Custodial Interrogation Recording Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7636 To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to provide grants to States and units of local government for the video recording of custodial interrogations. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 16, 2020 Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to provide grants to States and units of local government for the video recording of custodial interrogations. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Custodial Interroga- 4 tion Recording Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:42 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7636.IH H7636 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7636 IH (1) According to the National Conference of 1 Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, research 2 has demonstrated that video recording of custodial 3 interrogations furthers three important civic values: 4 truth-finding, efficient and fair administration of 5 justice, and protection of constitutional guarantees. 6 See Richard A. Leo, Police Interrogation and Amer- 7 ican Justice 296–305 (2008); Thomas P. Sullivan, 8 Recording Federal Custodial Interviews, 45 Am. 9 Crim. L. Rev. 1297 (2008). 10 (2) Video recording of the entire process of cus- 11 todial interrogation has proven to be a major ad- 12 vance in law enforcement, improving the ability to 13 solve crimes and prove cases while lowering the over- 14 all costs of investigation and litigation. 15 (3) Video recording of custodial interrogations 16 promotes truth-finding in several ways, including by 17 reducing the incentive to fabricate, compensating for 18 faulty or unreliable recollections of witnesses, deter- 19 ring problematic interrogation methods, filtering out 20 weak cases, and enhancing the ability of finders of 21 fact to assess witness credibility and veracity. 22 (4) Video recording of custodial interrogations 23 promotes efficiency in the administration of the 24 criminal justice system by reducing the number of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:42 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7636.IH H7636 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7636 IH frivolous suppression motions, improving the quality 1 of police investigations, improving the quality of re- 2 view and case screening by prosecutors, and reduc- 3 ing the likelihood of hung juries. 4 (5) Video recording of custodial interrogations 5 safeguards constitutional rights and values by mak- 6 ing it easier for courts to adjudicate motions to sup- 7 press, by making it easier for prosecutors to pre- 8 serve and disclose material exculpatory evidence re- 9 quired under the Supreme Court decision in Brady 10 v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), by making it easi- 11 er for superiors to train police officers in how to 12 comply with constitutional mandates and for the 13 press, and by making it easier for the press, the ju- 14 diciary, prosecutors, independent watchdog groups, 15 and police administrators to identify and correct 16 misuses of power by law enforcement. 17 (6) Video recordings of custodial interrogations 18 make it easier to identify and avoid biases, which 19 would otherwise be difficult to detect and correct be- 20 cause such biases are often unconscious, thus oper- 21 ating outside police awareness. 22 (7) Video recordings of custodial interrogations 23 help to improve public confidence in the fairness and 24 professionalism of policing, which in a democracy 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:42 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7636.IH H7636 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7636 IH not only is a good in itself but also a proven means 1 of reducing crime and enhancing citizen cooperation 2 in solving crimes. 3 (8) Video recording of the entire process of cus- 4 todial interrogation is likely to be a major boon to 5 law enforcement, improving its ability to prove its 6 cases while lowering overall costs of investigation 7 and litigation. Such recording will also, however, im- 8 prove systemic accuracy, fairness to the accused and 9 the State alike, protection of constitutional rights, 10 and public confidence in the justice system. 11 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT. 12 Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 13 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711) is amended— 14 (1) in section 1001(a), by adding at the end the 15 following: 16 ‘‘(27) There are authorized to be appropriated 17 to carry out part OO such sums as may be necessary 18 for each of the first 5 fiscal years beginning after 19 the date of the enactment of such part.’’; and 20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:42 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7636.IH H7636 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7636 IH ‘‘PART OO—CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION VIDEO 1 RECORDING GRANTS 2 ‘‘SEC. 3061. CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION VIDEO RECORD- 3 ING GRANTS. 4 ‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Attorney General shall 5 make grants to States and units of local government to 6 take whatever steps the Attorney General determines to 7 be necessary to achieve the complete and accurate record- 8 ing, by both audio and video means, of every custodial in- 9 terrogation occurring within the State or unit of local gov- 10 ernment. 11 ‘‘(b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The portion of the 12 costs of a program funded by a grant under this section 13 may not exceed 75 percent. 14 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION.— 15 In this section, the term ‘custodial interrogation’ means 16 questioning or other conduct by a law enforcement officer 17 which is reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating re- 18 sponse from an individual and occurs when reasonable in- 19 dividuals in the same circumstances would consider them- 20 selves in custody.’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:42 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7636.IH H7636 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS