Questioning a Suspect Who Has Requested a Lawyer

[anthonyjose]

My question involves police conduct in the State of: KY

Okay I have two questions:

Number one.

My sister was arrested and charged with burglary and fleeing and evading. She was bailed out and let out on house arrest until her court date. However, about an hour after she got home, two officers came to her door and told her they wanted to ask her some questions about crimes in different counties that they believed she had a part in because they had witness's and such. They read her her Miranda rights and she told them she wanted to talk to a lawyer before answering any questions, they said that was fine and went to leave, then they came back and knocked on the door and I spoke with them, then they went to leave again, but came back and said they had changed their minds and decided to arrest her unless she told them were certain items were. She was scared and so she told them were these items were, however she never admitted that they were hers or that she took them. The officers then left and we haven't heard from them since(this was about 2 weeks ago). We believe they were recording her when they were questioning her. Is what the officers did allowed? Are they allowed to record her without her permission? They read her Miranda rights but then left and came back two times and continued to question her, is that allowed? Is there someway we could have what she said thrown out?

Number two.

A man tried to add my sister on Facebook and told her that if she "talked to him about missing items, he would help her on her charges and no one else would know" My sister has no idea who this man is and we don't believe he is a cop. Is that allowed? Could the investigation be thrown out because of this? Or would that be a good thing to show a lawyer? It would seem if this were not a cop that this man is getting information leaked to him. Isn't this some form of harassment?

My sister just turned 18 and has a clean record and this is the first time she has ever been in trouble. Do you think the police officers are still investigating? Its been 2 weeks since they came and we haven't heard anything back. They also never searched the place were she told them the stuff was at. How long can an investigation go on before charges are filed? Any help or advice is extremely appreciated. Thank you.

[PTPD22]

Number one...Is what the officers did allowed? Are they allowed to record her without her permission? They read her Miranda rights but then left and came back two times and continued to question her, is that allowed? Is there someway we could have what she said thrown out?

Actually, that is numbers 1-4. lol. But, 1, 3, and 4 all have basically the same answer. As far as whether anything she said after she asked to consult with an attorney is going to be admissible...From your description of events, that is going to be a close call and a decision is going to be extremely fact based. Meaning, it is going to depend heavily on the cop's specific wording, your sisters wording, even things like where they were standing, who else was present, and other things. It is possible that her admission will be ruled inadmissible. That could be why the cops haven't searched for the stolen property. They may have applied for the warrant and a judge ruled the admission improperly obtained and denied the warrant. But, it could go the other way, too. Like I say, it will be a very legally technically specific argument in court.

Can they record? I believe KY is a one-party consent state. If I am right in that, then, yes they can record without her knowledge. If I am wrong, then she would have to know she was being recorded for the recording to be admissible. Note that I said she has to KNOW, that does not mean she has to give permission.

Number two...Is that allowed? Could the investigation be thrown out because of this? Or would that be a good thing to show a lawyer? It would seem if this were not a cop that this man is getting information leaked to him. Isn't this some form of harassment?

Is it allowed for some random person to make statements on facebook? Sure...and that person can give any information your sis provides to the cops and it would be admissible against her. Could the investigation be "thrown out" because of this? Absolutely not. Yes, this would be something you want to share with her lawyer. There are any number of ways that this person could have knowledge of the case...for example the person could be a witness, a victim, or even an accomplice. No, it is not any form of harassment.

[cdwjava]

Since there is generally no expectation of privacy when conversing with the police, unless KY law specifically prohibits it, the police should be permitted to record the conversation with or without permission of the other party.

I do see some potential Miranda issues here, and she should certainly speak with her attorney.