MONTANA v. JACKSON, 460 U.S. 1030 (1983)
U.S. Supreme Court
MONTANA v. JACKSON , 460 U.S. 1030 (1983)460 U.S. 1030
MONTANA
v.
Robert Charles JACKSON
No. 81-1531
Supreme Court of the United States
March 21, 1983
On petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Montana.
The petition for writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated and the case is remanded to the Supreme Court of Montana to consider whether its judgment is based upon federal or state constitutional grounds, or both, California v. Krivda, 409 U.S. 33, 93 S. Ct. 32 (1972), and, if its judgment is not based upon state constitutional grounds, for further consideration in light of South Dakota v. Neville, 459 U.S. ---, 74 L.Ed.2d ___ (1983).
Justice STEVENS, dissenting.
In its opinion explaining its holding that the defendant's refusal to submit to a breathalizer sobriety test is inadmissible, the majority of the Supreme Court of Montana stated, in part:
After analyzing the federal constitutional question in the light of this Court's opinion in Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, the court continued:
"The issue is also controlled by Art. II, 25 of our own constitution, which provides that 'no person shall be compelled to testify against himself in a criminal proceeding.' The issue involves a communication that is testimonial in nature, and we must resolve the issue by applying Art. II, 25. Clearly, to permit evidence of defendant's refusal to take the breathalyzer test would
violate not only the United States Constitution, but also our own constitution.
"In State v. Finley (1977), 173 Mont. 162, 566 P.2d 1119, we held that a defendant's privilege against self-incrimination was not violated by admitting into evidence a videotape recording of his post- arrest words and actions. We decided that the tape had not been introduced for the incriminating content of the words uttered by the defendant, but rather for the purpose of aiding the jury in understanding the testimony of the witnesses who had observed the defendant's unsteady walk and his slurred speech after his arrest. We specifically noted that the videotape did not contain incriminating responses to interrogation by the police. But the same situation does not exist here. It is obvious that defendant's refusal is inherently self-incriminating because it carries a strong inference of guilt-the prosecutor would surely argue that defendant's refusal to take the test was prompted only by his knowledge that the test results would reveal his intoxication, and therefore incriminate him.
"We hold under our own constitution, that if a communication of
refusal, whether written, verbal, or otherwise, involves the
defendant's consciousness of the facts and the operation of his
mind in expressing it, the communication is testimonial in nature.
A defendant's silence or negative reply to an officer's request
which calls for an immediate reply is clearly an overt
communication of the defendant's thoughts in response to the
request. Doyle v. Ohio (1976 ), 426 U.S. 610. It is the
act of refusal that is pertinent and suggestive of guilt, rather
than the way in which it is communicated. Under our constitution,
the privilege against self-incrimination forbids any compulsory
communication of an accused person's thoughts, whether by acts or
words spoken, and the fact that it does not extend its protection
to forbid [460 U.S.
1030 , 1032]
U.S. Supreme Court
MONTANA v. JACKSON , 460 U.S. 1030 (1983) 460 U.S. 1030 MONTANAv.
Robert Charles JACKSON
No. 81-1531 Supreme Court of the United States March 21, 1983 On petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Montana. The petition for writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated and the case is remanded to the Supreme Court of Montana to consider whether its judgment is based upon federal or state constitutional grounds, or both, California v. Krivda, 409 U.S. 33, 93 S. Ct. 32 (1972), and, if its judgment is not based upon state constitutional grounds, for further consideration in light of South Dakota v. Neville, 459 U.S. ---, 74 L.Ed.2d ___ (1983). Justice STEVENS, dissenting. In its opinion explaining its holding that the defendant's refusal to submit to a breathalizer sobriety test is inadmissible, the majority of the Supreme Court of Montana stated, in part: