The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard SB 415 on admissibility of statement by juvenile in custody for amend and votesponsored by Rep. Steuerwald and Rep. Gore. The author, Sen. Pol, introduced the bill which provides that a statement made by a juvenile during a custodial interrogation of the juvenile regarding an act allegedly committed when the juvenile was less than 18 years of age is inadmissible for purposes of specified criminal or juvenile proceedings if a law enforcement officer or school resource officer knowingly communicates to the juvenile: (1) false information regarding evidence relating to the act; or (2) false statements regarding penalties for the act or leniency in the imposition of penalties for the act; during the custodial interrogation. The bill also requires that a law enforcement officer who arrests or takes into custody a child on school property or at a school-sponsored activity must make a reasonable attempt to notify: (1) the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian; or (2) the emergency contact listed on the child’s school record; before the child can be moved to a different location.
The bill was amended by consent to provide that a statement made by a juvenile during custodial interrogation made in response to a materially false statement by a law enforcement officer is inadmissible against the juvenile unless the law enforcement officer or school resource officer communicates materially false information or a materially false statement with a reasonable good faith belief that the information was true at the time it was communicated to the juvenile; or to any evidence discovered as a result of the juvenile’s statement.
The amended bill passed 12-1. Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/senate/415