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By invoking the Garrity rule, the officer is
invoking his or her right against self
incrimination. Any statements made after
invoking Garrity, may only be used for
department investigation purposes and not
for criminal prosecution purposes. The
Garrity Rule stems from the court case
Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493 (1967),
which was decided in 1966 by the United
States Supreme Court. It was a traffic
ticket fixing case of all things.
Officers were advised that they had to
answer questions subjecting them to criminal
prosecution or lose their jobs. The Court
held that this was Unconstitutional.
Technically, there are two prongs under the
Garrity rights. First, if an officer is
compelled to answer questions as a condition
of employment, the officer's answers and the
fruits of those answers may not be used
against the officer in a subsequent criminal
prosecution. Second, the department becomes
limited as to what they may ask. Such
questions must be specifically, narrowly,
and directly tailored to the officer's job.
Thus, the basic thrust of the Garrity Rights
or Garrity Rule is that a department member
may be compelled to give statements under
threat of discipline or discharge but those
statements may not be used in the criminal
prosecution of the individual officer. This
means that the Garrity Rule only protects a
department member from criminal prosecution
based upon statements he or she might make
under threat of discipline or discharge.
Also, the Garrity Rule is not automatically
triggered simply because questioning is
taking place. The officer must announce that
he or she wants the protections under
Garrity. The above statement should be
prepared in writing, and the officer should
obtain a copy of it. If a written statement
is being taken from an officer, the officer
should insist that the Garrity Warning
actually be typed in the statement. Consult
your attorney and union delegate for the
laws regarding Garrity in your state before
providing any statement.
Download "Protecting Against
Self-incrimination" in PDF |
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