Traylor v. State (596 So. 2d 957, 1992)

SHAW, Chief Justice.

We have for review Traylor v. State, 498 So.2d 1297 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), based on conflict with State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129 (Fla.1986). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. We approve the decision of the district court but disapprove its standard for harmless error.

I. FACTS

Tina Nagy was found stabbed to death in her Jacksonville apartment on June 7,1980. Traylor was charged by information with second-degree murder for the crime on June 11, but was not apprehended at that time. Debra Beason was found stabbed and strangled in Birmingham, Alabama, on August 5, 1980, and Traylor was arrested by Alabama police for the crime the next day under the name of Jason Riley. Tray-lor was charged in Alabama with the Bea-son murder and requested and received appointment of counsel on that charge at a preliminary hearing on August 18. Two days later, his lawyer told Traylor not to speak with police and instructed Alabama police not to talk to his client.

A computer check of Traylor’s fingerprints revealed his true identity and showed that he was wanted in Florida for the Nagy murder. Detective Warren of the Jacksonville police flew to Birmingham to question him about the Florida crime. On August 22, Warren, who was never told that counsel had been appointed, initiated questioning of Traylor relative to both crimes after advising him of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and obtaining a written waiver. During this session, Traylor confessed orally and in writing to the Florida murder and orally to the Alabama murder. He was tried and convicted of second-degree murder for the Alabama crime, Riley v. State, 501 So.2d 551 (Ala.Crim.App.1986), and was temporarily returned to Florida in March 1983 and charged by indictment with first-degree murder for the Nagy killing.

Prior to trial on the Florida offense, Traylor moved to suppress the confessions to both crimes, claiming that the statements were obtained in violation of his privilege against self-incrimination under both Article I, Section 9, Florida Constitution, and the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and of his right to counsel under both Article I, Section 16, Florida Constitution, and the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court denied the motion. The confessions were admitted into evidence at trial and the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. The district court affirmed.

The district court made the following determinations. Under federal law Traylor’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel had attached as to the Alabama crime, and counsel had been appointed on that charge. The confession to the crime was obtained through police-initiated questioning without the assistance of counsel and was thus unlawful. As to the confession to the Florida crime, Traylor’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel attached at the time the Florida information was issued, but counsel had not been requested or appointed on that charge. Because the Miranda warning had been insufficient to inform Traylor of the availability of his Sixth Amendment right, this confession too was unlawfully obtained, but use of the confessions at trial was harmless error in light of other overwhelming evidence of guilt.

Traylor claims that the district court erred in finding that the use of the confessions was harmless. The State, on the other hand, contends that the district court erred in ruling that the confessions should have been suppressed.

The basic issue before us is whether the trial court erred in admitting the confessions, and, if so, whether the error was harmless. To be held admissible, the confessions must pass muster under both the state and federal constitutions. Consistent with federalist principles set forth below, we examine the confessions initially under our state Constitution; only if they pass muster here need we re-examine them under federal law. Before we apply our state law, however, we must first define its basic contours under Article I, Sections 9 and 16, Florida Constitution.

II. FEDERALISM

The courts of at least eleven states have chosen to interpret the self-incrimination provisions of their own state constitutions in a manner independent of the federal Court’s Fifth Amendment jurisprudence. Under our federalist system of government, states may place more rigorous restraints on government intrusion than the federal charter imposes; they may not, however, place more restrictions on the fundamental rights of their citizens than the federal Constitution permits. PruneYard Shopping Ctr. v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74, 100 S.Ct. 2035, 64 L.Ed.2d 741 (1980). Federalist principles recognize that although some government intrusion into the life of the individual is inevitable, such intrusion is to be minimized. Government encroachment is thus restricted by both the federal and state constitution.

The federal Constitution secures a common degree of protection for the citizens of all fifty states, but the federal Court has wisely exercised restraint in construing the extent of this protection for several reasons. First, under our federalist system, many important decisions concerning basic freedoms have traditionally inhered in the states. Second, the federal Court’s precedent is binding on all jurisdictions within the union; once it settles a matter, further experimentation with potentially rewarding alternative approaches in other jurisdictions is foreclosed. Third, federal precedent applies equally throughout fifty diverse and independent states; a ruling that may be suitable in one may be inappropriate in others. And fourth, the federal union embraces a multitude of localities; the Court oftentimes is simply unfamiliar with local problems, conditions and traditions. See generally San Antonio Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1, 93 S.Ct. 1278, 36 L.Ed.2d 16 (1973).

State courts do not suffer these prudential concerns to the same degree as the federal Court. First, unlike their federal counterparts, state courts and constitutions have traditionally served as the prime protectors of their citizens’ basic freedoms. State constitutions were the initial and prime charters of individual rights throughout most of our nation’s existence:

By 1776 most American citizens enjoyed guarantees against encroachment .on their liberties by state governments because most of the original thirteen colonies had adopted constitutions with provisions protecting individual rights. The framers of the federal Bill of Rights, which the states adopted in 1791, naturally relied on these state provisions as sources for their document. The federal document sought to provide citizens with protections against interference by the federal government analogous to existing state constitutional protections against interference by state governments.

For the first one hundred and fifty years of our nation’s existence, the origins of state constitutional provisions were of little import for federal constitutional jurisprudence. During this period the federal constitution and state constitutions operated independently in regulating the interaction between government and citizen. The federal Bill of Rights protected citizens only from actions of the federal government, while state constitutions limited only intrusive action by the states. Because state governments affected individuals far more frequently during this period than did the federal government, state constitutions were the primary documents protecting the liberties of the people from governmental interference.

Mary A. Crossley, Note, Miranda and the State Constitution: State Courts Take a Stand, 39 Vand.L.Rev. 1693, 1696 (1986) (footnotes omitted). State courts function daily as the prime arbiters of personal rights. An assertive state court thus impinges on no traditional federal prerogative where basic rights are concerned.

Second, unlike the federal Court, a state court’s decision construing its own constitution is controlling only as to courts within that state; the ruling will not stifle the development of alternative methods of constitutional analysis in other jurisdictions.

To stay experimentation ... is a grave responsibility. Denial of the right to experiment may be fraught with serious consequences to the nation. It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel ... experiments without risk to the rest of the country.

New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262, 311, 52 S.Ct. 371, 386-87, 76 L.Ed. 747 (1932) (Brandeis, J., dissenting). And finally, no court is more sensitive or responsive to the needs of the diverse localities within a state, or the state as a whole, than that state’s own high court. In any given state, the federal Constitution thus represents the floor for basic freedoms; the state constitution, the ceiling. See Stewart G. Pollock, State Constitutions as Separate Sources of Fundamental Rights, 35 Rutgers L.Rev. 707, 709 (1983).

Federal and state bills of rights thus serve distinct but complementary purposes. The federal Bill of Rights facilitates political and philosophical homogeneity among the basically heterogeneous states by securing, as a uniform minimum, the highest common denominator of freedom that can prudently be administered throughout all fifty states. The state bills of rights, on the other hand, express the ultimate breadth of the common yearnings for freedom of each insular state population within our nation. Accordingly, when called upon to construe their bills of rights, state courts should focus primarily on factors that inhere in their own unique state experience, such as the express language of the constitutional provision, its formative history, both preexisting and developing state law, evolving customs, traditions and attitudes within the state, the state’s own general history, and finally any external influences that may have shaped state law.

When called upon to decide matters of fundamental rights, Florida’s state courts are bound under federalist principles to give primacy to our state Constitution and to give independent legal import to every phrase and clause contained therein. We are similarly bound under our Declaration of Rights to construe each provision freely in order to achieve the primary goal of individual freedom and autonomy.

III. FLORIDA DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

The text of our Florida Constitution begins with a Declaration of Rights — a series of rights so basic that the framers of our Constitution accorded them a place of special privilege. These rights embrace a broad spectrum of enumerated and implied liberties that conjoin to form a single overarching freedom: They protect each individual within our borders from the unjust encroachment of state authority — from whatever official source — into his or her life. Each right is, in fact, a distinct freedom guaranteed to each Floridian against government intrusion. Each right operates in favor of the individual, against government. This Court over half a century ago addressed the fundamental principle of robust individualism that underlies our system of constitutional government in Florida:

It is significant that our Constitution thus commences by specifying those things which the state government must not do, before specifying certain things that it may do. These Declarations of Rights ... have cost much, and breathe the spirit of that sturdy and self-reliant philosophy of individualism which underlies and supports our entire system of government. No race of hothouse plants could ever have produced and compelled the recognition of such a stalwart set of basic principles, and no such race can preserve them. They say to arbitrary and autocratic power, from whatever official quarter it may advance to invade these vital rights of personal liberty and private property, “Thus far shalt thou come, but no farther.”

State ex rel. Davis v. City of Stuart, 97 Fla. 69, 102-03, 120 So. 335, 347 (1929). No other broad formulation of legal principles, whether state or federal, provides more protection from government overreaching or a richer environment for self-reliance and individualism than does this “stalwart set of basic principles.”

Under our Declaration of Rights, each basic liberty and each individual citizen has long been held to be on equal footing with every other:-

Every particular section of the Declaration of Rights stands on an equal footing with every other section. They recognize no distinction between citizens. Under them every citizen, the good and the bad, the just and the unjust, the rich and the poor, the saint and the sinner, the believer and the infidel, have equal rights before the law.

Boynton v. State, 64 So.2d 536, 552-53 (Fla.1953). Each right and each citizen, regardless of position, is protected with identical vigor from government overreaching, no matter what the source. Id. at 552.

Special vigilance is required where the fundamental rights of Florida citizens suspected of wrongdoing are concerned, for here society has a strong natural inclination to relinquish incrementally the hard-won and stoutly defended freedoms enumerated in our Declaration in its effort to preserve public order. Each law-abiding member of society is inclined to strike out at crime reflexively by constricting the constitutional rights of all citizens in order to limit those of the suspect — each is inclined to give up a degree of his or her own protection from government intrusion in order to permit greater intrusion into the life of the suspect. The framers of our Constitution, however, deliberately rejected the short-term solution in favor of a fairer, more structured system of criminal justice:

These rights [enumerated in the Declaration of Rights] curtail and restrain the power of the State. It is more important to preserve them, even though at times a guilty man may go free, than it is to obtain a conviction by ignoring or violating them. The end does not justify the means. Might is not always right. Under our system of constitutional government, the State should not set the example of violating fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all citizens in order to obtain a conviction.

Bizzell v. State, 71 So.2d 735, 738 (Fla.1954). Thus, even here — especially here— where the rights of those suspected of wrongdoing are concerned, the framers drew a bright line and said to government, “Thus far shalt thou come, but no farther.”

IV. PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION

A. Florida Section 9

The basic contours of Florida confession law were defined by this Court long ago under our common law. We recognized the important role that confessions play in the crime-solving process and the great benefit they provide; however, because of the tremendous weight accorded confessions by our courts and the significant potential for compulsion — both psychological and physical — in obtaining such statements, a main focus of Florida confession law has always been on guarding against one thing — coercion. We defined the abiding standard for determining the admissibility of a confession nearly a century and a half ago:

To render a confession voluntary and admissible as evidence, the mind of the accused should at the time be free to act, uninfluenced by fear or hope. To exclude it as testimony, it is not necessary that any direct promises or threats be made to the accused. It is sufficient, if the attending circumstances, or declarations of those present, be calculated to delude the prisoner as to his true position, and exert an improper and undue influence over his mind.

Simon v. State, 5 Fla. 285, 296 (1853). The test thus is one of voluntariness, or free will, which is to be determined by an examination of the totality of the circumstances surrounding the confession. This determination is to be made by the judge, in the absence of the jury, based on a multiplicity of factors, including the nature of the questioning itself. Nickels v. State, 90 Fla. 659, 667, 106 So. 479, 483 (1925).

Because confessions are oftentimes rendered in private where the potential for compulsion is great, this Court has long recognized that such statements must be considered with caution. Coffee v. State, 25 Fla. 501, 510, 6 So. 493, 496 (1889). To ensure voluntariness, we traditionally have required as a matter of state law that one charged with a crime be informed of his rights prior to rendering a confession. Over a century ago, we held that before a prisoner can be questioned by an officer at a preliminary hearing the officer must “caution the prisoner, to put him on his guard, and to inform him as to his rights in the premises.” Id., 25 Fla. at 510, 6 So. at 496. Before being questioned, the accused must be told that “he need not say anything to criminate himself, and what he did say would be taken down and used as evidence against him.” Green v. State, 40 Fla. 474, 476, 24 So. 537, 538 (1898). Confessions obtained in violation of these rules were inadmissible at trial.

The common law principles governing confessions and other self-incriminating statements have long been matters of constitutional import in Florida. Section 9 of our state Declaration of Rights provides in part that

[n]o person shall be ... compelled in any criminal matter to be a witness against himself.

Art. I, § 9, Fla. Const. As early as 1896 this Court recognized that our common law principles governing confessions are subsumed under the constitutional proscription concerning compelled self-incrimination:

It is an ancient maxim of the law that no man shall be compelled to criminate himself. The origin and necessity of this maxim, as others of the common law, grew out of conditions found in the early history of English jurisprudence in reference to the administration of criminal law, and which, it must be admitted, evince many traces of cruelty and barbarity. There was a time when suspected persons were not only deprived of an opportunity to have witnesses produced in their favor, and of the advice and aid of counsel, but were put to torture for the purpose of extorting from them confessions of guilt, or statements which could be used in securing their conviction. Securing the conviction of even suspected persons by such means justly became odious, and we find the humanity of the common law proclaiming that no man shall be compelled to criminate himself, — “Nemo tenetur seipsum prodere.” This principle of the common law was fully recognized in this country when the formation of governments began, and we find it imbedded in the national and all the state constitutions that we have examined. In our constitution it is found in the [ninth] section....

Ex parte Senior, 37 Fla. 1, 16, 19 So. 652, 654 (1896). In the same case, we concluded that in order for this constitutional privilege to accomplish its intended purpose it must be broadly construed. Id., 37 Fla. at 16, 19 So. at 654. We have since reaffirmed both the constitutional status of Florida confession law under our Declaration of Rights and the broad scope of the constitutional privilege on many occasions.

As a matter of policy, this Court recognizes the indispensible role that both confessions and interrogation play in the successful investigation and prosecution of crime:

Despite modern advances in technology of crime detection, offenses frequently occur about which things cannot be made to speak. And where there cannot be found innocent human witnesses to such offenses, nothing remains — if police investigation is not to be balked before it has fairly begun — but to seek out possibly guilty witnesses and ask them questions, witnesses, that is, who are suspected of knowing something about the offense precisely because they are suspected of implication in it.

The questions which these suspected witnesses are asked may serve to clear them. They may serve, directly or indirectly, to lead the police to other suspects than the persons questioned. Or they may become the means by which the persons questioned are themselves made to furnish proofs which will eventually send them to prison or death. In any event, whatever its outcome, such questioning is often indispensable to crime detection.

Culombe v. Connecticut, 367 U.S. 568, 571, 81 S.Ct. 1860, 1861-62, 6 L.Ed.2d 1037 (1961). We adhere to the principle that the state’s authority to obtain freely given confessions is not an evil, but an unqualified good. McNeil v. Wisconsin, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2204, 2210, 115 L.Ed.2d 158 (1991).

Based on the foregoing analysis of our Florida law and the experience under Miranda and its progeny, we hold that to ensure the voluntariness of confessions, the Self-Incrimination Clause of Article I, Section 9, Florida Constitution, requires that prior to custodial interrogation in Florida suspects must be told that they have a right to remain silent, that anything they say will be used against them in court, that they have a right to a lawyer’s help, and that if they cannot pay for a lawyer one will be appointed to help them.

Under Section 9, if the suspect indicates in any manner that he or she does not want to be interrogated, interrogation must not begin or, if it has already begun, must immediately stop. If the suspect indicates in any manner that he or she wants the help of a lawyer, interrogation must not begin until a lawyer has been appointed and is present or, if it has already begun, must immediately stop until a lawyer is present. Once a suspect has requested the help of a lawyer, no state agent can reinitiate interrogation on any offense throughout the period of custody unless the lawyer is present, although the suspect is free to volunteer a statement to police on his or her own initiative at any time on any subject in the absence of counsel.

A waiver of a suspect’s constitutional rights must be voluntary, knowing, and intelligent, and, where reasonably practical, prudence suggests it should be in writing. A prime purpose of the above safeguards is to maintain a bright-line standard for police interrogation; any statement obtained in contravention of these guidelines violates the Florida Constitution and may not be used by the State. These guidelines apply only to statements obtained while in custody and through interrogation; they do not apply to volunteered statements initiated by the suspect or statements that are obtained in noncustodial settings or through means other than interrogation. While our state voluntariness test is still applicable in those cases where actual compulsion is alleged in obtaining a self-incriminating statement, adherence to the above safeguards constitutes significant proof that the resulting statement was voluntary.

V. RIGHT TO CHOOSE REPRESENTATION

A. Florida Section 16

The Counsel Clause of the Florida Constitution is contained in Section 16 of our Declaration of Rights, which provides in part:

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall, upon demand, ... have the right ... to be heard in person, by counsel or both....

Art. I, § 16, Fla. Const. Our state clause embodies an express right to choose the manner of representing oneself — either pro se or through counsel — against criminal charges.

The right to choose one’s manner of representation in a criminal trial has been recognized historically by both this Court and our state legislature as an obvious but important state right belonging to the accused. At the turn of the century, in Cutts v. State, 54 Fla. 21, 45 So. 491 (1907), this Court ruled that “[e]very person accused of crime has a right to have counsel to aid him in his defense, but no one is compelled to employ counsel.” Id., 54 Fla. at 24, 45 So. at 492 (quoting Barnes v. Commonwealth, 92 Va. 794, 23 S.E. 784 (1895)). We reaffirmed this view a few years later: “It does not appear that the assistance of counsel was ‘desired by’ the accused.... A party on trial for a felony may waive his right to have counsel, and may conduct his own defense....” Weatherford v. State, 76 Fla. 219, 223, 79 So. 680, 681-82 (1918). The right was long ago codified by the legislature; our modern statutes and rules of procedure continue to protect it.

The language of our Counsel Clause is simple and direct and we conclude that the framers intended it to mean just what it says: In all criminal prosecutions, the defendant may choose to be heard either by himself or through counsel. This reading is backed by both English and colonial law. Under early English common law, it had been the practice to deny the defendant any choice as to the means of defending himself against state charges in serious criminal cases. Retained counsel was permitted in civil and misdemeanor trials but was severely limited in treason and felony trials:

In civil causes and on the trial of charges of misdemeanor, the parties were entitled to the aid of counsel in eliciting the facts, and in presenting both the facts and the law to the court and jury; but when the government charged a person with treason or felony, he was denied this privilege. Only such legal questions as he could suggest was counsel allowed to argue for him....

1 Thomas M. Cooley, Cooley’s Constitutional Limitations 698 (1927). An era of reform, however, began with the Treason Act of 1695, which authorized counsel for the accused in treason trials, but not felony trials. In this and subsequent reform legislation, “[t]he right to counsel was viewed as guaranteeing a choice between representation by counsel and the traditional practice of self-representation.” Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 825, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 2536, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975) (emphasis added). The ban on counsel in felony cases in England was finally lifted in 1836.

The colonies unequivocally rejected the English felony rule and accorded to the individual the fundamental right to choose his own method of defense:

Colonial judges soon departed from ancient English practice and allowed accused felons the aid of counsel for their defense. At the same time, however, the basic right of self-representation was never questioned. We have found no instance where a colonial court required a defendant in a criminal case to accept as his representative an unwanted lawyer. Indeed, even where counsel was permitted, the general practice continued to be self-representation.

The right of self-representation was guaranteed in many colonial charters and declarations of rights. These early documents establish that the “right to counsel” meant to the colonists a right to choose between pleading through a lawyer and representing oneself. After the Declaration of Independence, the right of self-representation, along with other rights basic to the making of a defense, entered the new state constitutions in wholesale fashion^ The right to counsel was clearly thought to supplement the primary right of the accused to defend himself.... And when the Colonies or newly independent States provided by statute rather than by constitution for court appointment of counsel in criminal cases, they also meticulously preserved the right of the accused to defend himself personally.

Id. at 827-30, 95 S.Ct. at 2537-38 (emphasis added) (footnotes omitted). This right to choose has since been recognized by the federal Court and is preserved in the constitutions of at least thirty-six states.

Based on the foregoing, we hold that a prime right embodied by the Section 16 Counsel Clause is the right to choose one’s manner of representation against criminal charges. In order for this right to have meaning, it must apply at least at each crucial stage of the prosecution. For purposes here, a “crucial stage” is any stage that may significantly affect the outcome of the proceedings. Because a prime interest that is protected is the right of the individual to exercise self-determination in the face of criminal charges, prosecution begins under the Counsel Clause when an accused is charged with a criminal act, as set out below.

Once the defendant is charged— and the Section 16 rights attach — the defendant is entitled to decide at each crucial stage of the proceedings whether he or she requires the assistance of counsel. At the commencement of each such stage, an unrepresented defendant must be informed of the right to counsel and the consequences of waiver. Any waiver of this right must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary, and courts generally will indulge every reasonable presumption against waiver of this fundamental right. Where the right to counsel has been properly waived, the State may proceed with the stage in issue; but the waiver applies only to the present stage and must be renewed at each subsequent crucial stage where the defendant is unrepresented.

Once the right to counsel has attached and a lawyer has been requested or retained, the State may not initiate any crucial confrontation with the defendant on that charge in the absence of counsel throughout the period of prosecution, although the defendant is free to initiate a confrontation with police at any time on any subject in the absence of counsel. Because a prime interest protected by the Counsel Clause is the right to exercise self-determination in the face of specific criminal charges, the right to counsel is charge-specific and invocation of the right on one offense imposes no restrictions on police inquiry into other charges for which the right has not been invoked. Evidence obtained by the State in contravention of these guidelines violates the Florida Constitution and may not be used by the State.

The right to choose, as envisioned by our framers, recognizes the defendant’s right to exercise freedom of choice in relying on his or her own abilities and assets in obtaining the manner of representation best suited for the defense. It is a highly personal choice concerning the allocation of one’s own individual resources. The Counsel Clause, standing alone, thus imposes no obligation on the state to provide court-appointed counsel in order to protect this particular right. The right to appointed counsel arises when Section 16 is read in conjunction with the Equal Protection Clause of Article I, Section 2, Florida Constitution.

B. Florida Section 2

The Equal Protection Clause of our state Constitution provides: “All natural persons are equal before the law_” Art. I, § 2, Fla. Const. We conclude that the right of indigent defendants to assistance of court-appointed counsel in criminal prosecutions is constitutionally required under this and the Counsel Clause.

This Court has historically recognized the general right of indigent defendants to assistance of court-appointed counsel in criminal prosecutions. Almost a century ago, in Cutts v. State, 54 Fla. 21, 45 So. 491 (1907), we stated:

It has been the general practice in trial courts in this state, when a party charged with felony has been brought to the bar for arraignment, to inquire of the accused whether he had counsel to represent him, and if, upon inquiry, it developed that he had no attorney and was unable to employ one, to ask the accused whether he desired one to represent him. If he signified his desire to be represented by counsel, then it has been the practice for the trial judge to appoint some attorney to represent the accused.

Id., 54 Fla. at 23, 45 So. at 491. Although this right was originally viewed as disere-tionary and was limited by the legislature to capital cases, the principle underlying the right nevertheless endured and is now codified in our statutes and rules of procedure.

The Equal Protection Clause of our state Constitution was framed to address all forms of invidious discrimination under the law, including any persistent disparity in the treatment of rich and poor. We conclude that our clause means just what it says: Each Florida citizen — regardless of financial means — stands on equal footing with all others in every court of law throughout our state. See generally Palm Harbor Special Fire Control Dist. v. Kelly, 516 So.2d 249, 251 (Fla.1987). Nowhere is the right to equality in treatment more important than in the context of a criminal trial, for only here can a defendant be deprived by the state of life and liberty.

In light of the widely-recognized and oftentimes decisive role the lawyer plays in the judicial process, we conclude that our state Constitution requires that the Section 16 right to counsel be made available to impoverished defendants. No Florida citizen can be deprived of life or liberty in a criminal proceeding simply because he or she is too poor to establish his or her innocence.

This Court has long recognized in our rules of procedure this right of impoverished defendants to court-appointed counsel commencing at the point in time when they are charged, either formally or informally, with a criminal act. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.111 provides in part:

(a) When Counsel Provided. [An indigent person] shall have counsel appointed when he is formally charged with an offense, or as soon as feasible after custodial restraint or upon his first appear-anee before a committing magistrate, whichever occurs earliest.

In other words, a defendant is entitled to counsel at the earliest of the following points: when he or she is formally charged with a crime via the filing of an indictment or information, or as soon as feasible after custodial restraint, or at first appearance. Although rule 3.111 speaks specifically to indigents, we conclude that the procedural rights of nonindigents under Section 16 are at least coextensive with those of indigents.

Rule 3.111 was adopted from The American Bar Association’s Standards for Criminal Justice and was intended to provide equal representation, commencing early in the proceedings. The rule is grounded

in Sections 2 and 16 of our state Constitution. Assistance of counsel — either retained or appointed — begins under these two sections as provided in rule 3.111.

VI. APPLICATION TO PRESENT CASE

Applying the foregoing Florida law to the present case, we initially address the Section 9 self-incrimination issue. In his motion to suppress, Traylor claimed that both confessions were obtained in violation of his privilege against self-incrimination under Section 9. We conclude that the trial court properly rejected this claim. The statements were not obtained in violation of the Section 9 safeguards. Prior to conducting the questioning session during which the confessions were given, Detective Warren handed a rights form to Tray-lor and asked him to read it aloud. The form contained the following statement:

You do not have to make a statement or say anything. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before you make a statement or before any questions are asked of you and to have the lawyer with you during any questioning. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning, if you wish. If you do answer questions, you have the right to stop answering questions at anytime and consult with a lawyer.

Traylor read the form aloud. Warren then read the form to Traylor and Traylor signed it, indicating that he had been informed of his rights and voluntarily waived them. Detective Warren and Sergeant Gay then signed the form as witnesses. During the course of the interview, Traylor never indicated a desire to consult with a lawyer or to stop the questioning. The record contains competent substantial evidence to support the conclusion that Traylor was adequately informed of his rights and validly waived them.

Two days prior to the interrogation session wherein Traylor confessed to both crimes, the lawyer representing him on the Alabama offense, Pete Johnson, told Detective Grubbs of the Alabama police not to talk to his client in the absence of counsel. In his motion to suppress, Traylor claimed that the subsequent interrogation in the absence of counsel violated his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. The trial court found that “[o]n August 20, 1980, attorney Pete Johnson ... called Detective George Grubbs of the Birmingham Police Department and told him he did not want the police to talk with his client.” After hearing Johnson’s testimony, however, the court concluded that “[f]or [self-incrimination] purposes, the Defendant never personally invoked his right to counsel.”

The Section 9 right to counsel ensures voluntariness by protecting those individuals who express a personal inability to undergo the rigors of custodial interrogation unassisted by legal counsel. See supra pp. 964-966. The record contains adequate evidence to support the conclusion that Johnson’s statement to police was not based on a personal inability on Traylor’s part to deal with the pressures of interrogation, but rather was a routine request by newly appointed counsel. In fact, Johnson testified that it has become his “practice as a defense lawyer when [he] get[s] a letter of appointment just to go and carte blanch [sic] tell anybody associated with the investigation not to speak to [his] client.” We note that the trial court had the opportunity to observe Johnson’s extensive live testimony and question him. Competent substantial evidence supports the trial court’s finding that Traylor never invoked his privilege against self-incrimination.

The circumstances surrounding the confessions indicate that the statements were not the product of coercion, but rather were voluntarily given. The trial court made the following finding:

Commencing at 9:20 A.M., and over the next 30 to 45 minutes, the Defendant gave oral statements to Detective Warren admitting his guilt to the Jacksonville and Birmingham homicides. There was a mid-morning break and beginning at 11:10 A.M., the Defendant reduced his oral confession regarding the Jacksonville homicide to writing. That writing was completed at 11:59 A.M.

The evidence clearly reflects that at the time the oral and written statements were made on both the Florida and Alabama homicides the Defendant had been fully advised of his Constitutional rights, ... executed a waiver of those Constitutional rights, fully understood those rights, intelligently waived each and every one of them, and thereafter freely and voluntarily spoke with Detective Warren of Jacksonville, Florida. The Defendant had not been offered any hope of reward, better treatment, promise of leniency, or inducement in order to get him to make those statements. The Defendant never personally invoked his right to have counsel present nor did he ever indicate that he wished not to speak with Detective Warren. At all times during the morning of August 22, 1980, the defendant was sober, calm, collect[ed], not upset, and not nervous. Both statements confessing to both crimes were freely and voluntarily made.

The record contains competent substantial evidence to support the trial court’s finding that the confessions were freely given.

Next, we address the Section 16 right-to-counsel claim. In his motion to suppress, Traylor claimed that both confessions were obtained in violation of his Section 16 right to counsel. We agree as to the Alabama offense. Traylor was arrested and charged with the Alabama offense on August 6, and had counsel appointed at a preliminary hearing on August 18. Under Florida law, the Section 16 right attaches at charging. Because Traylor subsequently requested counsel at the preliminary hearing and a lawyer was appointed, Florida police were constitutionally barred from initiating any crucial confrontation with him on that charge in the absence of his lawyer for use in a Florida court. The confession to the Alabama murder that was obtained by Florida police through police-initiated questioning after counsel was appointed was thus obtained in violation of Section 16 and was inadmissible in the Florida proceeding.

As to the Florida offense, Traylor was charged by information with the crime on June 11. His Section 16 right to counsel thus attached at that time. However, when police initiated questioning on August 22, Traylor had not retained or requested appointment of counsel on that charge. The question here is whether the police, prior to initiating questioning, adequately informed Traylor of his Section 16 rights and the consequences of waiver, and then obtained a valid waiver.

Any waiver of the Section 16 right to counsel must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. Our rules of criminal procedure provide additional express guidelines. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.111 provides in part:

(d) Waiver of Counsel.

(1) The failure of a defendant to request appointment of counsel or his announced intention to plead guilty shall not, in itself, constitute a waiver of counsel at any stage of the proceedings.

(2) A defendant shall not be deemed to have waived the assistance of counsel until the entire process of offering counsel has been completed and a thorough inquiry into accused’s comprehension of that offer and his capacity to make that choice intelligently and understandingly has been made.

(3) No waiver shall be accepted where it appears that the defendant is unable to make an intelligent and understanding choice because of his mental condition, age, education, experience, the nature or complexity of the case, or other factors.

(4) A waiver of counsel made in court shall be of record; a waiver made out of court shall be in writing with not less than two attesting witnesses. Said witnesses shall attest the voluntary execution thereof.

(5) If a waiver is accepted at any stage of the proceedings, the offer of assistance of counsel shall be renewed by the court at each subsequent stage of the proceedings at which the defendant appears without counsel.

As noted above, prior to questioning Traylor the police informed him of his rights, including the following:

Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before you make a statement or before any questions are asked of you and to have the lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning, if you wish.

The clear language of this warning was sufficient for general Section 16 purposes. First, Traylor was adequately informed of his rights: He was expressly told that he had the right to have a lawyer’s assistance prior to and during questioning and that if he could not afford a lawyer one would be appointed. This is the core of the Section 16 right to counsel. Second, he was sufficiently apprised of the consequences of waiver: He was explicitly told that anything he said could be used against him in a criminal prosecution. This is the ultimate adverse consequence of a decision to submit to police questioning unassisted by counsel. Traylor’s waiver of his Section 16 rights concerning the Florida crime was thus knowing and intelligent, and, as noted above, we agree with the court’s finding that the statements were voluntary.

The waiver also complied with the specific requirements of rule 3.111(d). First, assistance of counsel clearly was offered to Traylor, and Detective Warren extensively inquired into Traylor’s understanding of the offer. Second, the record contains no competent evidence showing that the waiver was the result of a deficiency in the defendant’s mental condition, age, education, experience, or any other factor. And third, the waiver was in writing, signed by two attesting witnesses. We thus conclude that Traylor’s waiver of his Section 16 right to counsel was valid as to the Florida offense.

We must finally determine whether the trial court’s error in allowing the confession to the Alabama murder to be admitted into evidence at trial was harmless. We announced the abiding standard for applying the harmless error test in State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129, 1139 (Fla.1986): “If the appellate court cannot say beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not affect the verdict, then the error is by definition harmful.” In the present case, the jury had before it the following evidence of guilt: Traylor had threatened Nagy’s life prior to the murder, his hair was found on her body, his bloody handprint was found on the wall near the body, he confessed to the murder to police, and he wrote letters to his Florida and Alabama judges confessing to both murders and requesting to be put to death for the crimes. We find beyond a reasonable doubt that the erroneous admission of the confession to the Alabama murder did not affect the jury’s verdict. Accordingly, we approve the decision of the district court but disapprove its standard for harmless error.

It is so ordered.

OVERTON, MCDONALD and GRIMES, JJ., concur.

BARKETT, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with an opinion, in which KOGAN, J., concurs.

KOGAN, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with an opinion, in which BARKETT, J., concurs.

. The state proposed to introduce the confession to the Alabama crime as "similar fact" evidence in the trial on the Florida offense.

. As of 1986, courts in the following states had construed the self-incrimination provisions of their state constitutions independently of the federal Court’s Fifth Amendment holdings: Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wyoming. See Scott v. State, 519 P.2d 774 (Alaska 1974); In re Miseher, 38 Cal.3d 543, 213 Cal.Rptr. 569, 698 P.2d 637 (1985); State v. Armstead, 152 Ga.App. 56, 262 S.E.2d 233 (1979); State v. Miyasaki, 62 Haw. 269, 614 P.2d 915 (1980); State in re Dino, 359 So.2d 586 (La.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1047, 99 S.Ct. 722, 58 L.Ed.2d 706 (1978); Attorney Gen. v. Colleton, 387 Mass. 790, 444 N.E.2d 915 (1982); People v. Conte, 421 Mich. 704, 365 N.W.2d 648 (1984); State v. Benoit, 126 N.H. 6, 490 A.2d 295 (1985); Commonwealth v. Bussey, 486 Pa. 221, 404 A.2d 1309 (1979); State v. Badger, 141 Vt. 430, 450 A.2d 336 (1982); Westmark v. State, 693 P.2d 220 (Wyo.1984). Mary A. Crossley, Note, Miranda and the State Constitution: State Courts Take a Stand, 39 Vand. L.Rev. 1693, 1717-18 n. 181 (1986).

. See also Oregon v. Hass, 420 U.S. 714, 95 S.Ct. 1215, 43 L.Ed.2d 570 (1975); Cooper v. California, 386 U.S. 58, 87 S.Ct. 788, 17 L.Ed.2d 730 (1967). See generally State v. Hunt, 91 N.J. 338, 450 A.2d 952 (1982).

. See William J. Brennan, Introduction: Chief Justice Hughes and Justice Mountain, 10 Seton Hall L.Rev. xii (1979) ("[I]t is the state courts at all levels, not the federal courts, that finally determine the overwhelming number of the vital issues of life, liberty and property that trouble countless human beings of this Nation every year.").

. Under the federalist principles expressed above, where a proposed constitutional revision results in the loss or restriction of an independent fundamental state right, this loss must be made known to each participating voter at the time of the general election. Cf. People Against Tax Revenue Mismanagement v. County of Leon, 583 So.2d 1373, 1376 (Fla.1991) ("This is especially true if the ballot language gives the appearance of creating new rights or protections, when the actual effect is to reduce or eliminate rights or protections already in existence.").

. See also Metzger v. State, 18 Fla. 481, 488 (1881).

. See also Green v. State, 40 Fla. 474, 476, 24 So. 537, 538 (1898).

.See, e.g., Daniels v. State, 57 Fla. 1, 2, 48 So. 747, 748 (1909).

. See also Nickels v. State, 90 Fla. 659, 703, 106 So. 479, 495 (1925) (Terrell, J., concurring).

. See Reddish v. State, 167 So.2d 858, 863 (Fla.1964); Williams v. State, 156 Fla. 300, 303, 22 So.2d 821, 823 (1945); Flowers v. State, 152 Fla. 649, 659, 12 So.2d 772, 778, cert. denied, 320 U.S. 767, 64 S.Ct. 49, 88 L.Ed. 458 (1943).

. See Jones v. Stoutenburgh, 91 So.2d 299, 303 (Fla.1956); State ex rel. Byer v. Willard, 54 So.2d 179, 181 (Fla.1951).

. In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the federal Court established procedural safeguards similar to those defined above in order to ensure the vol-untariness of statements rendered during custodial interrogation. In subsequent decisions, the Court expanded Miranda’s scope. See, e.g., Minnick v. Mississippi, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 486, 112 L.Ed.2d 489 (1990); Arizona v. Roberson, 486 U.S. 675, 108 S.Ct. 2093, 100 L.Ed.2d 704 (1988); Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981).

In other areas, the Court limited Miranda's scope. See, e.g., Illinois v. Perkins, 496 U.S. 292, 110 S.Ct. 2394, 110 L.Ed.2d 243 (1990); Duckworth v. Eagan, 492 U.S. 195, 109 S.Ct. 2875, 106 L.Ed.2d 166 (1989); Colorado v. Spring, 479 U.S. 564, 107 S.Ct. 851, 93 L.Ed.2d 954 (1987); Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 107 S.Ct. 515, 93 L.Ed.2d 473 (1986); Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 412, 106 S.Ct. 1135, 89 L.Ed.2d 410 (1986); Oregon v. Elstad, 470 U.S. 298, 105 S.Ct. 1285, 84 L.Ed.2d 222 (1985); New York v. Quarles, 467 U.S. 649, 104 S.Ct. 2626, 81 L.Ed.2d 550 (1984); Michigan v. Mosley, 423 U.S. 96, 96 S.Ct. 321, 46 L.Ed.2d 313 (1975); Michigan v. Tucker, 417 U.S. 433, 94 S.Ct. 2357, 41 L.Ed.2d 182 (1974); Harris v. New York, 401 U.S. 222, 91 S.Ct. 643, 28 L.Ed.2d 1 (1971).

. This means that the suspect has the right to consult with a lawyer before being interrogated and to have the lawyer present during interrogation.

. Once the right to counsel has been invoked, any subsequent waiver during a police-initiated encounter in the absence of counsel during the same period of custody is invalid, whether or not the accused has consulted with counsel earlier. Cf. Minnick; Roberson; Edwards (comparable rule under federal law).

. A written waiver will dispel a major criticism of Miranda, i.e., that it did "nothing whatsoever to mitigate the pitfalls of the swearing contest” between the defendant and the policeman as to the content of warnings, or whether warnings were given at all. See Stephen J. Schulhofer, Confessions and the Court, 79 Mich.L.Rev. 865, 882 (1981). Written waivers are in fact common in many cases. The present case involves one.

. A person is in custody for Section 9 purposes if a reasonable person placed in the same position would believe that his or her freedom of action was curtailed to a degree associated with actual arrest. Cf. Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 440-42, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 3150-51, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984).

. Interrogation takes place for Section 9 purposes when a person is subjected to express questions, or other words or actions, by a state agent, that a reasonable person would conclude are designed to lead to an incriminating response. Cf. Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300-01, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 1689-90, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1980).

. See, e.g., § 3969, Gen.Stats.1906, F.C.L. (1914); § 1347, Gen.Stats.1906, F.C.L. (1914).

. See § 454.18, Fla.Stat. (1989).

. See Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.111, 3.130, 3.160.

. See Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 833-34, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 2540-41, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975).

. Id. at 813 n. 10, 95 S.Ct. at 2530 n. 10.

. This right necessarily entails two corresponding rights — the right to conduct one's own defense and the right to assistance of counsel.

. Cf. United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 237, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 1937, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967) (Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies to each "critical stage” of the prosecution).

. Section 16 also protects the right of the individual to a fair trial.

. Cf. Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, 689-90, 92 S.Ct. 1877, 1882-83, 32 L.Ed.2d 411 (1972) (prosecution begins under Sixth Amendment with initiation of "judicial criminal proceedings”).

. See infra notes 37-43 and accompanying text.

. Cf. Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387, 404, 97 S.Ct. 1232, 1242, 51 L.Ed.2d 424 (1977) (under Sixth Amendment, "courts indulge in every reasonable presumption against waiver”). See generally Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.111(d).

. See Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.111(d)(5).

. Once the right has attached and been invoked, any subsequent waiver during a police-initiated confrontation in the absence of counsel is per se invalid. Cf. Michigan v. lackson, 475 U.S. 625, 106 S.Ct. 1404, 89 L.Ed.2d 631 (1986) (comparable rule under Sixth Amendment).

. Cf. McNeil v. Wisconsin, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2204, 2207, 115 L.Ed.2d 158 (1991) (Sixth Amendment right is "offense-specific").

. Cutts V. State, 54 Fla. 21, 22, 45 So. 491, 491 (1907).

. See, e.g., Watson v. State, 142 Fla. 218, 223, 194 So. 640, 642 (1940).

. See, e.g., §§ 27.51, .52, Fla.Stat. (1989).

. See, e.g., Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.111, 3.130, 3.160.

. See, e.g., Shriners Hospitals v. Zrillic, 563 So.2d 64 (Fla.1990); De Ayala v. Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Ins. Co., 543 So.2d 204 (Fla.1989); Palm Harbor Special Fire Control Dist. v. Kelly, 516 So.2d 249 (Fla.1987); Storer Cable T.V. v. Summerwinds Apartments Assocs., 493 So.2d 417 (Fla.1986); Vildibill v. Johnson, 492 So.2d 1047 (Fla.1986).

. See also Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.140.

. As a general rule, assignment of counsel is feasible by the time of booking. See Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.111(c).

. See also Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.130.

. See Committee Note to Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.111.

. The commentary following the American Bar Association (ABA) Standard provides in part:

Perhaps most important, unless the impecunious accused is provided counsel at the earliest possible time, an invidious discrimination is present between the poor defendant and the defendant of financial means: The latter is able to afford counsel and frequently acquires legal representation well before formal commencement of adversary proceedings. This standard seeks to provide for the eligible accused similar representation opportunities.

1 Standards for Criminal Justice § 5-5.1 (Am. Bar Ass’n 1980).

. The committee note following this rule states that “[t]here was considerable discussion within the committee concerning the time when counsel should be appointed.... The commentary in the ABA Standard under 5.1a, b, convinced the committee to the language here contained.” Committee Note to Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.111(a). The commentary to the ABA Standard provides in part:

This standard, however, extends beyond the Supreme Court’s decisions, for it applies to situations that have not been held to be "critical stages” within the meaning of the sixth amendment. Thus, the standard recommends that counsel be provided "as soon as feasible after custody begins,” assuming that this event occurs, as it usually does, prior to the defendant’s appearance before a judicial officer or the filing of formal charges.

Effective representation of the accused requires that counsel be provided at the earliest possible time. Often there are witnesses who must be interviewed promptly by the defense lest their memories of critical events fade or the witnesses become difficult to locate. Where the accused is incarcerated, defense counsel must begin immediately to marshal facts in support of the defendant’s pretrial release from custody.

1 Standards for Criminal Justice § 5-5.1 (Am. Bar Ass’n 1980).

. Cf. Ponticelli v. State, 593 So.2d 483 (Fla. 1991) (right to counsel under federal Sixth Amendment had not attached where judicial criminal proceedings had not begun); Kight v. State, 512 So.2d 922 (Fla.1987) (Sixth Amendment right had not attached where formal charges had not been filed), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 929, 108 S.Ct. 1100, 99 L.Ed.2d 262 (1988); Keen v. State, 504 So.2d 396 (Fla.1987) (Sixth Amendment right had not attached where formal charges had not been filed); Anderson v. State, 420 So.2d 574 (Fla.1982) (Sixth Amendment right had attached where defendant had been indicted and would have attended first appearance if he had been present in Florida); Peoples v. State, 576 So.2d 783 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991) (state and federal right attaches on indictment or information); McHaney v. State, 513 So.2d 252 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1987) (unspecified right to counsel had not attached where line-up was held prior to first appearance); Traylor v. State, 498 So.2d 1297 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986) (federal right had attached where information had been issued); Sobczak v. State, 462 So.2d 1172 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984) (state right attaches as early as first appearance); State v. Douse, 448 So.2d 1184 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984) (state right attaches as early as first appearance).

. Johnson had just received the letter of appointment the day before, August 19.

. Defense counsel at the suppression hearing prevented Johnson from being questioned concerning any statement made by Traylor to Johnson, claiming attorney-client privilege.

. Because the Section 16 right to counsel is charge-specific, the fact that Traylor had invoked his right to counsel on the Alabama offense is irrelevant to the Florida charge.

. Cf. Patterson v. Illinois, 487 U.S. 285, 108 S.Ct. 2389, 101 L.Ed.2d 261 (1988) (comparable result under similar facts under Sixth Amendment).

. We note that the extent of the required inquiry into the defendant’s understanding of the consequences of waiver of the Section 16 right to counsel will vary depending on the stage of the prosecution. For instance, an inquiry that suffices for postcharge questioning need not be as elaborate as the formal inquiry that is required for waiver of counsel at trial. Cf. id. (comparable rule under Sixth Amendment).

. We conclude that the same result would obtain under federal law. See McNeil v. Wisconsin, - U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2204, 115 L.Ed.2d 158 (1991); Patterson; Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U.S. 625, 106 S.Ct. 1404, 89 L.Ed.2d 631 (1986); Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, 92 S.Ct. 1877, 32 L.Ed.2d 411 (1972); Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966); Brown v. Mississippi, 297 U.S. 278, 56 S.Ct. 461, 80 L.Ed. 682 (1936).

. The district court found admission of the confessions harmless “in the face of other overwhelming evidence of guilt.” Traylor v. State, 498 So.2d 1297, 1301 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986).

BARKETT, Justice,

concurring in part, dissenting in part.

I concur in Parts II through IV, and like Justice Kogan, in most of Part V of the majority opinion. I dissent as to the application of the law in Part VI but concur in the result because admitting the Florida confession was harmless error.

I agree with the recital of the law on federalism. It is, of course, axiomatic that Florida can interpret its constitution independently of the federal courts. I certainly concur with the incorporation of the principles and rationales expressed in Miranda, Minnick, Roberson, and Edwards as part of Florida’s constitutional protections. I also agree with the majority that the right to counsel under article I, section 16 of the Florida Constitution attaches at the earliest of the following points: upon being formally charged with a crime via indictment or information, as soon as feasible after custodial restraint, or at first appearance. I part company with the majority when it fails to apply the principles it is adopting to the facts of this case, and with the majority’s apparent conclusion that a request for counsel at a first appearance hearing on a specific charge is not an assertion of counsel rights under article I, section 9 of the Florida Constitution, barring state-initiated custodial questioning on any matter.

Indigent defendants are entitled to a lawyer for one basic purpose — to assist them in dealing with the power of the State. They are first entitled to a lawyer under article I, section 9, to advise and protect them when the State attempts to interrogate them while in custody. The right to this assistance obviously continues throughout the defendant’s detention. When the initial restraint becomes a court case, the accused is then entitled under article I, section 16 to a lawyer’s assistance, not only during custodial interroga