Constitutional Limitations of Interviewing and Interrogations in American Policing

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Interviews and interrogations of suspects, witnesses, and victims are still the most important evidence available to police officers today. Crime scene evidence, including DNA samples, blood samples, fingerprints, and shoe tracks may be instrumental in making a case in court, but often physical evidence cannot be located without a properly conducted, thorough preliminary investigation which may include both interviews of witnesses and victims and interrogations of suspects. It is difficult for the most seasoned criminal lawyer to keep up with the various interpretations of law; yet law enforcement officers are tasked with not only being able to comprehend decisions and how they impact their processes and the rules of criminal procedure, but to diligently and correctly interpret those rulings into rapidly-evolving situations on the street or in an interrogation room.

This book has been compiled to provide practitioners and those who study criminal justice with the resources necessary to fully understand Supreme Court interpretations of how the police can and must utilize case law in collecting testimonial evidence, evidence from stop and frisk encounters, and polygraph testing. This book presents federal case law, and discussions of those cases, to develop an understanding of laws concerning police interviews and interrogations. Additionally, this text utilizes Bottom Line discussions that focus on the applications of the case law to police conduct.