United States v. Robert William Stage

464 F.2d 1057 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert William STAGE, Defendant-Appellant. No. 71-2585. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Aug. 24, 1972. Edward I. Gritz, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendant-appellant. William D. Keller, U. S. Atty., Dale Thayer, Andrew R. Willing, Eric A. Nobles, Asst. U. S. Attys., Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee. Before ELY, HUFSTEDLER and WRIGHT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: 1 Stage appeals from his conviction for violating the Dyer Act ( 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2312 ). 2 He was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 20, 1970, on state charges unrelated to the federal offense. He was confined in the county jail from August 20 to August 26, 1970, before he was taken before a magistrate. On August 25, 1970, he signed a "waiver of rights" and confessed to a Dyer Act violation. During the six-day interval from his arrest and confinement to the date that he appeared before a United States Commissioner, he was interrogated by the local sheriff, by detectives from the sheriff's office, and by several FBI agents. Federal and state law enforcement officers frequently attended each other's interrogation sessions. 3 At the outset…

(dissenting):

Respectfully, I dissent.

The majority’s statement of facts passes lightly over several difficult questions concerning the admissibility of the confession. However, these are not the focus of my disagreement with the disposition of this case.

*1059 My major dissatisfaction with the result here is the order that on remand the indictment must be dismissed.

I cannot agree that the evidence of guilt, ignoring the confession, was “inadequate to sustain the conviction.” On the contrary, it was quite sufficient to sustain a conviction.

On February 20, 1970, a man walked into a Florida automobile dealership, purportedly with the intention of purchasing a used car. He was permitted to drive a 1969 Cadillac “around the block.” Instead of returning after a test drive, he stole the car.

On August 16, 1970, a man of similar appearance drove the Cadillac into a used car lot in Long Beach, California. Under the pretext of trading in the Cadillac on a 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III, he obtained the Continental for a test drive, drove off in that car, and did not return.

In a trial to the court, it was stipulated that the Cadillac stolen in Florida was the car involved in…

Stage appeals from his conviction for violating the Dyer Act ( 18 U.S.C. § 2312 ).

He was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 20, 1970, on state charges unrelated to the federal offense. He was confined in the county jail from August 20 to August 26, 1970, before he was taken before a magistrate. On August 25, 1970, he signed a “waiver of rights” and confessed to a Dyer Act violation. During the six-day interval from his arrest and confinement to the date that he appeared before a United States Commissioner, he was interrogated by the local sheriff, by detectives from the sheriff’s office, and by several FBI agents. Federal and state law enforcement officers frequently attended each other’s interrogation sessions.

At the outset of his custody, federal agents began questioning him about interstate transportations of stolen cars. On August 20, one of the agents gave him a Miranda warning. Stage said that he did not want to make any statements until he could talk to a lawyer. The questioning continued, and no lawyer was supplied to him.

The confession was obtained in violation of both the Miranda and Mc- *1058 Nabb rules and of 18 U.S.C. § 3501 (c). 1 The Government argues…