Electronic Recording Project

There are few aspects of police work more important than questioning arrested suspects in felony investigations. To a large extent, our criminal justice system depends upon the accuracy of how the results are reported including all statements, physical actions, facial expressions, and tones of voice of individuals under interrogation.

The state map has been updated to feature the most current information on pending/enacted legislation and case law in each state, and the full compendium can be downloaded below.

During the past decade there has been an increasing use of electronic recording equipment by law enforcement to record their interrogations of felony suspects from the Miranda warnings on.  Subsequently, there has been concurrent support for legislation and court rules governing these recordings, to ensure statewide consistency in police and sheriffs’ practices and procedures.  For example, in 2003, there were two state supreme courts that required recording of custodial interrogations and four others followed suit. See below for information about other countries' policies and the positions of various national organizations, as well as a downloadable version of the compendium.

Tom Sullivan, NACDL member and partner with Jenner & Block, compiled the Compendium and provides an introduction to the project below.

To submit any updates on jurisdictions, please contact Andrew Vail at AVail@jenner.com. For more information about the project please contact scjn@nacdl.org.