Juveniles: custodial interrogation., the official text

An act to add Section 625.8 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law prohibits law enforcement officers from employing threats, physical harm, deception, or psychologically manipulative interrogation tactics, as specified, during a custodial interrogation of a person 17 years of age or younger.
This bill would prohibit a law enforcement officer from seeking statements or information while working undercover, or by individuals working in collaboration with, or acting as agents of, law enforcement, from a person who was 17 years of age or younger during the commission of crime and who is under 26 years of age while in custody. The bill would direct a court to consider any willful failure of a law enforcement officer in violation of these provisions in determining the credibility of that law enforcement officer.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 625.8 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
625.8.
(a) A law enforcement officer shall not seek to obtain information or statements from a person when both of the following apply:
(1) The person was 17 years of age or younger at the time the crime was committed and under 26 years of age at the time of custody.
(2) The person is in custody and the information or statements are sought by law enforcement officers working undercover or by individuals working in collaboration with, or acting as agents of, law enforcement.
(b) The court shall, in adjudicating the admissibility of statements obtained in violation of subdivision (a), consider the effect of failure to comply with subdivision (a) and, additionally, shall consider any willful violation of subdivision (a) in determining the credibility of a law enforcement officer under Section 780 of the Evidence Code.
(c) Subdivision (b) shall only apply to a statement obtained on or after January 1, 2027.