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Legislation requiring lawyers for kids in police interrogations could come up next session

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Illinois

* In 2021 Sen. Peters sponsored legislation banning law enforcement from lying to minors during interrogations…

The bill received wide support in the Illinois General Assembly and from the state’s chiefs of police, the Illinois State’s Attorneys’ Association and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. […]

Illinois state Sen. Robert Peters said the signing is Chicago’s first step in the “long journey to end the infamy of the false confession capital of the world.”

It was previously legal for police in all 50 states to lie during interrogations. False confessions have played a role in about 30% of all wrongful convictions overturned with DNA evidence, according to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit working to exonerate wrongly convicted people. People under 18 are two to three times more likely to falsely confess than adults, according to a 2017 article in the New York University Law Review.

* He may pick up another bill this winter requiring lawyers in juvenile interrogations. WBEZ…

In light of video footage that shows a suburban Chicago police officer steering a 15-year-old to confess to a shooting he did not commit, some Illinois lawmakers are pledging to back planned legislation requiring a lawyer for any child being interrogated by police.

The video, released as a result of a WBEZ open-records lawsuit against the city of Waukegan, shows a 43-minute interrogation in which the teen declined an attorney before making self-incriminating statements about the shooting, which injured a dollar-store clerk last year. The police charged the 15-year-old with attempted murder and sent him to jail. He was held until his basketball team proved he was in another town during the shooting. […]

“The current way we are doing things has failed so much and too often,” said state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, pointing to a long history of false confessions in Waukegan and other parts of the state. “Those failed practices include making Illinois a wrongful conviction capital.” […]

With the case fresh in their minds, [Elizabeth Clarke, an attorney who founded the Evanston-based nonprofit Juvenile Justice Initiative] said she expects lawmakers to introduce a bill requiring an attorney for all kids under 18 this coming winter.

State Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, said in an email that she is “interested in sponsoring.”

Peters, the senator, texted that he is interested too.

posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 11:49 am

Comments

All for it. But let’s not forget to fund it.

Comment by Anon E Moose Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 12:01 pm
funding is never forgotten, it’s specifically designed to be omitted so that only priorities are actually funded

Comment by Merica Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 12:21 pm
https://youtu.be/AJ5aIvjNgao

Simpler times back in the day.

Comment by Almost the Weekend Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 12:58 pm
A person regardless of age has the right to an attorney present. I was not aware that this was not the case.

Also, why were police interrogating a minor without the parent or guardian present?

Comment by FormerParatrooper Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 3:03 pm
FormerParatrooper, they do it all the time. If you watch Making a Murderer, they show footage where police allow a 17 years old to sign away his right to an attorney.

Under 18, you’re not allowed to sign anything, except a basic constitutional right, evidently.

Comment by Former Downstater Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 3:07 pm
===Simpler times back in the day.

The Neutron Lie Detector. The joke about 20 years ago is because it was first used in Homicide and then actually done in the Baltimore Homicide Unit as Simon put in his first book.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 3:43 pm
=== Also, why were police interrogating a minor without the parent or guardian present? ===

By design. At least a parent must now be present if a student is questioned by police on school property in Illinois. Too bad it took a tragedy.

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/suit-settled-in-teen-suicide-that-led-to-illinois-law-change/126009/

Comment by Tim Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 3:45 pm
= A person regardless of age has the right to an attorney present. =

There’s a difference between a “right” and a “requirement”.

Comment by JoanP Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 3:49 pm
===There’s a difference between a “right” and a “requirement”===

Very true. One can sometimes voluntarily waive a right.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 4:06 pm
=Too bad it took a tragedy.=

Maybe for legislation, but most schools already had policy that required us to call parents and get parental permission for cops to talk to kids. That goes back 20 years. I guess naperville didn’t get that memo.

Comment by JS Mill Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 4:39 pm
I dislike thinking we should pass a law for most things, this is an exception. No minor should ever be interrogated without either the parent, guardian or an attorney present. In the case of an emancipated minor an attorney should be required. Not just at the State level, but at the Federal level.

There are many here who know how to work legislative ideas to the proper channels. How do we do something like this effectively?

I wouldn’t think this would be a partisan issue.

Comment by FormerParatrooper Tuesday, Aug 15, 23 @ 6:35 pm