
attorney from the interview did not violate his right to counsel and that his statements were
admissible.See footnote
10
On this issue, Callis further argues that the involvement of the county coroner in
investigating Niki's death somehow changes the circumstances of Callis's interviews with the
police into criminal proceedings, invoking the right to counsel. An investigation is not a
criminal proceeding. See Ind. Code § 35-34-1-1.
statements to the police. We conclude that the police were not required to advise Callis of
his Miranda rights, that those rights were not violated, and that his statements were
admissible.See footnote
11
(R. 345). At trial, Ofshe testified generally about false confessions and the State offered no
objection as to his expertise. When asked his opinion about the interrogation process in this
case, the trial court sustained an objection to the testimony stating "my problem with that
particular question is that it does invade the province of the jury in terms of the reliability
of the statement. . . . what he cannot do is state his opinion as to the reliability of this
particular confession." (R. 2063).
Callis made an offer of proof in which Ofshe testified that there was a "great dispute
between the accounts" of Callis and the witnessing officers, (R. 2066), that "we have three
different versions of an inculpatory statement . . . all of which are denied by Mr. Callis," (R.
2068), and that "[s]omeone is telling the truth and someone is lying, and there's no way to
reconcile those two things." (R. 2074). Following a later objection to Ofshe's direct
testimony, the trial court discussed Ind.Evidence Rule 704(b), which prohibits opinion
testimony regarding the truthfulness of witnesses.See footnote
12
Callis's counsel agreed that during the
prior offer of proof Ofshe did in fact testify "as to which witness had testified truthfully,"
contrary to Evid.R. 704(b). (R. 2088).
The admissibility of expert testimony is within the sole discretion of the trial court
and reversal is warranted only for abuse of that discretion. Henson v. State, 535 N.E.2d
1189, 1192 (Ind. 1989). Neither lay nor expert witnesses are competent to testify that
another witness is or is not telling the truth. Shepard v. State, 538 N.E.2d 242, 243 (Ind.
1989). Such testimony is highly improper and invades the province of the jury in
determining what weight to place on a witness's testimony. Head v. State, 519 N.E.2d 151,
152 (Ind. 1988).
Callis contends that the proffered testimony merely concerned the reliability of the
interrogation process, not the truthfulness of witnesses; that is, Ofshe's testimony would have
gone to the voluntariness of Callis's statements. Even if the court preliminarily determines
that the statement is voluntary and admits it for the jury's consideration, then the defendant
is still entitled to dispute the voluntariness of the statement once it is presented to the jury.
Morgan v. State, 648 N.E.2d 1164, 1170 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995), aff'd in part and rev'd in part,
675 N.E.2d 1067 (Ind. 1996). We conclude that the trial court properly admitted Ofshe's
testimony regarding the phenomenon of coerced confessions and properly excluded his
opinion about Callis's interrogation. As can be seen in Callis's offer of proof, the aim of
Ofshe's excluded testimony was to express an opinion as to which witness was telling the
truth about Callis's statements. Such testimony is not admissible pursuant to Evid.R. 704(b).
(R. 1487). Callis contends that his counsel's statement amounted to a threat and that this
deficient performance adversely affected the outcome of the proceedings.See footnote
13
We earlier determined that Callis's right to counsel had not been violated because it
had not yet attached at the time of his statements to the police. "It has long been recognized
that the right to counsel is the right to the effective assistance of counsel." McMann v.
Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771 n.14 (1970). Thus, the right to effective assistance of counsel
is derived from the right to counsel itself. Because Callis's right to counsel had not attached
during the noncustodial interview, we find that his right to effective assistance of counsel had
not been violated.
testimony, the resolution of which is within the province of the trier of fact. Jordan v. State,
656 N.E.2d 816, 818 (Ind. 1995).
We conclude that there was sufficient evidence of probative value to support the
verdict that Callis knowingly or intentionally shot Niki while under sudden heat.
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