VT
Vermont House Bill H0258

Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont House Bill H0258 Compare Versions

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11 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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55 VT LEG #379628 v.1
66 H.258 1
77 Introduced by Representatives Arsenault of Williston and Rachelson of 2
88 Burlington 3
99 Referred to Committee on 4
1010 Date: 5
1111 Subject: Crimes; criminal procedure; law enforcement; interrogation; juveniles 6
1212 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit law 7
1313 enforcement’s use of deception during the custodial interrogation of juveniles. 8
1414 This bill also proposes to require the notification and contact with a juvenile’s 9
1515 parent, guardian, or legal custodian prior to any custodial interrogation. 10
1616 Additionally, this bill proposes to mandate the Vermont Criminal Justice 11
1717 Council to adopt a statewide policy implementing a minimum set of standards 12
1818 for various forms of law enforcement interrogation, including the limitation 13
1919 and eventual elimination of deception in all forms of interrogation. 14
2020 An act relating to law enforcement interrogation policies 15
2121 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 16
2222 Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE INTENT; JUVENILE INTERROGATION; LAW 17
2323 ENFORCEMENT INTERROGATION POLICIES 18
2424 It is the intent of the General Assembly to prevent false confessions and 19
2525 wrongful convictions of individuals subject to law enforcement interrogation 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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3030 and to improve trust between Vermont’s communities and law enforcement. 1
3131 To achieve these objectives, it is the further intent of the General Assembly to 2
3232 create a minimum set of law enforcement interrogation standards that 3
3333 incorporate evidence-based best practices by: 4
3434 (1) requiring that a juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian obtain 5
3535 notice and contact with the juvenile prior to any custodial interrogation; 6
3636 (2) prohibiting law enforcement’s use of threats, physical harm, and 7
3737 deception during custodial interrogations of persons under 22 years of age; and 8
3838 (3) mandating that the Vermont Criminal Justice Council develop, 9
3939 adopt, and enforce a statewide model interrogation policy that applies to all 10
4040 Vermont law enforcement agencies and constables exercising law enforcement 11
4141 authority pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 1936a. 12
4242 Sec. 2. 13 V.S.A. § 5585 is amended to read: 13
4343 § 5585. ELECTRONIC RECORDING OF A CUSTODIAL 14
4444 INTERROGATION DEFINITIONS 15
4545 (a) As used in this section subchapter: 16
4646 (1) “Custodial interrogation” means any interrogation: 17
4747 (A) involving questioning by a law enforcement officer that is 18
4848 reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the subject; and 19
4949 (B) in which a reasonable person in the subject’s position would 20
5050 consider the person to be in custody, starting from the moment a person should 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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5555 have been advised of the person’s Miranda rights and ending when the 1
5656 questioning has concluded. 2
5757 (2) “Deception” includes the knowing communication of false facts 3
5858 about evidence, the knowing misrepresentation of the accuracy of the facts, the 4
5959 knowing misrepresentation of the law, or the knowing communication of 5
6060 unauthorized statements regarding leniency. 6
6161 (2)(3) “Electronic recording” or “electronically recorded” means an 7
6262 audio and visual recording that is an authentic, accurate, unaltered record of a 8
6363 custodial interrogation, or if law enforcement does not have the current 9
6464 capacity to create a visual recording, an audio recording of the interrogation. 10
6565 (4) “Government agent” means: 11
6666 (A) a school resource or safety officer; or 12
6767 (B) an individual acting at the request or direction of a school 13
6868 resource or safety officer or a law enforcement officer. 14
6969 (5) “Interested adult” means a person who is 18 years of age or older 15
7070 and genuinely interested in the welfare of a juvenile subject to custodial 16
7171 interrogation but is completely independent from and dissociated with the 17
7272 prosecution in accordance with In re E.T.C., 141 Vt. 375, 378 (1982). 18
7373 (6) “Law enforcement officer” has the same meaning as in 20 V.S.A. 19
7474 § 2351a. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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7979 (3)(7) “Place of detention” means a building or a police station that is a 1
8080 place of operation for the State police, a municipal police department, county 2
8181 sheriff department, or other law enforcement agency that is owned or operated 3
8282 by a law enforcement agency at which persons are or may be questioned in 4
8383 connection with criminal offenses or detained temporarily in connection with 5
8484 criminal charges pending a potential arrest or citation. 6
8585 (4)(8) “Statement” means an oral, written, sign language, or nonverbal 7
8686 communication. 8
8787 (b)(1) A custodial interrogation that occurs in a place of detention 9
8888 concerning the investigation of a felony or misdemeanor violation of this title 10
8989 shall be electronically recorded in its entirety. Unless impracticable, a custodial 11
9090 interrogation occurring outside a place of detention concerning the 12
9191 investigation of a felony or misdemeanor violation of this title shall be 13
9292 electronically recorded in its entirety. 14
9393 (2) In consideration of best practices, law enforcement shall strive to 15
9494 record simultaneously both the interrogator and the person being interrogated. 16
9595 (c)(1) The following are exceptions to the recording requirement in 17
9696 subsection (b) of this section: 18
9797 (A) exigent circumstances; 19
9898 (B) a person’s refusal to be electronically recorded; 20
9999 (C) interrogations conducted by other jurisdictions; 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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104104 (D) a reasonable belief that the person being interrogated did not 1
105105 commit a felony or misdemeanor violation of this title and, therefore, an 2
106106 electronic recording of the interrogation was not required; 3
107107 (E) the safety of a person or protection of the person’s identity; and 4
108108 (F) equipment malfunction. 5
109109 (2) If law enforcement does not make an electronic recording of a 6
110110 custodial interrogation as required by this section, the prosecution shall prove 7
111111 by a preponderance of the evidence that one of the exceptions identified in 8
112112 subdivision (1) of this subsection applies. If the prosecution does not meet the 9
113113 burden of proof, the evidence is still admissible, but the court shall provide 10
114114 cautionary instructions to the jury regarding the failure to record the 11
115115 interrogation. 12
116116 Sec. 3. 13 V.S.A. § 5586 is added to read: 13
117117 § 5586. ELECTRONIC RECORDING OF A CUSTODIAL 14
118118 INTERROGATION 15
119119 (a)(1) A custodial interrogation that occurs in a place of detention 16
120120 concerning the investigation of a felony or misdemeanor violation of this title 17
121121 shall be electronically recorded in its entirety. Unless impracticable, a 18
122122 custodial interrogation occurring outside a place of detention concerning the 19
123123 investigation of a felony or misdemeanor violation of this title shall be 20
124124 electronically recorded in its entirety. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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129129 (2) In consideration of best practices, law enforcement shall strive to 1
130130 record simultaneously both the interrogator and the person being interrogated. 2
131131 (b)(1) The following are exceptions to the recording requirement in 3
132132 subsection (a) of this section: 4
133133 (A) exigent circumstances; 5
134134 (B) a person’s refusal to be electronically recorded; 6
135135 (C) interrogations conducted by other jurisdictions; 7
136136 (D) a reasonable belief that the person being interrogated did not 8
137137 commit a felony or misdemeanor violation of this title and, therefore, an 9
138138 electronic recording of the interrogation was not required; 10
139139 (E) the safety of a person or protection of the person’s identity; and 11
140140 (F) equipment malfunction. 12
141141 (2) If law enforcement does not make an electronic recording of a 13
142142 custodial interrogation as required by this section, the prosecution shall prove 14
143143 by a preponderance of the evidence that one of the exceptions identified in 15
144144 subdivision (1) of this subsection applies. If the prosecution does not meet the 16
145145 burden of proof, the evidence is still admissible, but the court shall provide 17
146146 cautionary instructions to the jury regarding the failure to record the 18
147147 interrogation. 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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152152 Sec. 4. 13 V.S.A. § 5587 is added to read: 1
153153 § 5587. CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION; JUVENILES; INTERESTED 2
154154 ADULT; NOTICE, CONSULTATION, AND PRESENCE 3
155155 (a)(1) Prior to any custodial interrogation of a person under 18 years of age 4
156156 by a law enforcement officer or government agent, the person’s interested 5
157157 adult shall be notified of the person’s arrest. 6
158158 (2) The interested adult shall have contact with the person’s parent or 7
159159 guardian prior to the commencement of any custodial interrogation, if the 8
160160 interested adult is not the person’s parent or guardian themselves. 9
161161 (b) The interested adult shall be present during the entirety of any custodial 10
162162 interrogation of a person under 18 years of age. 11
163163 (c) The notification and contact required by subsection (a) of this section 12
164164 shall be effectuated by an in-person meeting or by electronic, telephonic, or 13
165165 videographic conference. 14
166166 Sec. 5. 13 V.S.A. § 5588 is added to read: 15
167167 § 5588. CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION; JUVENILES; PROHIBITIONS; 16
168168 INADMISSIBILITY 17
169169 (a) During a custodial interrogation of a person under 22 years of age 18
170170 relating to the commission of a criminal offense or delinquent act, a law 19
171171 enforcement officer or government agent shall not employ threats, physical 20
172172 harm, or deception. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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177177 (b)(1) Any admission, confession, or statement, whether written or oral, 1
178178 made by a person under 22 years of age and obtained in violation of subsection 2
179179 (a) of this section shall be presumed to be involuntary and inadmissible in any 3
180180 proceeding. 4
181181 (2) The presumption that any such admission, confession, or statement 5
182182 is involuntary and inadmissible may be overcome if the State proves by clear 6
183183 and convincing evidence that the admission, confession, or statement was: 7
184184 (A) voluntary and not induced by a law enforcement officer’s or 8
185185 government agent’s use of threats, physical harm, or deception prohibited by 9
186186 subsection (a) of this section; and 10
187187 (B) any actions of a law enforcement officer or government agent in 11
188188 violation of subsection (a) of this section did not undermine the reliability of 12
189189 the person’s admission, confession, or statement and did not create a 13
190190 substantial risk that the person might falsely incriminate themselves. 14
191191 Sec. 6. VERMONT CRIMINAL JUSTICE COUNCIL; MODEL 15
192192 INTERROGATION POLICY 16
193193 (a) Intent. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Vermont 17
194194 Criminal Justice Council create a model interrogation policy that is grounded 18
195195 in evidence-based best practices to limit and eventually eliminate the use of 19
196196 deception in law enforcement interrogations. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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201201 (b) Policy development. On or before January 1, 2026, the Vermont 1
202202 Criminal Justice Council, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney 2
203203 General and stakeholders, including the Agency of Human Services, the 3
204204 Vermont League of Cities and Towns, the Vermont Human Rights 4
205205 Commission, and the Innocence Project, shall establish one cohesive evidence-5
206206 based model interrogation policy for law enforcement agencies and constables 6
207207 to adopt, follow, and enforce as part of the agency’s or constable’s own 7
208208 interrogation policy. 8
209209 (c) Policy contents. The evidence-based model interrogation policy created 9
210210 pursuant to this section shall apply to all persons subject to various forms of 10
211211 interrogation, including the following: 11
212212 (1) custodial interrogations occurring in a place of detention; 12
213213 (2) custodial interrogations occurring outside a place of detention; 13
214214 (3) interrogations that are not considered custodial, regardless of 14
215215 location; and 15
216216 (4) the interrogation of individuals with developmental, intellectual, and 16
217217 psychiatric disabilities; substance use disorders; and low literacy levels. 17
218218 Sec. 7. 20 V.S.A. § 2359 is amended to read: 18
219219 § 2359. COUNCIL SERVICES CONTINGENT ON AGENCY 19
220220 COMPLIANCE; GRANT ELIGIBILITY 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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225225 (a) On and after January 1, 2022, a law enforcement agency shall be 1
226226 prohibited from having its law enforcement applicants or officers trained by 2
227227 the Police Academy or from otherwise using the services of the Council if the 3
228228 agency is not in compliance with the requirements for collecting roadside stop 4
229229 data under section 2366 of this chapter, the requirement to report to the Office 5
230230 of Attorney General death or serious bodily injuries under 18 V.S.A. 6
231231 § 7257a(b), or the requirement to adopt, follow, or and enforce any policy 7
232232 required under this chapter. 8
233233 (b) On and after April 1, 2026, a law enforcement agency shall be 9
234234 prohibited from receiving grants, or other forms of financial assistance, if the 10
235235 agency is not in compliance with the requirement to adopt, follow, and enforce 11
236236 the model interrogation policy established by the Council pursuant to section 12
237237 2372 of this title. 13
238238 (c) The Council shall adopt procedures to enforce the requirements of this 14
239239 section, which may allow for waivers for agencies under a plan to obtain 15
240240 compliance with this section. 16
241241 Sec. 8. 20 V.S.A. § 2372 is added to read: 17
242242 § 2372. STATEWIDE POLICY; INTERROGATION METHODS 18
243243 (a) As used in this section: 19
244244 (1) “Custodial interrogation” has the same meaning as in 13 V.S.A. 20
245245 § 5585. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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249249 VT LEG #379628 v.1
250250 (2) “Place of detention” has the same meaning as in 13 V.S.A. § 5585. 1
251251 (b) The Council shall establish a model interrogation policy that applies to 2
252252 all persons subject to various forms of interrogation, including the following: 3
253253 (1) custodial interrogations occurring in a place of detention; 4
254254 (2) custodial interrogations occurring outside a place of detention; 5
255255 (3) interrogations that are not considered custodial, regardless of 6
256256 location; and 7
257257 (4) the interrogation of individuals with developmental, intellectual, and 8
258258 psychiatric disabilities; substance use disorders; and low literacy levels. 9
259259 (c)(1) On or before April 1, 2026, each law enforcement agency and every 10
260260 constable who exercises law enforcement authority pursuant to 24 V.S.A. 11
261261 § 1936a and who is trained in compliance with section 2358 of this title shall 12
262262 adopt, follow, and enforce an interrogation policy that includes each 13
263263 component of the model interrogation policy established by the Council, and 14
264264 each law enforcement officer or constable who exercises law enforcement 15
265265 authority shall comply with the provisions of the agency’s or constable’s 16
266266 policy. 17
267267 (2) On or before October 1, 2026, and every even-numbered year 18
268268 thereafter, the Vermont Criminal Justice Council, in consultation with others, 19
269269 including the Office of the Attorney General, the Agency of Human Services, 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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274274 and the Human Rights Commission, shall review and, if necessary, update the 1
275275 model interrogation policy. 2
276276 (d) To encourage fair and consistent interrogation methods statewide, the 3
277277 Vermont Criminal Justice Council, in consultation with the Office of the 4
278278 Attorney General, shall review the policies of law enforcement agencies and 5
279279 constables required to adopt a policy pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, 6
280280 to ensure that those policies establish each component of the model policy on 7
281281 or before April 15, 2026. If the Council finds that a policy does not meet each 8
282282 component of the model policy, it shall work with the law enforcement agency 9
283283 or constable to bring the policy into compliance. If, after consultation with its 10
284284 attorney or with the Council, or with both, the law enforcement agency or 11
285285 constable fails to adopt a policy that meets each component of the model 12
286286 policy, that agency or constable shall be deemed to have adopted, and shall 13
287287 follow and enforce, the model policy established by the Council. 14
288288 (e) The Council shall incorporate the provisions of this section into the 15
289289 training it provides. 16
290290 (f) Annually, as part of their annual training report to the Council, every 17
291291 law enforcement agency and every constable who exercises law enforcement 18
292292 authority pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 1936a and who is trained in compliance with 19
293293 section 2358 of this title shall report to the Council whether the agency or 20
294294 constable has adopted an interrogation policy in accordance with subsections 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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299299 (c) and (d) of this section. The Vermont Criminal Justice Council shall 1
300300 determine, as part of the Council’s annual certification of training 2
301301 requirements, whether current officers have received training on interrogation 3
302302 methods as required by subsection (e) of this section. 4
303303 (g) Annually, on or before July 1, the Vermont Criminal Justice Council 5
304304 shall report to the House and Senate Committees on Judiciary regarding which 6
305305 law enforcement agencies and officers have received training on interrogation 7
306306 methods. 8
307307 Sec. 9. VERMONT CRIMINAL JUSTICE COUNCIL; POSITION; 9
308308 APPROPRIATION 10
309309 (a) On July 1, 2025, a new, permanent, classified Director of Policy 11
310310 position is created in the Vermont Criminal Justice Council. In addition to any 12
311311 other duties deemed appropriate by the Council, the Director of Policy shall 13
312312 supervise the development, oversight, and compliance work related to the 14
313313 Council’s internal, external, and State-mandated policies. 15
314314 (b) The position of Director of Policy established in subsection (a) of this 16
315315 section shall be subject to a General Fund appropriation in fiscal year 2026. 17
316316 Sec. 10. EFFECTIVE DATES 18
317317 This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025, except that Secs. 4 (juvenile 19
318318 custodial interrogation; notice and contact with parent, custodian, or legal 20
319319 guardian), 5 (juvenile custodial interrogation; prohibitions; inadmissibility), 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.258
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324324 7 (council services contingent on Agency compliance; grant eligibility), and 1
325325 8 (statewide policy; interrogation methods) shall take effect on April 1, 2026. 2