Senate Bill sb0176
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 176
By Senator Geller
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to custodial interrogations in
3 cases involving capital felonies; creating s.
4 901.241, F.S.; providing definitions;
5 describing circumstances in which an oral,
6 written, or sign-language statement made by a
7 capital interrogee during a custodial
8 interrogation is presumed inadmissible as
9 evidence against such person; describing
10 circumstances in which the prosecution may
11 rebut such presumption; describing
12 circumstances in which law enforcement officers
13 may have good cause not to electronically
14 record all or part of an interrogation;
15 providing for the admissibility of certain
16 statements of a capital interrogee when made in
17 certain proceedings or when obtained by federal
18 officers or officers from other states;
19 providing for the preservation of electronic
20 recordings; providing for admissibility of
21 certain statements of a capital interrogee;
22 providing a finding of important state
23 interest; providing an effective date.
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25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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27 Section 1. Section 901.241, Florida Statutes, is
28 created to read:
29 901.241 Custodial interrogations in cases involving
30 capital felonies.--
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1 (1) This section applies to custodial interrogations
2 in which the capital interrogee is suspected of involvement in
3 a capital felony.
4 (2) As used in this section, the term:
5 (a) "Capital interrogee" means a person who, at the
6 time of the interrogation and concerning any topic of the
7 interrogation, is:
8 1. Charged with a capital felony; or
9 2. Suspected by those conducting the interrogation or
10 investigating the capital felony of involvement in the capital
11 felony.
12 (b) "Custodial interrogation" or "interrogation" means
13 questioning of a capital interrogee in circumstances in which
14 a reasonable person placed in the same position would believe
15 that his or her freedom of action was curtailed to a degree
16 associated with actual arrest.
17 (c) "Electronic recording" means a true, complete, and
18 accurate reproduction of a custodial interrogation. An
19 electronic recording may be created by motion picture,
20 videotape, audiotape, or digital or other media.
21 (d) "Involvement" means participation in a crime as a
22 principal or an accessory.
23 (e) "Interrogation facility" means a law enforcement
24 facility, correctional facility, community correctional
25 center, detention facility, law enforcement vehicle,
26 courthouse, or other secure environment.
27 (3) An oral, written, or sign-language statement which
28 was made by a capital interrogee during a custodial
29 interrogation shall be presumed to be inadmissible as evidence
30 against such person in a criminal proceeding unless:
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1 (a) The interrogation is reproduced in its entirety by
2 means of an electronic recording.
3 (b) Prior to the statement, but during the electronic
4 recording, the capital interrogee is given all
5 constitutionally required warnings and the capital interrogee
6 knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waives any rights
7 set out in the warnings which would, absent such waiver,
8 otherwise preclude the admission of the statement.
9 (c) The electronic recording device was capable of
10 making a true, complete, and accurate recording of the
11 interrogation, the operator of such device was competent, and
12 the electronic recording has not been altered.
13 (d) All persons recorded in the recording who are
14 material to the custodial interrogation are identified on the
15 electronic recording.
16 (e) During discovery pursuant to Rule 3.220, Florida
17 Rules of Criminal Procedure, but in no circumstances later
18 than the 20th day before the date of the proceeding in which
19 the prosecution intends to offer the statement, the attorney
20 representing a capital interrogee is provided with true,
21 complete, and accurate copies of all electronic recordings of
22 the capital interrogee which are made pursuant to this
23 section.
24 (4)(a) In the absence of a true, complete, and
25 accurate electronic recording, the prosecution may rebut a
26 presumption of inadmissibility through clear and convincing
27 evidence that:
28 1. The statement was both voluntary and reliable.
29 2. Law enforcement officers had good cause not to
30 electronically record all or part of the interrogation.
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1 (b) For purposes of paragraph (a), the term "good
2 cause" includes, but is not limited to:
3 1. The interrogation occurred in a location other than
4 an interrogation facility under exigent circumstances where
5 the requisite recording equipment was not readily available,
6 and there was no reasonable opportunity to move the capital
7 interrogee to an interrogation facility or to another location
8 at which the requisite recording equipment was readily
9 available;
10 2. The capital interrogee refused to have the
11 interrogation electronically recorded and such refusal was
12 electronically recorded;
13 3. The failure to electronically record an entire
14 interrogation was the result of equipment failure and
15 obtaining replacement equipment was not feasible; or
16 4. The statement of the capital interrogee was
17 obtained in the course of electronic eavesdropping that was
18 being conducted pursuant to a properly obtained and issued
19 warrant or that required no warrant and was otherwise legally
20 conducted.
21 (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
22 section, a written, oral, or sign-language statement of the
23 capital interrogee which was made as a result of a custodial
24 interrogation is admissible in a criminal proceeding against
25 the capital interrogee in this state if:
26 (a) The statement was obtained in another state by
27 investigative personnel of such state, acting independently of
28 law enforcement personnel of this state, in compliance with
29 the laws of such state; or
30 (b) The statement was obtained by a federal officer in
31 this state or another state during a lawful federal
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1 investigation and was obtained in compliance with the laws of
2 the United States.
3 (6) Every electronic recording of a custodial
4 interrogation made pursuant to this section must be preserved
5 until the capital interrogee's conviction for any offense
6 relating to the interrogation is final and all direct appeals
7 and collateral challenges are exhausted, the prosecution of
8 such offenses is barred by law, or the state irrevocably
9 waives in writing any future prosecution of the capital
10 interrogee for any offense relating to the interrogation.
11 (7) This section does not preclude the admission into
12 evidence of a statement made by the capital interrogee:
13 (a) At his or her trial or other hearing held in open
14 court;
15 (b) Before a grand jury;
16 (c) Which is the res gestae of the arrest or the
17 offense; or
18 (d) Which does not arise from a custodial
19 interrogation, as defined in this section.
20 Section 2. The Legislature finds that the reputations
21 of countless hard-working law enforcement officers are
22 needlessly attacked by criminal suspects who falsely claim the
23 officers have violated the suspects' constitutional rights,
24 that limited trial court resources are squandered in hearings
25 on motions seeking to suppress statements made by criminal
26 suspects who are given the opportunity to make such claims
27 because no recordings of their interrogations exist, and,
28 further, that judicial resources are squandered when criminal
29 suspects, after having been convicted of their crimes, file
30 frivolous and unnecessary appeals. This process costs the
31 taxpayers of this state untold dollars each year, dollars that
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1 could be better spent enhancing the administration of the
2 criminal justice system. Low-cost technology is now available
3 in every jurisdiction to record each custodial interrogation
4 of a criminal suspect, eliminating this gross waste of
5 resources and enhancing the reliability and reputation of law
6 enforcement officers. Therefore, the Legislature determines
7 and declares that this act fulfills an important state
8 interest.
9 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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12 SENATE SUMMARY
13 Provides definitions. Describes circumstances in which an
oral, written, or sign-language statement made by a
14 capital interrogee during a custodial interrogation is
presumed inadmissible as evidence against such person.
15 Describes circumstances in which the prosecution may
rebut such presumption. Describes circumstances in which
16 law enforcement officers may have good cause not to
electronically record all or part of an interrogation.
17 Provides for the admissibility of certain statements of a
capital interrogee when made in certain proceedings or
18 when obtained by federal officers or officers from other
states. Provides for the preservation of electronic
19 recordings. Provides for admissibility of certain
statements of a capital interrogee. Provides a finding of
20 important state interest.
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