NCJ Number
146407
Journal
The Prosecutor Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: (September/October 1993) Pages: 11-14
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
A prosecutor and former police officer advocates mobile videotaping as a viable law enforcement tool for collecting evidence.
Abstract
State and Federal courts are treating videotape evidence as photographs. Even if part of a videotape is ruled inadmissible, the remainder may be admitted. Several cases have established that even recordings that are difficult to understand may be admitted; poor quality will count against the weight, not the admissibility. Other cases have established that a person's right to privacy cannot be assumed, and is effectively diminished, upon being taken into custody and while in jail; therefore, videotaping may effectively close the opportunities for arrestees to "get their stories straight," and for inmates to plan escapes. In regard to the Fifth Amendment right against self- incrimination, defendant statements on videotape may be admissible if they did not arise in the context of a custodial interrogation. 29 footnotes