HB 1709 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to statements by the accused; providing a
3	popular name; providing intent; providing for
4	applicability; providing definitions; providing that
5	statements made during custodial interrogations are
6	presumed inadmissible; providing exceptions; providing an
7	effective date.
8
9	WHEREAS, the reputations of countless hard-working law
10	enforcement officers are needlessly attacked by criminal
11	suspects who falsely claim that the officers have violated their
12	constitutional rights, and
13	WHEREAS, limited trial court resources are squandered in
14	hearings on motions seeking to suppress statements made by
15	criminal suspects who are given the opportunity to make such
16	claims because no recordings of their interrogations exist, and
17	WHEREAS, further judicial resources are squandered when
18	criminal suspects, after having been convicted of their crimes,
19	file frivolous and unnecessary appeals, and
20	WHEREAS, this process is costing the taxpayers of Florida
21	untold dollars each year, dollars which could be better spent
22	enhancing the administration of the criminal justice system, and
23	WHEREAS, low cost technology is now available in every
24	jurisdiction to record each custodial interrogation of a
25	criminal suspect, eliminating this gross waste of resources and
26	enhancing the reliability and reputation of law enforcement,
27	NOW, THEREFORE,
28
29	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31	Section 1. (1) POPULAR NAME.--This act shall be known by
32	the popular name "The Brenton Butler Act."
33	(2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--The purpose of this act is to
34	enhance the quality of the prosecution of those who may be
35	guilty while affording protection to the innocent. It is
36	intended to create a verbatim record of the entire custodial
37	interrogation for the purpose of eliminating disputes in court
38	as to what factually occurred during the interrogation.
39	(3) APPLICABILITY.--This act shall apply to custodial
40	interrogations in which the accused is suspected of a felony.
41	(4) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this act:
42	(a) “Electronic recording" means the complete and
43	authentic reproduction of the entire custodial interrogation of
44	a criminal suspect, created by motion picture, videotape,
45	audiotape, or digital media.
46	(b) “Custodial interrogation" means the questioning by law
47	enforcement personnel or others acting in concert with or on
48	behalf of law enforcement personnel, which is conducted in a
49	police station, police vehicle, courthouse, correctional
50	facility, community correctional center, detention facility, or
51	other secure environment.
52	(5) PRESUMPTION OF INADMISSIBILITY.--
53	(a) An oral, written, or sign-language statement of a
54	defendant made during a custodial interrogation shall be
55	presumed inadmissible as evidence against a defendant in a
56	criminal proceeding unless:
57	1. The interrogation is electronically recorded in its
58	entirety.
59	2. Prior to the statement, but during the recording, the
60	accused is given the requisite Miranda warnings and the accused
61	knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waives any rights set
62	out in the warning.
63	3. The recording device was capable of making an accurate
64	recording, the operator was competent, and the recording was not
65	altered.
66	4. All voices on the recording that are material to the
67	custodial interrogation are identified.
68	5. During discovery, but in no circumstances later than
69	the 20th day before the date of the proceeding in which the
70	prosecution intends to offer the statement, the attorney
71	representing the defendant is provided with a true, complete,
72	and accurate copy of all recordings of the defendant made under
73	this act.
74	(b) The state may rebut a presumption of inadmissibility
75	through clear and convincing evidence that:
76	1. The statement was both voluntary and reliable.
77	2. The law enforcement officers had good cause not to tape
78	the entire interrogation. For the purpose of this subparagraph,
79	good cause includes, but is not limited to the following
80	circumstances:
81	a. The interrogation took place at a location not
82	identified by paragraph (4)(b) and under exigent circumstances
83	where the requisite recording equipment was not readily
84	available and there was no opportunity to move the defendant to
85	a location identified by paragraph (4)(b) or where the requisite
86	recording equipment was readily available;
87	b. The accused refused to have his or her interrogation
88	electronically recorded, and the refusal itself was
89	electronically recorded;
90	c. The failure to electronically record an entire
91	interrogation was the result of equipment failure and obtaining
92	replacement equipment was not feasible; or
93	d. The statements were obtained in the course of
94	electronic eavesdropping which was being conducted pursuant to a
95	properly obtained and issued warrant.
96	(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
97	subsection, a written, oral, or sign-language statement of the
98	accused made as a result of a custodial interrogation is
99	admissible against the accused in a criminal proceeding in this
100	state if:
101	1. The statement was obtained in another state and was
102	obtained by law enforcement personnel of that state, acting
103	independently of law enforcement personnel from Florida, in
104	compliance with the laws of that state; or
105	2. The statement was obtained by a federal law enforcement
106	officer in this state or another state during a lawful federal
107	criminal investigation and was obtained in compliance with the
108	laws of the United States.
109	(6) Every electronic recording made of a custodial
110	interrogation must be preserved until such time as the
111	defendant's conviction for any offense relating to the
112	interrogation is final and all direct and habeas corpus appeals
113	are exhausted, or the prosecution of such offenses is barred by
114	law.
115	(7) This act does not preclude the admission of a
116	statement made by the accused:
117	(a) At his or her trial or other hearing in open court;
118	(b) Before a grand jury;
119	(c) That is the res gestae of the arrest or the offense;
120	or
121	(d) That does not stem from custodial interrogation.
122	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.