PEOPLE OF MI V JAMES ADAMS WALKER
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
January 7, 2000
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 217186
Oakland Circuit Court
LC No. 98-162009 FC
JAMES ADAMS WALKER,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: Doctoroff, P.J., and Holbrook, Jr. and Kelly, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
The prosecutor appeals by leave granted from the trial court’s order granting defendant’s
motion to suppress statements he made to the police. We affirm.
The admissibility of a juvenile’s confession “depends upon whether, under the totality of the
circumstances, the statement was voluntarily made.” People v Givans, 227 Mich App 113, 120; 575
NW2d 84 (1997). “The test of voluntariness is whether, considering the totality of all the surrounding
circumstances, the confession is the product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice by its
maker, or whether the accused’s will has been overborne and his capacity for self-determination
critically impaired.” Id. at 121. A trial court’s findings of fact following a suppression hearing are
reviewed for clear error. Id.. at 122. A review of the record supports the trial court’s finding that
defendant’s statement was involuntary.
Defendant was fifteen years old at the time he was interrogated regarding suspected first-degree
criminal sexual conduct involving a five-year-old girl. His parents were not present during questioning.
Defendant had no previous contact with the criminal justice system and, apparently, he was unaware of
the serious repercussions of the statements he made to the detective conducting the interview. More
importantly, defendant had a medical condition that required constant medication and, under certain
stress levels, his medication had to be adjusted to maintain a proper chemical balance.
During questioning, defendant stated, “I should tell you I did it just to get you off of my back”
and “I did it once.” According to the detective, defendant stated that he penetrated the victim with his
finger one time. Immediately thereafter, defendant lost consciousness, his eyes rolled back and he
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became unresponsive. Paramedics were called and defendant was revived after approximately five
minutes of being unresponsive. These facts indicate that defendant’s “will ha[d] been overborne and his
capacity for self-determination critically impaired.” Id. at 121. Under these circumstances, the trial
court did not clearly err by finding that defendant’s confession was not voluntary.
Affirmed.
/s/ Martin M. Doctoroff
/s/ Donald E. Holbrook, Jr.
/s/ Michael J. Kelly
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