WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- A western Wisconsin man sent to prison for 20 years for arson failed Tuesday to persuade a state appeals court that police violated his constitutional rights in obtaining some admissions from him.
At issue in the ruling that clarified some police powers was whether Richard Allen Hassel's statements to River Falls investigators that ''I can't talk to you'' and ''I don't know if I should talk to you'' were sufficient to evoke his right to remain silent in two separate interviews over two days.
The 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Hassel's admissions were properly obtained because he failed to tell investigators clearly and ''unambiguously'' that he wanted to invoke his right to remain silent.
Hassel's statements about whether he should talk to police did not indicate his desire to remain silent, ''only his uncertainty as to whether he should,'' the three-judge panel said.
''When a request to remain silent is ambiguous, police need not endeavor to clarify the suspect's request,'' the appeals court said, upholding St. Croix County Circuit Judge Eric Lundell's decision to allow Hassel's subsequent incriminating statements to be used as evidence.
According to court records, Hassel, then 31, was questioned by police at his River Falls home May 7, 2002, about some recent fires to buildings and land. Police did not read him his Miranda rights since he was not in custody at the time.
The next day, three investigators returned to Hassel's home and read him his rights, including his right to remain silent and to have an attorney. Hassel remarked, ''I don't know if I should talk to you,'' but he did during a three-hour interview and made some incriminating statements, court records said.
Hassel contended he already had invoked his right to silence the day before when he told officers, ''I can't talk to you.''
Hassel was eventually charged with 10 felonies, including five counts of arson to a building.
After Lundell ruled prosecutors could use Hassel's harmful statements as evidence, Hassel pleaded no contest to one arson charge in a plea bargain in 2003 and the nine other counts were dismissed, court records said.
Hassel was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 30 years of extended supervision, ordered to write apologies to all the fire victims and told to obtain mental health counseling and treatment for alcohol problems while in prison, court records said.
Charles Vetzner, a state public defender who handled Hassel's appeal, said Tuesday's ruling did not necessarily expand any police powers but clarified that Hassel, although not wanting to talk to police, didn't ''use the magic words'' that compel police to stop their questioning.
''The message that I would see here is if you are inclined not to talk to police, you should stick to your guns and don't let the police try to persuade you otherwise,'' he said. ''The police were not about to stop. Whether or not that is good police work is pretty subjective.''
