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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1644 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 954
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Sal N. DiDomenico
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act ensuring integrity in juvenile interrogations.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Sal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and SuffolkAdam GomezHampden2/24/2023 1 of 2
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1644 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 954
By Mr. DiDomenico, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 954) of Sal N. DiDomenico
and Adam Gomez for legislation to ensure integrity in juvenile interrogations. The Judiciary.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act ensuring integrity in juvenile interrogations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Chapter 119 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby
2amended by inserting after section 89 the following section:
3 Section 90. Prohibition on use of deception during juvenile custodial interrogations
4 Section 90. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following
5meanings:
6 i. “Statement” means a juvenile’s oral assertion, written assertion, or nonverbal conduct if
7intended as an assertion.
8 ii. “Juvenile” shall have the same meaning as set forth in G.L. ch. 119, section 89.
9 iii. “Deception” means communicating, or relaying in any way, false or misleading facts,
10false or misleading information, false or misleading evidence, or unauthorized implicit or explicit
11offers of leniency. 2 of 2
12 iv. “Custodial Interrogation” means any questioning by law enforcement officers, or
13persons acting on behalf of a law enforcement officers, in relation to an investigation, under
14circumstances where a reasonable juvenile would consider themselves to be in custody, and that
15questioning is likely to elicit an incriminating response.
16 (b)A statement made by a juvenile during a custodial interrogation shall be presumed to
17be involuntary, and therefore inadmissible in any court where such statement is offered as
18evidence, if during the custodial interrogation a law enforcement officer, or person acting on
19behalf of a law enforcement officer, knowingly engages in deception.
20 A statement that is involuntary, as described in the above paragraph, shall not form the
21basis of any further investigative activities; any evidence that flows from that statement shall be
22considered tainted by such deception, and shall be inadmissible as such.
23 (c)The presumption that such statement, as described in subsection (b), is inadmissible,
24may be overcome if the Commonwealth proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the statement
25was voluntary and not made due to any deception.
26 (d) Nothing in this section shall abrogate the Commonwealth’s burden to prove a
27statement is voluntary prior to introducing that statement into evidence.
28 (e)Subsection (b) shall apply to all statements, as described in subsection (b), made on or
29after the effective date of this statute.