In connection with some teaching that I have coming up, I’ve prepared a short outline summarizing the law of interrogation. It’s available as a PDF here. It covers voluntariness, Miranda, and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, plus the recording requirements of G.S. 15A-211, including the statutory amendments that took effect on December 1. I wrote it with judges and lawyers in mind, but I tried to keep it free of mumbo jumbo so that officers would also be able to use it. As always, I welcome your feedback.
Jeff, on your section on recording interviews, do you believe it applies to 16/17 year old juveniles? Most LEOs don’t think of juvenile law for them, but it looks like the recording requirement may affect those interviews. Thanks for your opinion.
I am a new prosecutor and have been presented with an issue consistently in prosecuting DWI cases involving wrecks: that the defendant’s statements to the officer are inadmissable because they were functionally in custody and Miranda had not been given.
My question is this: when does an investigative stop become the functional equivalent to being in custody for the purposes of Miranda?