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Case Summary: Anthony Paul Inciarrano v. State of Florida, No. 83-750 (Fla. 4th DCA Mar. 14, 1984)

Factual and Procedural Background

Anthony Paul Inciarrano was indicted for murdering Earvin Herman Trimble (also known as Michael Anthony Phillips) by shooting him on July 6, 1982. Investigating officers found a tape recorder in the victim's office; the recorder contained a tape allegedly capturing a conversation between appellant and the victim and then the sounds of five gunshots, dying sounds, footsteps and a closing door. Appellant admitted the voice on the tape was his. The tape's contents were disclosed in discovery, and appellant moved to suppress the tape as a violation of Chapter 934, Florida Statutes (1981).

The trial court denied the motion to suppress at a hearing on November 8, 1982. On April 11, 1983, appellant entered a nolo contendere plea while reserving the right to appeal the suppression ruling. The trial court then sentenced appellant to life imprisonment. The court below found that admissibility of the tape was dispositive because there was no other evidence against appellant.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether an oral communication recorded by one of the participants to that communication constitutes an "intercept" of an oral communication within the meaning and intent of Chapter 934, Florida Statutes (1981), thereby rendering the recording inadmissible.
  2. Whether suppression of the tape (if the recording is deemed an unlawful interception under Chapter 934) is required despite the practical consequence that suppression would leave the State without a case.

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
State v. Walls, 356 So.2d 294 (Fla. 1978) The court held that each party to a conversation has a legitimate expectation of privacy and that Chapter 934 contains no exception allowing a party to record a conversation without the other party's consent. The Fourth District recognized Walls as apparently requiring that an affirmative answer be given — i.e., a party's recording of a conversation is an interception prohibited by Chapter 934; the panel acknowledged Walls constrained its disposition.
Shevin v. Sunbeam Television Corporation, 351 So.2d 723 (Fla. 1977) Cited in Walls for the proposition that parties to a conversation may have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The court noted Walls relied on Shevin in establishing legitimate expectations of privacy; Shevin undergirds the privacy analysis invoked in Walls.
State v. Tsavars, 382 So.2d 56 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980) Second DCA analysis (Judge Danahy) addressing whether recording by a participant constitutes prohibited interception; provided a thorough analysis of the statutory language. The opinion cited Judge Danahy's analysis as persuasive and as part of the background leading to the Florida Supreme Court's later consideration (aff'd in Tsavaris).
State v. Tsavaris, 394 So.2d 418 (Fla. 1981) The Florida Supreme Court decision holding that recording of a telephone conversation by one party was prohibited by Chapter 934. The Fourth District acknowledged Tsavaris directly decided that issue and stated it would not attempt to distinguish that holding, though it urged reconsideration; Tsavaris supported the conclusion that a one-party recording is an interception under Chapter 934.
Chiarenza v. State, 406 So.2d 66 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), petition for rev. denied, 413 So.2d 875 (Fla. 1982) Recognized the holding in Tsavaris regarding one-party recordings. The court cited Chiarenza as having recognized the holding in Tsavaris, demonstrating that Tsavaris had been applied by this district.
Horn v. State, 298 So.2d 194 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974), cert. denied, 308 So.2d 117 (Fla. 1975) Referenced for the court's refusal to consider the relative weight of the crimes when deciding admissibility or related issues. The opinion contrasted Horn (where the court refused to weigh the crimes) with the panel's own concern that suppression here would eliminate prosecution for a more serious crime; cited for comparison only.
Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961) Establishes that exclusionary rule under the Fourth Amendment is applicable to the states. The opinion used Mapp to explain that constitutional exclusionary rules are grounded in the Fourth Amendment but are applicable only to governmental action; thus suppression under Chapter 934 is statutory in origin rather than directly constitutional when the interception was by a private party.
Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23 (1963) Addresses applicability of Fourth Amendment exclusionary principles to the states. Used to support the proposition that Fourth Amendment exclusionary protections apply only to governmental conduct and therefore do not control a private-party interception issue absent governmental involvement.
Irvine v. California, 347 U.S. 128 (1954) Reinforces that the Fourth Amendment restricts government action. Quoted as part of the chain of authorities showing the Fourth Amendment is aimed at governmental interference, distinguishing statutory privacy protections created by the legislature.
Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443 (1971) Another decision reflecting the Fourth Amendment's restriction to government action. Invoked alongside other U.S. Supreme Court cases to explain the constitutional exclusionary rule's bounds and to justify the proposition that suppression for a private interception rests on statute (Chapter 934) rather than directly on the federal constitution.
Hoffman v. Jones, 280 So.2d 431 (Fla. 1973) State precedent cited as a binding constraint on the Fourth District's disposition (procedural or precedential effect invoked by the panel). The court stated it was constrained by Hoffman v. Jones to reverse the trial court's order denying suppression on the authority of State v. Walls, despite the panel's contrary statutory interpretation and policy concerns.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The opinion undertakes a statutory and policy analysis centered on the meaning of "intercept" and "oral communication" in Chapter 934 and the legislative purpose of the statute.

1) Meaning of "intercept": The panel questions the ordinary meaning of "intercept," noting common usage typically implies a third-party taking possession of a communication not intended for that third party. The court observed that Chapter 934's definitional language focuses on the means of interception and omits explicit consideration of whether the interceptor is a participant in the communication. The panel suggested that construing "intercept" in its ordinary sense (requiring intervention by someone other than a participant) would remove the statutory bar to recordings made by a party to the conversation without third-party intervention.

2) Meaning of "oral communication" and expectation of privacy: The court emphasized that § 934.02(2) ties protection to oral communications "uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation." The panel interpreted this language to mean that statutory protection is limited to communications in which a reasonable expectation of privacy exists under the circumstances. The opinion applied that principle to the facts: appellant entered the victim's business office with intent to do harm, and even if he initially was a lawful invitee, his alleged criminal intention converted him into a trespasser (the panel stated "if he ever had a privilege, it dissolved in the sound of gunfire"). Consequently, the court reasoned appellant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the office and the recorded communication was not one the statute was designed to protect.

3) Statutory purpose and competing societal interests: The court reviewed § 934.01's stated legislative purposes—protection of privacy and safeguarding innocent persons—and concluded that the material on the tape did not reflect an expectation of privacy society should recognize and that appellant did not appear to be among the class the statute was intended to protect. The panel voiced policy concerns that applying an exclusionary rule to suppress evidence in a homicide prosecution (where the recorded material is the only evidence) unduly frustrates society's interest in adjudicating serious crimes.

4) Constitutional considerations: The court observed that the constitutional exclusionary rule (Fourth Amendment) applies only to governmental action and therefore does not control a private-party interception; suppression for private interceptions is grounded in Chapter 934's statutory exclusionary provision (§ 934.06). The opinion thus framed the exclusion at issue as legislatively imposed rather than constitutionally required.

5) Precedent constraints: Despite the panel's statutory construction and policy analysis favoring admissibility of a one-party recording, the court acknowledged controlling precedent. It observed that the Florida Supreme Court's decision in State v. Walls had not directly decided whether a party's recording is an "interception," but subsequent cases—most directly State v. Tsavaris—had held a one-party recording prohibited by Chapter 934. The panel concluded it was bound to follow the precedent and therefore reversed the trial court's denial of suppression.

In sum: the court expressed a belief that the statute should not be read to bar recordings made by a participant, explained why that reading is consistent with ordinary meaning and the statute’s focus on a reasonable expectation of privacy, but ultimately concluded it was constrained by precedent to hold otherwise.

Holding and Implications

Holding: The court ordered that the trial court's order denying appellant's motion to suppress be reversed and the cause remanded. The core ruling is emphasized here: REVERSED and REMANDED.

Direct implications for the parties: The reversal means the order denying suppression is vacated; the appellate court certified to the Florida Supreme Court a question of great public interest concerning whether a participant's recording of a conversation constitutes an interception under Chapter 934. The panel recognized that suppression of the tape in this case would leave the State without any evidence against appellant, underscoring the practical consequence of applying the statutory exclusion.

Broader implications: The court asked the Florida Supreme Court to resolve the certified question: "Does the recording of a conversation by one of the participants constitute the interception of an oral communication within the meaning and intent of Chapter 934, Florida Statutes (1981)?" The Fourth District urged reconsideration of controlling precedent (notably Tsavaris) but stated it was bound to follow existing authority, thereby prompting certification for authoritative resolution.

No new rule of statewide precedential effect was authoritatively established by this opinion; the panel reversed the trial court under existing controlling precedent and forwarded the certified question to the Florida Supreme Court for definitive guidance.


Disposition: The order denying suppression is reversed; case remanded. The court certified a question to the Florida Supreme Court regarding whether a participant's recording is an "interception" under Chapter 934.

ANTHONY PAUL INCIARRANO, APPELLANT, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE.

HERSEY, Judge.

This appeal presents the issue of the admissibility of an oral communication purportedly intercepted in violation of Chapter 934, Florida Statutes (1981).

Anthony Paul Inciarrano was indicted for having unlawfully, feloniously and with premeditated design caused the death of Earvin Herman Trimble, also known as Michael Anthony Phillips, by shooting him on July 6, 1982.

The existence of a tape recording allegedly containing conversations between Inciarrano and Trimble was disclosed in response to a demand for discovery, whereupon Inciarrano filed a motion to suppress the tape recording as being violative of Chapter 934, Florida Statutes.

At the hearing on the motion to suppress, evidence was adduced that the victim, Trimble, worked as a psychologist and marriage counselor under the pseudonym of Doctor Michael Phillips. His office was located in the Trestle Building in Broward County. At approximately 3:30 to 3:40 p.m. on July 6, 1982, the sounds of muffled gunshots were heard by another tenant in the Trestle Building. Subsequently, Trimble's body was found in his office, the victim of a homicide. There were five bullet holes in the body. The investigating officers discovered a tape recorder in the office which contained the tape subject to the motion to suppress. Appellant testified that the voice on the recording was his. The tape, played for the court, contained a conversation between appellant and the victim concerning a business deal gone sour. The conversation ended abruptly with the sound of five gunshots followed by moaning and sounds like the gushing of blood. Upon cessation of those sounds, footsteps could be heard departing the scene, ending with the closing of a door. Then silence.

It is conceded, and the trial court found, that the issue of admissibility of the tape recording is dispositive of the case. There is no other evidence against appellant. The trial court denied the motion to suppress at a hearing on November 8, 1982.

On April 11, 1983, appellant changed his plea to nolo contendere reserving his right to appeal denial of the motion to suppress. The trial court sentenced appellant to life imprisonment.

The contents of the tape are a mixture of oral communication and identifiable sounds other than oral communication. Nonetheless, it seems probable that suppression of the oral communication would require suppression of the subsequent sounds since they are relevant only to the issue of identification of appellant as the individual creating the sounds of gunfire and identification of the victim as the source of the sounds of a dying man.

Chapter 934 proscribes the interception of wire or oral communications except under certain very limited circumstances. The prohibition is contained in Section 934.03(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1981). The question is whether the statute prohibits the recording by one party to an oral communication of his conversation with another nonconsenting party. The case of State v. Walls, 356 So.2d 294 (Fla. 1978), on its face, requires an affirmative answer to this inquiry. The facts as stated by the court in Walls were:

Without respondents', defendants below, prior consent to the electronic interception, Francis Antel, the alleged victim of extortionary threats, electronically recorded a conversation which occurred in his home on February 19, 1975, between himself and the respondents. The interception was not made by a law enforcement officer or a person acting under the direction of a law enforcement officer. Antel alleged and would testify that the conversation included extortionary threats and would personally testify to the nature of those threats at trial.

356 So.2d at 295.

The court held that each party to a conversation had a legitimate expectation of privacy, so that its interception by another party was appropriately circumscribed by Section 934.03(2)(d), citing Shevin v. Sunbeam Television Corporation, 351 So.2d 723 (Fla. 1977). The basis of the court's holding was that the statute was clear and unambiguous and provided no exception for the facts present in Walls. The court said "[t]his Court cannot substitute its judgment for that of the Legislature and create an exception which would encompass the instant circumstances. . . . The function of this Court is to interpret the law and is neither to legislate nor determine the wisdom of the policy of the Legislature." Walls, 356 So.2d at 296.

In order to "interpret the law" it is obviously necessary to ascribe a meaning to each word used in the legislation, whether the term be ambiguous or abundantly clear. With all due respect to the supreme court and precedent, we make the following observations with regard to the terms "intercept" and "oral communication."

A reasonable layman familiar with the game of football might well comment that if a pass from the quarterback to the tight end of the team on offense was scored as an interception, the quarterback might be more than a little chagrined. It would be assumed that such a play is more properly scored a reception. On the other hand, if the offensive quarterback throws a pass and it is received by a defensive guard, an interception occurs. Thus, in common parlance, the term interception implies a stopping by someone other than the intended receiver. To ascribe to the legislature an intent to embellish the term with a meaning without precedent in the contemporary language or the statutory law seems strained.

The term intercept is not really defined in Chapter 934. What passes for a definition simply designates the means of interception with no consideration as to the parties involved or their relationship to the communication being intercepted. Therefore, the definition is incomplete. On the other hand, the vagueness of the definition and thus of the statute is overcome if we ascribe to the word the meaning customarily assigned to it. Doing so would, we believe, change the result in those cases where a party to a wire or oral communication records the same without any intervention by a third party. Such an interpretation applied in the present case would obviate any objection to admissibility based upon Chapter 934.

Further, referring back to the Walls case, the question of whether the communication in that case constituted an interception was apparently conceded by the state and therefore not analyzed as an issue requiring determination by the court in order to decide the case. On that basis we suggest that Walls may not absolutely dictate the result in the present case.

Another term used in Chapter 934, operative here, is "oral communication." It is important to note that the statute speaks of communication as an "oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation. . . ." § 934.02(2), Fla. Stat. (1981). The legislature is presumed to know the law in passing statutes and consequently the legislation is to be construed upon the premise that the particular statute in question is to be applied relative to other statutes affecting the same subject matter. In our case it would appear that the legislature fully understood that only under certain circumstances does an individual have a right of privacy; that is, only where it is determined in retrospect that there was a reasonable expectation of privacy which society is willing to recognize. That this is a reasonable interpretation of the statute seems undeniable in view of the use by the legislature of the phrase "circumstances justifying such expectation." If this be so, as we suggest it is, then not every oral communication is entitled to the privilege bestowed by the statute. Appellant visited the victim not as a patient but as one intent on doing harm to the individual in lawful possession of the business office. We suggest that appellant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in that office. For that reason, the communication should not be privileged. This is so even if appellant originally had come to the office as a patient. One who enters the business premises of another for a lawful purpose is an invitee. At the moment that his intention changes, that is, if he suddenly decides to steal or pillage, or murder, or rape, then at that moment he becomes a trespasser and has no further right upon the premises. Thus here, if appellant ever had a privilege, it dissolved in the sound of gunfire.

We make one final comment to call attention to a significant difference between Walls and the present case. There, the court pointed out in closing that "no harm derives from the suppression of the tape recording since the victim is free to testify as to the alleged extortionary threats." Walls, 356 So.2d at 297. The consequences in the present case will be significantly different. Suppression of the tape recording here will leave the state without a case.

As we have noted, the supreme court in Walls was not directly confronted with the issue of whether or not the recording of a conversation by one of the participants is a prohibited interception. That issue was however presented and directly decided in State v. Tsavaris, 394 So.2d 418 (Fla. 1981). In that case, as we recognized in Chiarenza v. State, 406 So.2d 66 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), petition for rev. denied, 413 So.2d 875 (Fla. 1982), the recording of a telephone conversation by one of the parties was held to be prohibited by Chapter 934. We do not attempt to distinguish that holding, but simply urge respectfully that it be reconsidered, particularly in light of Chief Justice Alderman's dissent in Tsavaris and Judge Danahy's thorough analysis of this aspect of the statute in State v. Tsavars, 382 So.2d 56 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980), aff'd, 394 So.2d 418 (Fla. 1981).

The foregoing analysis, particularly with reference to the legislature's intention in adopting Chapter 934, Florida Statutes, is reinforced by the stated intention contained in the act itself. The legislature specifically finds the act necessary (1) "[i]n order to protect effectively the privacy of wire and oral communications . . ." and (2) "[t]o safeguard the privacy of innocent persons. . . ." Section 934.01, Fla. Stat. (1981). We suggest again that the material on the tape here in question is not the product of an expectation of privacy that society should recognize ("1" above) nor does appellant appear to be within the class of individuals the statute is designed to protect ("2" above). That being so the exclusion ought not apply. No matter how pernicious the "crime" of non-consensual recording of a conversation may seem to appear, the crimes of homicide and extortion must certainly be considered vastly more heinous. To prohibit the former by imposing a felony penalty is one thing; to inhibit prosecution of the latter by adding an exclusionary rule is quite another. Compare Horn v. State, 298 So.2d 194 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974), cert. denied, 308 So.2d 117 (Fla. 1975) wherein the court refused to consider the weight of the crimes. We have suggested that the legislature did not intend to include within the prohibition of the statute a recording made by one of the parties to a two-party conversation. We are restrained by apparent precedent from giving effect to that interpretation here.

We have not failed to consider the possible implication of principles of constitutional dimension involved in the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress.

Prior to its amendment in 1982, Section 12 of Article I provided:

SECTION 12. Searches and seizures. — The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and against the unreasonable interception of private communications by any means, shall not be violated. No warrant shall be issued except upon probable cause, supported by affidavit, particularly describing the place or places to be searched, the person or persons, thing or things to be seized, the communication to be intercepted, and the nature of evidence to be obtained. Articles or information obtained in violation of this right shall not be admissible in evidence.

This constitutional exclusionary rule was based in language, policy and effect upon the judicially created exclusionary rule under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. That rule is made applicable to the states in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081 (1961). The rule is applicable only to constitutional violations. Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23, 83 S.Ct. 1623, 10 L.Ed.2d 726 (1963). The Fourth Amendment was a restriction against government action only. Irvine v. California, 347 U.S. 128, 74 S.Ct. 381, 98 L.Ed. 561 (1954). Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971). From the foregoing, it follows that the exclusionary rule as applied to the interception of wire or oral communications by an individual (not involving government action) is based neither on the Federal nor the Florida constitution, but has its genesis within Chapter 934 as a legislatively imposed exclusionary rule. § 934.06, Fla. Stat. (1981). The right of privacy itself is directed toward unwarranted governmental interference, not actions by individuals. One would suppose that imposition of a conviction and sentence for a felony would be a sufficient deterrent to insure compliance with Chapter 934, Florida Statutes. Any additional deterrent effect arising from the imposition of an exclusionary rule pales by comparison with the right of society to have a judicial system, the goal of which is to decide controversies on the basis of all of the facts which are relevant and material. An artificial exclusion ipso facto defeats that goal.

We are nonetheless constrained by Hoffman v. Jones, 280 So.2d 431 (Fla. 1973), to reverse the order denying appellant's motion to suppress on the authority of State v. Walls, supra.

We certify to the Florida Supreme Court the following question as one of great public interest, recognizing that it is substantially the same question as certified in State v. Tsavaris, 382 So.2d at 65:

Does the recording of a conversation by one of the participants constitute the interception of an oral communication within the meaning and intent of Chapter 934, Florida Statutes (1981)?

We reverse the order denying appellant's motion to suppress and remand for further proceedings.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

ANSTEAD, C.J., and DOWNEY, J., concur.

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INCIARRANO v. STATE
(Mar 14, 1984)