2017
Opinion No. 58
Appeal
from the District Court of the Sixth Judicial District, State
of Idaho, Bannock County. Hon. David C. Nye, District Judge.
Judgment
of conviction and sentence for one count of injury to
children, affirmed.
Eric
D. Fredericksen, State Appellate Public Defender; Andrea W.
Reynolds, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for
appellant.
Andrea
W. Reynolds argued.
Hon.
Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Kenneth K. Jorgensen,
Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent.
Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued.
GUTIERREZ, JUDGE.
Kasey
A. Smith pled guilty to one count of injury to children. On
appeal, Smith argues that the district court's denial of
his motion to suppress should be reversed and his judgment of
conviction vacated because his confession was not voluntary.
Smith also asks to be resentenced, asserting that the
district court erred in finding that he breached his plea
agreement. For the following reasons, we affirm.
I.
FACTUAL
AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
After
receiving a report involving the sexual assault of a minor,
an officer from the Pocatello Police Department questioned
Smith, the alleged perpetrator. The officer asked Smith to
sign a waiver stating that he understood that he did not have
to proceed, that he could remain silent, and that he was
consenting to a truth verification examination. The waiver
included the pertinent portions of the standard
Miranda[1] warnings. Smith signed the waiver. During
the examination, the officer performed a computer voice
stress analysis (CVSA) test on Smith. The test detects stress
patterns in a person's responses to questions and then
formulates appropriate follow-up questions. Once the test
concluded, the officer continued to question a nervous Smith,
who confessed to touching the victim.
The
State charged Smith with one count of lewd conduct with a
child under sixteen by manual-genital contact. Smith then
filed a motion to suppress his confession. After hearing oral
arguments and reviewing Smith's brief, the district court
denied the motion, concluding that Smith's confession was
made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily.
The
State and Smith subsequently reached a plea agreement. The
plea agreement, in its entirety, reads:
1. The State will amend the charge to Felony Injury to Child.
2. The State will recommend an underlying sentence of 3 and
7.
3. The Defendant will complete a Psycho-sexual evaluation
with a full ...