Facts
Rodrigo Napoles Briseño arrested for kidnapping by cartel members. (Facts removed for brevity and to focus on Miranda issue).
Immediately after the arrest, FBI agents took Briseño to a local jail and booked him into custody. None of the arresting officers spoke Spanish, but the agent interviewing Briseño was a “level two Spanish speaker,” which meant that although he was not fluent, he was able to converse in Spanish. Before the interview, another agent expressed fear for the life of the victims and stated that time was of the essence. The five-hour interview was recorded by video.
The entire interview was conducted in Spanish. The video begins with Briseño and two agents entering the room and sitting at a table across from each other. Briseño’s face is not visible in the video, and his head is not always in view of the camera. Both the video and transcript of the interview proffered by the Government show the interviewing agent advising Briseño that authorities were investigating a ransom demand for a woman and child.
AGENT: And, uh [beep] this is the—uh, the—I am not certain why. But, uh, this person is using this cell phone. [beep] Do you understand? [noise]
BRISEÑO: Oh, no, n—
AGENT: Yes, yes—
BRISEÑO: But—[stammers] uh, mm-mm, my phone?
AGENT: Yes. And, uh, we at this moment, uh, we do not stay [sic] uhm, carry [sic] you. We only want to find [banging noise] this, this girl, and her mother. Her mother is, is the 19-year-old young woman. The video shows Briseño pointing to his phone, which is on the table next to the agent, before responding, “Uh-huh.” The interview continued:
AGENT: Uhm, and, that is why we stay [sic] uh, learn, uh, because—or, or where are these, [chimes] these two people.
BRISEÑO: Um-hmm.
AGENT: And if you can help us with this, uhm, it is going to be very useful. And, and like you know, I can, uhm, talk that or read—but you know that you do not have to talk with us.
BRISEÑO: Um-hmm.
The video then shows the other agent handing a yellow card to the interviewing agent, which contained the Miranda warnings in Spanish. While holding the card, the agent then tells Briseño: Uh, if you do not have enough money to pay an attorney, uh, the United States Government [stammers] are going to pay, or will pay for an attorney. Uh, and if you do not, uh, want to talk, it is not necessary for you to talk. You can, uhm, remain silent. Briseño responds “Um-hmm,” and the agent continues: Uhm, but, and you can read this if it is, it is better—because, like you know, I cannot speak, uh, Spanish very well. But, at this moment, the thing that is more important for us and for you is to locate these, these two people. Nothing else.
During this explanation, the video shows the agent placing the card on the table in front of Briseño. Three seconds later, Briseño slides the card towards him, leans forward in his chair, and picks up the card with both hands. His thumbs are aligned with the text at the top of the card. Briseño appears to look at the card for 12 seconds. After the agent stops talking, Briseño continues looking in the direction of the card for eight more seconds. The agent then tells Briseño that he and the other agent have frequently worked together on cases like this. In the video, Briseño continues to look towards the card for two seconds. He then shifts his thumbs from the top of the card to the bottom, looks in the direction of the card for two to three more seconds, looks up at the agent, and responds, “Mm-hmm—”.
The interview continued:
AGENT: —and like, uhm, you have said—generally, a person like you, who is making phone calls, is not involved. Uh, it is an, another man—
BRISEÑO: Hmm—
AGENT: —very bad [exhales]
BRISEÑO: Hmm.
AGENT: —and for that reason, uh, when, a, a man like you has the time to talk—
BRISEÑO: Mm—
AGENT: —it is better to talk [banging noise] simply, that way you can say, “I am not part of this—this.”
BRISEÑO: Mm—
AGENT: But, it is more important at this moment to find the, the kids.
BRISEÑO: Mm-hmm.
After the other agent whispered information about the address to the agent, the interview continued:
AGENT: Yes, and, uh, in, in the past, when you were in, in Texas—
BRISEÑO: Uh-huh.
AGENT: —where, uh, did you live, you?
BRISEÑO: Uh, the address is, is with a brother, at—
The video shows that the card remained on the table in front of Briseño for two minutes and 16 seconds until it was removed by the other agent. As the interview continued, Briseño explained that he and his cousin were a part of an organization that transported noncitizens across the border in exchange for money; that W.Y. (victim’s wife) was lying about his wife and child being kidnapped; that W.Y. had instead refused to pay the second half of the transportation fee so the organization would have enough money to take them to Baltimore; and that they were not being held against their will. He did not know who oversaw the operation or whether people in the organization were with a cartel. He also provided the address to a house on Miller Avenue in Fort Worth (“Miller House”) where the victims were located. Briseño stated that his cousin and another person owned the house, and that they were currently there with W.Y.’s wife and daughter and two other females.
Briseño was indicted on one count of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain and one count of transporting illegal aliens in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) & (v). He conditionally pled guilty and was sentenced to 84 months but reserved his right to appeal his motion to suppress the statement which was denied by the trial court. The 5th affirmed.
Analysis
The video of Briseño’s interview shows that before it began, he was orally read some, but not all, of his Miranda rights in broken Spanish. He was then handed a card, which the interviewing agent testified contained the Miranda warnings written in Spanish. Briseño held the card, appeared to look at it for 25 seconds, and did not ask any questions. According to the agent’s testimony, which the court found credible and persuasive, Briseño appeared to be reading the card.
Although the video does not show Briseño’s face, it does not contradict the testimony that he appeared to read the card. The video shows that after Briseño put the card on the table, he repositioned himself in his chair and answered the agent’s questions. The agent testified that he began asking Briseño questions at that point because he had no doubt that Briseño fully understood his rights and had decided to speak with him. He noted that Briseño said “uh-huh” while he read the rights to him, and that after looking at the card, Briseño did not say he was unable to read it or that he did not want to speak. He testified that, based on his experience and training, he did not observe anything to indicate that Briseño did not understand the rights that he read to him and that were provided to him in written form. The district court, which had the benefit of observing the agent’s demeanor, found his testimony credible and persuasive, and this credibility determination is entitled to deference.
The district court found that Briseño’s repeated references to text messages throughout the interrogation suggested that he was literate, which goes to his ability to read the card, and that the video of Briseño looking at the card for at least twenty seconds and the uncontradicted agent testimony that Briseño appeared to be reading it suggested that Briseño had read the card. It also found that the multiple times that Briseño asked the agent to clarify questions during the interrogation indicated his ability to comprehend the rights on the card, despite any language problems because “his behavior throughout the interrogation suggests that he would have stopped to clarify what the card was saying before moving on, as he did at other times.” The court concluded that the totality of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation support that Briseño read and comprehended his Miranda rights and implicitly waived his rights when he began to answer questions regarding the ransom demand and that his statements were not the result of force, threats, or coercion.
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, and with due regard to the district court’s opportunity to judge the credibility of the witnesses, the district court’s finding that Briseño voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived his Miranda rights is plausible in light of the record as a whole and is therefore not clearly erroneous. Even though the interviewing agent recited only part of the Miranda warning in broken Spanish, Briseño then appeared to read a card with the full Miranda warning in Spanish, which collectively was sufficient to apprise him of both the nature of the right being abandoned and the consequences of the decision to abandon it.
Briseño also referred to text messages during the interrogation, which is evidence of his ability to read. Further, nothing in the video, particularly Briseño’s body language, tone, and demeanor throughout the interview, contradicts the district court’s findings. Because there is a reasonable view of the evidence that supports the finding that Briseño’s waiver of his Miranda rights was knowing and voluntary, the district court did not err by denying the motion to suppress custodial statements.
https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/23/23-10797.0.pdf