ASSEMBLY, No. 933

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman KRAMER

An Act concerning criminal investigations and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. When a person undergoing police interrogation has knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived his right to remain silent and his right to an attorney, the failure of the police to inform the person that an attorney is present or available on the person's behalf shall not constitute a violation of the person's right against self-incrimination or of any other constitutional right.

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    In State v. Reed, 133 N.J.237 (1993), decided July 23, 1993, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a murder suspect's confession was inadmissible because the police failed to inform the suspect that an attorney was present in the police station and wished to speak to him. The defendant had not asked to speak to an attorney, and had explicitly waived his Miranda rights (his right to remain silent and to request an attorney) on three separate occasions in the course of the interrogation. Nevertheless, the Court held that the suspect's privilege against self-incrimination had been violated by the failure of the police to inform him of the attorney's presence, and invalidated the suspect's confession on those grounds.

    The Court's decision has been opposed by prosecutors, who have protested that the holding will hamper police in conducting criminal investigations.

    This bill would invalidate the Court's holding in Reed, making it inapplicable to future cases. The bill provides that, as long as a suspect undergoing interrogation has knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived his right to remain silent, there is no violation of his right against self-incrimination or of any other constitutional right if the police fail to inform him that an attorney is present or available on his behalf.

Provides that no violation of suspect's right against self-incrimination occurs during interrogation if police fail to inform suspect of attorney's presence.