N.Y. Family Court Act § 344.2: Rules of evidence; statements of respondent; corroboration

§ 344.2. Rules of evidence; statements of respondent; corroboration.

1. Evidence of a written or oral confession, admission, or other

statement made by a respondent with respect to his participation or lack

of participation in the crime charged, may not be received in evidence

against him in a juvenile delinquency proceeding if such statement was

involuntarily made.

2. A confession, admission or other statement is "involuntarily made"

by a respondent when it is obtained from him:

(a) by any person by the use or threatened use of physical force upon

the respondent or another person, or by means of any other improper

conduct or undue pressure which impaired the respondent's physical or

mental condition to the extent of undermining his ability to make a

choice whether or not to make a statement; or

(b) by a public servant engaged in law enforcement activity or by a

person then acting under his direction or in cooperation with him:

(i) by means of any promise or statement of fact, which promise or

statement creates a substantial risk that the respondent might falsely

incriminate himself; or

(ii) in violation of such rights as the respondent may derive from the

constitution of this state or of the United States; or

(iii) in violation of section 305.2.

3. Where a respondent is subject to interrogation by a public servant

at a facility specified in subdivision four of section 305.2 of this

article, the entire custodial interrogation, including the giving of any

required advice of the rights of the individual being questioned, and

the waiver of any rights by the individual, shall be recorded and

governed in a manner consistent with standards established by rule of

the division of criminal justice services pursuant to paragraph (e) of

subdivision three of section 60.45 of the criminal procedure law. The

interrogation shall be recorded in a manner such that the persons in the

recording are identifiable and the speech is intelligible. A copy of the

recording shall be subject to discovery pursuant to section 331.2 of

this article.

4. A child may not be found to be delinquent based on the commission

of any crime solely upon evidence of a confession or admission made by

him without additional proof that the crime charged has been committed.