Confrontation Calls

By Law Offices of Joshua S. Davidson, PLC | Jun 19, 2012
CONFRONTATION CALLS Confrontation calls are a commonly used technique by detectives who are investigating allegations of sexual abuse and other sexual offenses in Phoenix and throughout Arizona. Typically what occurs during a confrontation call is the police will have either the alleged victim or the alleged victim’s parent contact the accused and attempt to have the subject of the investigation make verbal admissions which could later be used in court as a confession to the crime. In those cases where the alleged victim of child molestation or sexual conduct with a minor is old enough to do so on their own the detectives will typically have him or her initiate the call. Most commonly the alleged victim will be instructed to ask the accused individual why they committed the act of sexual abuse or ask other leading questions that will presuppose that the crime actually occurred. During the confrontation call the detective will typically be present with the caller, provide them written instruction and guidance during the call and of course record and monitor the call. DEFENDING AGAINST THE CONFRONTATION CALL If an accused individual makes statements during a confrontation call which could be reasonably interpreted to be an admission express or implied to the alleged acts of sexual abuse the prosecutor will almost certainly attempt to use the recording of the call in court. It is important to understand that when a victim or other individual initiates a confrontation call at the direction of the police he or she becomes an agent of the government and is prohibited from engaging in any type of unlawful inducement or coercion when attempting to elicit incriminating statements. For example just as a police officer is not permitted to threaten somebody into confessing by telling them that they’ll go to jail unless they do so a civilian acting under the direction of the police while participating in a confrontation call is likewise prohibited from implying any type of threat or promise as an inducement to a confession. If the confession or other statements made during a confrontation call are the product of a threat or promise or were otherwise involuntarily obtained then a skilled sex crimes attorney may be able to have those statements thrown out of court and prevent them from being used against you at your trial. It is also common for the police or prosecutors to use statements from a confrontation call that are something less than an outright confession. Many times these statements are taken out of context or otherwise misconstrued to corroborate the allegations of the victim. In such cases it is important to provide the necessary evidence which supplies the context needed for these statements to be properly interpreted. Inasmuch as the detectives who are working these cases are usually more interested in developing evidence of guilt rather than evidence of innocence is often the responsibility of the molestation attorney to conduct or direct the necessary investigation required to develop this evidence. Finally when evaluating a confrontation call a sex crimes attorney needs to determine the circumstances under which the call was actually conducted. For example if the person initiating the confrontation call was in a state other than Arizona at the time then the laws of that state as it relates to wire tapping need to be evaluated. Although the laws in Arizona do generally permit a person to record a telephone call so long as they are a participant in that conversation the states and some other laws are not as liberal and if a confrontation call is conducted in violation of that particular state’s laws, grounds may exist to have that call suppressed here in Arizona. Contact a criminal defense attorney at the Law Office of Joshia S, Davidson, PLC today if you have been involved in a confrontation call.

Categories : Criminal Defense, Domestic violence, Sex Crimes

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