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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Ind. Courts - Supreme Court adds new Evidence Rule 617

From the press release:

The Indiana Supreme Court has amended the Indiana Rules of Evidence to prohibit evidence of a suspect's statement taken during police station questioning unless it was electronically recorded.

The new rule applies to statements made on or after January 1, 2011.

The rule, which was approved by majority vote, states in part, “In a felony criminal prosecution, evidence of a statement made by a person during a Custodial Interrogation in a Place of Detention shall not be admitted against the person unless an Electronic Recording of the statement was made.”

A place of detention means a jail, law enforcement agency station house, or facility owned and operated by law enforcement. An electronic recording means an audio-video recording. The exact definitions for “place of detention” and “electronic recording” can be found in Rule 617..

There are seven exceptions to the rule which can be found online as well. Generally, the exceptions include the following:

1. statements made as a part of routine processing or “booking”
2. statements made when the suspect does not agree to be electronically recorded
3. when there is an equipment malfunction
4. when the interrogation takes place in another jurisdiction
5. when law enforcement officers reasonably believe the crime under investigation is not a felony
6. the statement made is spontaneous and not in response to a question
7. substantial exigent circumstances exist which prevent the recording

The rule change is aimed at helping police, prosecutors, courts and juries in their search for truth, justice, and due process of law. As the Supreme Court order amending the rule details, a complete audio video recording, which captures the voice, facial expressions and body language of the suspect and interrogator can be a valuable tool for law enforcement, courts, and citizens. The electronic recording can provide strong evidence of guilt, confirm police gave suspects all required warnings, and ultimately lead to more guilty pleas. The recordings are also likely to lessen factual disputes in court and reduce the number of motions to suppress evidence.

Here is the Order Amending Rules of Evidence, filed Sept. 15, 2009.

Note that the Order was adopted 3-2, with J. Sullivan and C.J. Shepard dissenting with opinions.

Surprising Move. Niki Kelly of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has quickly posted this story on the Order, headed "Audio-video recordings to be required in Indiana felony cases." From the story:

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a new rule requiring electronic audio-video recordings of suspect interrogations before statements from the interviews can be entered into evidence in felony court proceedings.

The surprising move came on a 3-2 vote of the court.

"Electronically recorded interrogations are a potent law enforcement tool," the court order on the new rule said. "Confessions provide strong evidence of guilt, but often suspects make incriminating statements but later claim that police failed to give them required warnings or otherwise engaged in unlawful behavior."

But Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard dissented, saying that Indiana has not had problems with bad conduct by police and prosecutors.

"My assessment of the honesty and professionalism of Indiana's public safety officers leads me to conclude that today's action is not warranted," he said.

The court reviewed more than 300 comments submitted on the rule and included several exceptions to address some of the concerns.

The new rule applies only to statements made starting in 2011 – a delay given due to a request by Marion County law enforcement to buy equipment, train officers and implement new policies.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 15, 2009 11:51 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts