Hannon v. State

In Hannon v. State, 2004 WY 8, 84 P.3d 320, P 12 (Wyo. 2004), the Court considered whether the police officer's non-adversarial style and promise that he would not charge the defendant that day, together with the defendant's low mental ability and acquiescence in the officer's suggestions as to what occurred with respect to the offense charged were sufficient to make the interview coercive. The Court held that they were not. In reaching that result, we stated as follows: "we do not disturb the trial court's findings unless they are clearly erroneous; the trial court is in the best position to assess the credibility of the witnesses and weight to be given the evidence; and we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court's determination. The trial court held a full evidentiary hearing on Mr. Hannon' s motion to suppress the statements and had the opportunity to hear the witness' testimony and weigh their credibility. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court's ruling, we hold it did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion."