H 1984

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1454  FILED ON: 1/15/2025
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1984
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _________________
  PRESENTED BY:
  Amy Mah Sangiolo
  _________________
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 protecting youth during custodial interrogations.
  _______________
  PETITION OF:
NAME:  DISTRICT/ADDRESS:  DATE ADDED:
Amy Mah Sangiolo  11th Middlesex  1/15/2025
Michelle L. Badger  1st Plymouth  7/6/2025
James B. Eldridge  Middlesex and Worcester  6/12/2025
Natalie M. Higgins  4th Worcester  6/9/2025
Patrick Joseph Kearney  4th Plymouth  1/28/2025
Rita A. Mendes  11th Plymouth  8/14/2025
Danillo A. Sena  37th Middlesex  5/28/2025
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  HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1454  FILED ON: 1/15/2025
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1984
By Representative Sangiolo of Newton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1984) of
Amy Mah Sangiolo and Patrick Joseph Kearney relative to statements of juveniles during
custodial interrogations. The Judiciary.
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
An Act protecting youth during custodial interrogations.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1Chapter 119 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 66 the
2 following section:-
3Section 66A: Juvenile Interrogations
4(a) A juvenile’s statement made during custodial interrogation shall not be admissible as
5 evidence against the juvenile in any proceeding, unless
6(1) the juvenile is represented by an attorney,
7(2) the attorney is present before the reading of Miranda warnings and during the entirety
8 of any custodial interrogation that follows, and
9(3) the entirety of the custodial interrogation, including the reading of Miranda warnings,
10 is audio and video recorded.
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11(4) the charges pending involve only misdemeanor offenses.
12(b) The presence of an attorney during custodial interrogation may not be waived by the
13 juvenile or by any person on the juvenile’s behalf.
14(c) The requirement that the custodial interrogation be audio and video recorded may not
15 be waived by the juvenile or by any person on the juvenile’s behalf.
16(d) Recordings of custodial interrogations of juveniles are automatically discoverable and
17 shall be preserved until the criminal case is finally disposed of after appeal.
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