Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Re: need to know what the Scales Decision is?

It requires law enforcement to record statements made whenever possible.

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Re: need to know what the Scales Decision is?

It was a important civil rights case of the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1994. Here is the legal citation: in State v. Scales, 518 N.W.2d 587 (Minn. 1994). The Scales case is known for its holding, requiring that all custodial interrogation, including the giving and the waiving of rights, must be recorded when questioning occurs in a place of detention and before then unless not feasible. When police interrogate someone they suspect of a crime, who is "in custody," they must tape record the statement if at all possible. If they fail to do so, the suspect's confession or statement must be suppressed from use at trial. The tape recording will tend to keep both police officers and defendants honest and accurate about such statements by and to police.

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