Summary
Idaho has no statute or court rule requiring recording of custodial interrogations.
Supreme Court Ruling
State v. Rhoades, 120 Idaho 795, 804–05, 820 P.2d 665, 674–75 (1991): Paul Rhoades was convicted of murder after police testified that he admitted to the murder in an unrecorded interview at a police station. Rhoades appealed his conviction and claimed the failure of the police to tape record his statements should render those statements inadmissible. In his argument, Rhoades relied on the persuasive authority of Stephan v. State, 711 P.2d 1156 (Alaska 1985), the Alaska Supreme Court case that held that statements made in custodial interrogations are inadmissible if the interrogation was not electronically recorded. The Supreme Court of Idaho denied Rhoades’ appeal, and stated: “We cannot accept the contention that in order to be admissible, statements made in custody must be tape recorded by the police. The defense cites an Alaska case . . . We decline to adopt Alaska’s standard in Idaho.”
Miscellaneous
Departments we have identified that presently record:
| Ada CS | Dept Fish & Games | Lincoln CS |
| Blaine CS | Garden City | Meridian |
| Boise City | Gooding CS | Nampa |
| Boise CS | Gooding | Pocatello |
| Bonneville CS | Hailey | Post Falls |
| Caldwell | ID Falls | State Dept of Corr. |
| Canyon CS | Jerome | State Police |
| Cassia CS | Jerome CS | Twin Falls |
| Coeur d’ Alene | Ketchum |
