Opinion
112302
06-29-2023
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Kiona JACKSON, Appellant.
Dennis J. Lamb, Troy, for appellant. Mary Pat Donnelly, District Attorney, Troy (George J. Hoffman Jr. of counsel), for respondent.
Dennis J. Lamb, Troy, for appellant.
Mary Pat Donnelly, District Attorney, Troy (George J. Hoffman Jr. of counsel), for respondent.
Before: Garry, P.J., Aarons, Pritzker, Ceresia and Fisher, JJ.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Aarons, J. Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Rensselaer County (Jennifer G. Sober, J.), rendered December 11, 2019, convicting defendant upon her plea of guilty of the crimes of manslaughter in the second degree and criminally negligent homicide. Defendant was charged by indictment with manslaughter in the second degree and criminally negligent homicide when her son, who was almost two years old at the time, died after being struck in the abdomen with a closed fist. Prior to trial, defendant moved to suppress various statements that she made to law enforcement officials. Following a Huntley hearing, County Court denied defendant's motion. Defendant then pleaded guilty as charged without a sentencing promise from the court. The court thereafter sentenced defendant to a prison term of 5 to 15 years for her conviction of manslaughter in the second degree and to a lesser concurrent prison term for her conviction of criminally negligent homicide. Defendant appeals.
Defendant contends that, in the absence of Miranda warnings during three separate interviews in the summer of 2018, the statements that she made to law enforcement officials should have been suppressed as a product of an unlawful custodial interrogation. We disagree. The record reflects that defendant was neither handcuffed while being interviewed by law enforcement officials nor otherwise restricted in her movement (see People v. Lyons, 200 A.D.3d 1222, 1224, 157 N.Y.S.3d 594 [3d Dept. 2021], lv denied 37 N.Y.3d 1162, 160 N.Y.S.3d 723, 181 N.E.3d 1151 [2022] ). At the interviews, defendant was cooperative, she spoke freely, she was never told that she could not leave and she was not subject to accusatory questioning (see People v. Underdue, 89 A.D.3d 1132, 1133, 931 N.Y.S.2d 784 [3d Dept. 2011], lv denied 19 N.Y.3d 969, 950 N.Y.S.2d 121, 973 N.E.2d 219 [2012] ). Furthermore, at the first interview, defendant appeared with her mother, who remained in the interview room, and, at another one, her boyfriend was with her in the room. Under all of these circumstances and deferring to County Court's factual determinations, defendant's statements were not given in a custodial setting such that Miranda warnings would have been required (see People v. Eriksen, 145 A.D.3d 1110, 1111, 43 N.Y.S.3d 546 [3d Dept. 2016], lv denied 28 N.Y.3d 1183, 52 N.Y.S.3d 710, 75 N.E.3d 102 [2017] ; People v. Mercado, 113 A.D.3d 930, 931–932, 978 N.Y.S.2d 449 [3d Dept. 2014], lv denied 23 N.Y.3d 1040, 993 N.Y.S.2d 253, 17 N.E.3d 508 [2014] ; People v. Langlois, 17 A.D.3d 772, 773–774, 792 N.Y.S.2d 713 [3d Dept. 2005] ).
Regarding the two interviews conducted in October 2018, defendant was advised of her Miranda rights at both of them. That said, law enforcement officials may use a degree of guile as part of their questioning, and "such stratagems need not result in involuntariness without some showing that the deception was so fundamentally unfair as to deny due process or that a promise or threat was made that could induce a false confession" ( People v. Tarsia, 50 N.Y.2d 1, 11, 427 N.Y.S.2d 944, 405 N.E.2d 188 [1980] [internal citations omitted]). The record does not support defendant's assertion that her admissions that she struck the child with a closed fist stemmed from unduly coercive or deceptive police conduct (see People v. Jeremiah, 147 A.D.3d 1199, 1203–1204, 47 N.Y.S.3d 490 [3d Dept. 2017], lv denied 29 N.Y.3d 1033, 62 N.Y.S.3d 302, 84 N.E.3d 974 [2017] ; People v. Scaringe, 137 A.D.3d 1409, 1412, 27 N.Y.S.3d 712 [3d Dept. 2016], lv denied 28 N.Y.3d 936, 40 N.Y.S.3d 364, 63 N.E.3d 84 [2016] ) or psychological coercion (see People v. Henson, 263 A.D.2d 550, 551, 692 N.Y.S.2d 778 [3d Dept. 1999], lv denied 93 N.Y.2d 1044, 697 N.Y.S.2d 876, 720 N.E.2d 96 [1999] ) such that she was denied due process or was induced to give a false confession. Accordingly, County Court correctly concluded that defendant's admissions made in October 2018 to law enforcement officials were voluntary (see People v. Weaver, 167 A.D.3d 1238, 1243–1244, 90 N.Y.S.3d 359 [3d Dept. 2018], lv denied 33 N.Y.3d 955, 100 N.Y.S.3d 187, 123 N.E.3d 846 [2019] ; People v. Neal, 133 A.D.3d 920, 923, 20 N.Y.S.3d 193 [3d Dept. 2015], lv denied 26 N.Y.3d 1110, 26 N.Y.S.3d 769, 47 N.E.3d 99 [2016] ; People v. Jaeger, 96 A.D.3d 1172, 1174, 946 N.Y.S.2d 680 [3d Dept. 2012], lv denied 19 N.Y.3d 997, 951 N.Y.S.2d 474, 975 N.E.2d 920 [2012] ).
Finally, despite the imposition of the maximum possible sentence by County Court, the sentence is not unduly harsh or severe (see People v. James, 176 A.D.3d 1492, 1496, 113 N.Y.S.3d 355 [3d Dept. 2019], lv denied 34 N.Y.3d 1078, 116 N.Y.S.3d 147, 139 N.E.3d 805 [2019] ; People v. Peryea, 68 A.D.3d 1144, 1147, 889 N.Y.S.2d 741 [3d Dept. 2009], lv denied 14 N.Y.3d 804, 899 N.Y.S.2d 138, 925 N.E.2d 942 [2010] ). We decline defendant's request to reduce the sentence in the interest of justice.
Garry, P.J., Pritzker, Ceresia and Fisher, JJ., concur.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.