Peter W. Makarewicz v. Palmer C. Scafati, Superintendent of The Massachusetts Correctionalinstitution at Walpole, Massachusetts, 438 F.2d 474, 1st Cir. (1971)

438 F.
2d 474
Peter W. MAKAREWICZ, Petitioner, Appellant,

v.
Palmer C. SCAFATI, Superintendent of the Massachusetts
CorrectionalInstitution at Walpole, Massachusetts,
Respondent, Appellee.
No. 7739.
United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Feb. 24, 1971, Certiorari Denied May 17, 1971, See 91 S.Ct.
1685.
Chester C. Paris, Cambridge, Mass., for appellant.

Bernard Manning, Asst. Atty. Gen., with whom Robert H. Quinn, Atty.
Gen., and John J. Irwin, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Chief, Criminal Division,
were on the brief, for appellee.
Before ALDRICH, Chief Judge, McENTEE and COFFIN, Circuit Judges.
McENTEE, Circuit Judge.
On March 17, 1955, petitioner was convicted by a jury in Superior Court in

Massachusetts of the first degree murder of Geraldine Annese. He is currently
serving a life sentence at Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Walpole. The
murder occurred in Norwood, Massachusetts, on Thursday evening, November
4, 1954. Petitioner was fifteen years old; the victim was a neighbor and former
girl friend. According to his confession to the police, which was admitted into
evidence at trial over his objection, petitioner left his home shortly after 9:30
p.m. on the evening of the crime through a cellar door. He waited in a garage
located next to the victim's house for about fifteen minutes. When the Annese
girl passed by on her way home from a date, petitioner called to her to enter the
garage, which she did He strangled her by the throat with his hands until her
hands 'stopped moving,' removed her clothes and raped her. Petitioner told the
police that he noticed that the victim was menstruating that day. He then
returned to his home through the cellar door.
Before admitting petitioner's confession into evidence at the trial, the judge
conducted an extensive voir dire, during which both sides called witnesses. In
addition, the jury was instructed to consider whether or not the confession was
voluntary. On appeal, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the
conviction, ruling inter alia that the confession was admissible. Commonwealth
v. Makarewicz, 333 Mass. 575, 132 N.E.2d 294 (1956). On August 28, 1968,
petitioner filed a petition for a writ of error in the Supreme Judicial Court, again
challenging the admissibility of his confession. In accordance with
Mass.Gen.Laws. ch. 250, 9 and 11 the writ was considered by a single justice
of the court, who denied it. Although entitled to do so under Massachusetts law,
see discussion infra, petitioner did not appeal that decision to the full bench of
the court.1 In May 1969 he filed a petition for habeas corpus in the United
States District Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254 on the same grounds, viz., that
his conviction had been based on an involuntary confession. No evidentiary
hearing was held; the district court denied the petition on the basis of the trial
transcript. This is an appeal from the decision on the district court.
Respondent contends that petitioner has failed to exhaust his state remedies
because he did not appeal from the denial of his 1968 writ of error. Under
Massachusetts law the denial of a writ of error can be appealed to the full bench
of the Supreme Judicial Court on the grounds that 'the single justice abused his
powers or that his action was arbitrary and unjustifiable.' Commonwealth v.
Sacco, 261 Mass. 12, 17, 158 N.E. 167, 169, cert. denied. 275 U.S. 574, 48
S.Ct. 17, 72 L.Ed. 434 (1927); accord, McGarty v. Commonwealth, 326 Mass.
413, 414-415, 95 N.E.2d 158, 159, cert. denied, 340 U.S. 886, 71 S.Ct. 199, 95
L.Ed. 643 (1950). See generally K. Smith, Massachusetts Practice: Criminal
Practice and Procedure 1244 (1970). In response, petitioner appears to take the
position that under the 'futility doctrine' he had no obligation to seek a writ of
error in the first place. 2 He contends that the writ cannot be used to correct the
trial court's failure to suppress illegal evidence, since that is an issue which
there was a 'legally sufficient opportunity to litigate' at trial. See Aronson v.
Commonwealth, 331 Mass. 599, 602, 121 N.E.2d 669, 671 (1954). Yet the
Supreme Judicial Court has considered suppression of evidence questions on
writ of error in at least two recent decisions. See Gilday v. Commonwealth, 355
Mass. 799, 247 N.E.2d 396 (1969); Richardson v. Commonwealth, 355 Mass.
112, 243 N.E.2d 801, 803 (1969). Where the state court has indicated a
willingness to broaden its traditional remedies in order to reach federal
constitutional claims, petitioner must initially seek relief in that court. Grayson
v. Montgomery, 421 F.2d 1306, 1309-1310 (1st Cir. 1970).
In the instant case, however, petitioner was not obligated to seek a writ of error
since the admissibility of his confession has already been reviewed by the full
bench of the Supreme Judicial Court on direct appeal. Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S.
443, 447-450, 73 S.Ct. 397, 97 L.Ed. 469 (1953); Connor v. Picard, 434 F.2d
673 (1st Cir. 1970); R. Sokol, Federal Habeas Corpus 22.2 (2d ed.1969); Note,
Developments in the Law-- Federal Habeas Corpus, note 2 supra, at 1096. This
is not a case in which, during the period since petitioner's contention was
considered by the state court, the United States Supreme Court has announced a
new legal principle whose applicability must first be considered by the
Massachusetts court. See Sullivan v. Scafati, 428 F.2d 1023, 1024 n. 1 (1st Cir.
1970); cf. Subilosky v. Massachusetts, 412 F.2d 691 (1st Cir. 1969). For these
same reasons petitioner was not obligated to move for a new trial pursuant to
Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 278, 29. And his failure to apply to the United States
Supreme Court for certiorari following the Massachusetts court's affirmance of
his conviction does not bar federal habeas relief now. Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S.
391, 435-438, 83 S.Ct. 822, 9 L.Ed.2d 837 (1963); Hedberg v. Pitchess,362
F.2d 511 (9th Cir. 1966).
5
Because this case was tried prior to the Supreme Court's decisions in Escobedo
v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478, 84 S.Ct. 1758, 12 L.Ed.2d 977 (1964), and Miranda v.
Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), we must
'examine the entire record and make an independent determination of the
ultimate issue of voluntariness.' Davis v. North Carolina, 384 U.S. 737, 741742, 86 S.Ct. 1761, 1764, 16 L.Ed.2d 895 (1966). Because much of the relevant
trial testimony by petitioner and the police was directly contradictory and
because neither the trial court nor the jury made any express findings of fact,
we limit our consideration here to the undisputed facts. Reck v. Pate, 367 U.S.
433, 435, 81 S.Ct. 1541, 6 L.Ed.2d 948 (1961); Thomas v. Arizona, 356 U.S.
390, 402-403, 78 S.Ct. 885, 2 L.Ed.2d 863 (1958).
Petitioner argues that a consideration of the 'totality of the circumstances' that

preceded the confession, Fikes v. Alabama, 352 U.S. 191, 197, 77 S.Ct. 281, 1
L.Ed.2d 246 (1957), shows that his confession was not voluntary. He stresses
his age (15), lack of education (he had not completed the ninth grade), low
mentality (I.Q. of 74 or 84 according to two different tests administered shortly
after the crime), lack of prior experience with police interrogation, and the time
and duration of the questioning. However, we do not find the circumstances in
this case inherently coercive. Petitioner was brought to the Norwood Police
Station from his home at approximately 12:15 a.m., Saturday morning,
November 6, 1954. According to a stipulation made before the district court, he
was interrogated for approximately two hours, in three relatively brief sessions,
before confessing.3 The longest interrogation was the first, which lasted from
12:15 to 1:45 a.m. Petitioner was then fingerprinted and given a benzidin test,
which revealed the presence of a significant amount of blood on his body,
particularly around his groin. The second interrogation was conducted between
3:18 and 3:45 a.m. Petitioner was then allowed to rest for about five hours
during which time he was given a phenobarbital pill supplied to the police by
his father. He confessed shortly after the beginning of the third interrogation,
which began at 9:12 a.m.
7
A stenographic transcript was recorded during the interrogation. Although

petitioner contradicted much of the factual content of that transcript at trial, in
this proceeding he relies heavily on it to document his complaints about the
treatment he received from the police. The transcript reveals, however, that the
police were generally very polite and restrained. Petitioner's father, who waited
in the police station most of the night, was not denied access to his son; indeed,
he never requested to see him. Nor did petitioner ask to see his parents or
counsel. While we adhere to the opinion that early morning confessions by
youngsters after a full night of police custody are inherently suspect, Michaud
v. Robbins, 424 F.2d 971, 976 (1st Cir. 1970), the circumstances here fall far
short of those described in Haley v. Ohio, 332 U.S. 596, 68 S.Ct. 302, 92 L.Ed
224 (1948) (fifteen-year-old boy grilled in relays for five straight hours before
his 5 a.m. confession, then held incommunicado for 2 1/2 days), Gallegos v.
Colorado, 370 U.S. 49, 82 S.Ct. 1209, 8 L.Ed.2d 325 (1962) (fourteen-year-old
boy held incommunicado for 5 days), and Reck v. Pate, supra (nineteen-yearold youth of subnormal intelligence subjected to 6-7 hour interrogation sessions
and intermittent public exhibition in 'show-ups'). See Boulden v. Holman, 394
U.S. 478, 89 S.Ct. 1138, 22 L.Ed.2d 433 (1969); Michaud v. Robbins, supra.
In evaluating any threatening or intimidating remarks made by the police we

must weigh 'the circumstances of pressure against the power of resistance of the
person confessing.' Stein v. New York, 346 U.S. 156, 185, 73 S.Ct. 1077, 1093,
97 L.Ed. 1522 (1953). The 'question in each case is whether the defendant's
will was overborne at the time he confessed.' Lynumn v. Illinois, 372 U.S. 528,
534, 83 S.Ct. 917, 920, 9 L.Ed.2d 922 (1963) (emphasis ours). During the first
interrogation the police made statements like, 'Of course, you are telling an
awful peculiar story, you know that * * *. You don't expect anybody to believe
that story, do you?' The transcript of the interrogation reveals, however, that
petitioner was undaunted by such remarks:
'Sgt. Bogdanchik. * * * Isn't that a fact you rehearsed that story quite a bit?
10
'A. Do you want to see my script?
11
'Sgt. Bogdanchik. Don't clown. This is pretty serious, you know that don't you?
12
'A. Yes.'
13
During the second interrogation, after the police had learned that the benzidin
test showed blood on petitioner's body, they made statements like, 'Something
took place in that house that you got that blood all over you. * * * We are going
to stay here a week, or ten weeks, or ten years until we find out.' But again
petitioner refused to be intimidated. He insisted a blackbird he had killed with
his B-B gun the previous day accounted for the blood.4
14
Petitioner confessed, not under the pressure of threatening remarks, but after he
was confronted with the evidence against him. At the beginning of the third
interrogation he was informed that his fingerprints had been found at the scene
of the crime and that the benzidin test had revealed the presence of blood on his
clothes. He had apparently hidden the dungarees he had worn that evening in
the hamper at his home, but the police found them and brought them to the
station. Immediately after he was shown the blood stains around the fly section
of the dungarees, petitioner confessed. That confession resulted not from
pressure but from the 'inward consciousness * * * of being confronted with
evidence of guilt which (he) could neither deny nor explain.' Stein v. New
York, supra, 346 U.S. at 185, 73 S.Ct. at 1093. See Thomas v. Arizona, supra,
356 U.S. at 400-402, 81 S.Ct. 1541; cf. Haynes v. Washington, 373 U.S. 503,
83 S.Ct. 1336, 10 L.Ed.2d 513 (1963) (petitioner's repeated requests to call his
wife were not granted until he confessed); Lynumn v. Illinois, supra, 372 U.S.
at 534, 83 S.Ct. 917 (confession made as a direct result of police threats to cut
off state financial aid to petitioner's children and to take her children from her).
15
Two factors cited by petitioner must be given some weight in his favor. Once
the police discovered the presence of blood on petitioner's body for which he
had no satisfactory explanation, they did not warn him of his right to remain
silent and his right to counsel. While not determinative in this pre-Escobedo,
pre-Miranda setting, their failure to do so is a significant factor that must be
taken into account. Davis v. North Carolina, supra, 384 U.S. at 740-741, 86
S.Ct. 1761.5 Similarly, although the delay in bringing petitioner before a
magistrate was relatively short, the police had a substantial amount of
circumstantial evidence against him by 8:30 a.m. when the state district court
opened. Questioning petitioner for a third time a 9:12 a.m. prior to bringing him
before the court suggests the possibility of a 'callous attitude' on their part,
Haley v. Ohio, supra, 332 U.S. at 600, 68 S.Ct. 302, and some degree of overzealousness in attempting to obtain a confession. Yet these two factors, without
more, are not sufficient to render petitioner's confession involuntary in view of
our overall analysis of the events that transpired. Finally, petitioner suggests
that the phenobarbital pill6 that he took sometime within the five hours prior to
his confession may have reduced his powers of resistance. Cf. Townsend v.
Sain, 372 U.S. 293, 307-309, 83 S.Ct. 745, 9 L.Ed.2d 770 (1963). But the
evidence showed only that petitioner became drowsy for about ten minutes
after taking the pill, and there was no evidence that he took it within the ten
minutes immediately preceding the third interrogation.
16
Affirmed.
On September 5, 1962, petitioner had filed another writ of error challenging his
conviction on grounds other than those raised on direct appeal. That writ was
allowed by the single justice, who then ruled against him on the merits.
Petitioner appealed that ruling to the full bench of the Supreme Judicial Court,
which affirmed the decision of the single justice. Makarewicz v.
Commonwealth, 346 Mass. 478, 194 N.Ed.2d 388 (1963)
See Whippler v. Balkcom, 342 F.2d 388 (5th Cir. 1965); cf. Needel v. Scafati,
412 F.2d 761, 765 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 861, 90 S.Ct. 133, 24
L.Ed.2d 113 (1969). See generally Note, Developments in the Law-- Federal
Habeas Corpus, 83 Harv.L.Rev. 1038, 1097-99 (1970)
Petitioner was interrogated by Sgt. Walter Bogdanchik and Lt. William H.

Delay of the Massachusetts State Police, Chief Mark Folan and Lt. James
Murphy of the Norwood Police and District Attorney Myron Lane. Mr. George
Kenney, a clerk in the District Attorney's office, recorded a stenographic
transcript in shorthand
'Sgt. Bogdanchik. You have taken us on fairy tales, havent's you?

'A. No.
'Sgt. Bogdanchik. What is the story on the blood if that isn't a fairy tale?
'A. I have got five boxes of B-Bs at my house. Do you want to go up and see?'
Respondent takes the position that, because petitioner did not stress this factor
is his appeal before the Supreme Judicial Court, we cannot consider it here.
However, lack of warnings regarding the right to remain silent and the right to
counsel were recognized as relevant to the overall issue of voluntariness long
before Escobedo v. Illinois, supra, and Miranda v. Arizona, supra. See Davis v.
North Carolina, supra, 384 U.S. at 740-741, 86 S.Ct. 1761; Turner v.
Pennsylvania, 338 U.S. 62, 64, 69 S.Ct. 1352, 93 L.Ed. 1810 (1949). The
Supreme Judicial Court has already had its 'opportunity to apply controlling
legal principles to the facts bearing upon (this) constitutional claim.' United
States ex rel. Kemp v. Pate, 359 F.2d 749, 751 (7th Cir. 1966)
6
Petitioner had been taking these pills for some time in order to control the
symptoms of epilepsy with which he was afflicted

Peter W. Makarewicz v. Palmer C. Scafati, Superintendent of The Massachusetts Correctionalinstitution at Walpole, Massachusetts, 438 F.2d 474, 1st Cir. (1971)

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Peter W. Makarewicz v. Palmer C. Scafati, Superintendent of The Massachusetts Correctionalinstitution at Walpole, Massachusetts, 438 F.2d 474, 1st Cir. (1971)

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438 F.

Peter W. MAKAREWICZ, Petitioner, Appellant,

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Chester C. Paris, Cambridge, Mass., for appellant.

On March 17, 1955, petitioner was convicted by a jury in Superior Court in

Petitioner argues that a consideration of the 'totality of the circumstances' that

A stenographic transcript was recorded during the interrogation. Although

In evaluating any threatening or intimidating remarks made by the police we

'A. Do you want to see my script?

Petitioner was interrogated by Sgt. Walter Bogdanchik and Lt. William H.

'Sgt. Bogdanchik. You have taken us on fairy tales, havent's you?

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