Legal Updates Fall 2019

Written By: Reid
Dec 16, 2019
The Legal Updates Fall 2019 column contains cases which address the following issues:
  • The investigator's discussion of religion during defendant's interrogation did not rise to the level of a beneficial promise
  • Court reject's defendant's claim that his confession was coerced because he was held in custody overnight for approximately twelve hours prior to his confession with minimal sleep and no food and water
  • Court details criteria to consider in determining custody
  • Telling the defendant that cooperation would be his best option did not amount to a promise of leniency
  • The value of video recording the interrogation (Case 1)
  • The value of video recording the interrogation (Case 2)
  • Court outlines acceptable interrogator techniques
  • Advising the defendant that the alleged victim (a minor) was claiming the sexual conduct was forcible which the investigator described as rape, while stating that he (the investigator) believed the conduct could have been consensual, was not coercive (Value of recording)
  • Confession suppressed because unequivocal invocation of right to a lawyer was ignored (Value of recording)
  • Is the statement "They [will] throw the book at you" a threat?
Continue Reading