House Bill 1613
CHILD PROTECTION INTERROGATION ACT
Description: HB 1613 would enhance protections for juveniles during legal proceedings, particularly during custodial interrogations. The bill would require law enforcement to record interrogations when possible, using body-worn cameras or other video and audio technology, and would require that a child be told if the interrogation is being recorded.
PA Justice Alliance Member Positions & Feedback
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HB 1613 would require an attorney be consulted when a child is taken into custody and would guarantee that parents and guardians are notified when their child is taken into custody.
It is vital to the integrity of our legal system to ensure children are given an opportunity to consult with an attorney prior to a custodial interrogation. Through decades of research we know that children are inherently different from adults in their behavior, mental and emotional maturity, decision-making skills, and ability to use critical reasoning. We also know the dangers associated with coercive interrogation practices, which makes the need for this common-sense reform all the more urgent.
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Pennsylvania can join the growing number of states that have recently enacted similar protections requiring attorney consultation for children and recording of interrogations of children. By passing HB 1613, Pennsylvania would join a national movement toward balancing accountability with fairness by improving outcomes for children, strengthening the justice system, and building greater public trust.
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False confessions are a leading contributing cause of wrongful convictions, having been involved in 13% of all known exonerations nationwide since 1989. Unfortunately, this problem is particularly acute for children, who falsely confess three times more often than adults.
Notably, approximately 90% of children waive their Miranda rights. HB 1613 would provide the protection our children need by ensuring that the adults in their lives are promptly notified when they are taken into custody, by mandating that children cannot be interrogated until they have consulted with an attorney, and by requiring the adoption of rules that will ensure age-appropriate language that children will understand is used to advise them of their rights.
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Decades of rigorous research have shown that adolescents are different from adults, in their behavior, mental and emotional maturity, decision-making, and ability to use critical reasoning. It is settled constitutional law that children are developmentally different from adults and sentencing practices must conform to and reflect these differences. In a variety of areas of the law, children are offered special protections of their rights, given their inherently limited understanding and decision-making skills.
By requiring that children have access to an attorney prior to a custodial interrogation, HB 1613 would provide a reasonable extension of these protections.
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