Custodial Interrogations
The national trend is to record and in a majority of states to also transcribe interrogations. The following is an example regarding the
Massachusetts Police:
As you know, case law in Massachusetts has created an environment whereby custodial confessions
essentially need to be recorded. In 1996, Commonwealth vs. Diaz 422 MASS 269 held with regards to
confessions, "failure to record should be a factor in determining that the confession was voluntary."
However, in Commonwealth vs. DiGiambattista 442 Mass 423 (2004), the Supreme Judicial Court decided to
require recording of interrogations.
This case effectively requires at the very minimum a recorded audio of the confession or statements.
If there is no
recording, the statements made by the defendants ultimately are inadmissible because "jurors must
disregard the defendant's statement if voluntariness is not established beyond a reasonable doubt."
(Commonwealth vs. Cryer 426 Mass 562, 571 (1998).
By using Sten-Tel's trademarked
StenScribe, you will
be provided an easy, cost effective method of recording and transcribing these confessions and storing
them on our secure, encrypted system.
Contact our sales department by phone: 1-800-STENTEL, or email
sales@sten-tel.com for more information.
