Liability for disclosing details about a case.

[cochraty]

Kansas

I was a detective in a criminal case that has reached its final disposition. Kansas Court of Appeals has reversed a conviction and no retrial is possible. I am now a private citizen and am going to be interviewed in regards to this case. I wanted to know if there is any liability for me if I disclose details about this case. Specifically, a confession by the defendant that was deemed inadmissible for trial.

 

[Just Blue]

Kansas

I was a detective in a criminal case that has reached its final disposition. Kansas Court of Appeals has reversed a conviction and no retrial is possible. I am now a private citizen and am going to be interviewed in regards to this case. I wanted to know if there is any liability for me if I disclose details about this case. Specifically, a confession by the defendant that was deemed inadmissible for trial.

You should ask your attorney this question.

 

[cochraty]

Good advice! Maybe I am confused on the purpose of this forum. I don't have a personal attorney and the interview is tomorrow, so I was curious if anyone knew if there are legal implications.

 

[Just Blue]

Good advice! Maybe I am confused on the purpose of this forum. I don't have a personal attorney and the interview is tomorrow, so I was curious if anyone knew if there are legal implications.

You were a Detective and you don't know an attorney to ask? Really? So you want to ask strangers on the net? Did you read the TOS? Many of the members here are laypersons.

 

[Zigner]

Good advice! Maybe I am confused on the purpose of this forum. I don't have a personal attorney and the interview is tomorrow, so I was curious if anyone knew if there are legal implications.

Your matter is beyond the scope of this forum. You need to speak with your own attorney about this matter, lest you find yourself on the wrong end of a defamation suit.

 

[cochraty]

Surely it couldn't be defamation because its actually can be proven to be true. I was trying to find a quick answer to see if anyone has dealt with this before. I now see this is not the correct forum. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Zigner]

Did you actually think that you would find a former cop who was being interviewed about a case that was overturned on appeal on this forum?

 

[cochraty]

Did you actually think that you would find a former cop who was being interviewed about a case that was overturned on appeal on this forum?

No I didn't. I was hoping for an attorney forum. Looking for previous case law on the topic. My bad.

 

[Zigner]

I'm sorry we cannot assist. I would suggest that you delay the interview until you've had a chance to consult with an attorney.

 

[quincy]

Kansas

I was a detective in a criminal case that has reached its final disposition. Kansas Court of Appeals has reversed a conviction and no retrial is possible. I am now a private citizen and am going to be interviewed in regards to this case. I wanted to know if there is any liability for me if I disclose details about this case. Specifically, a confession by the defendant that was deemed inadmissible for trial.

Why do you think a confession made by a defendant to you (a detective)
is a privileged communication?

A confidential communication is one made within a certain protected relationship and, legally, this communication is protected from compelled disclosure. Protected relationships can include attorney and client, priest and parishioner, doctor and patient.

 

[cochraty]

Why do you think a confession made by a defendant to you (a detective)
is a privileged communication?

A confidential communication is one made within a certain protected relationship and, legally, this communication is protected from compelled disclosure. Protected relationships can include attorney and client, priest and parishioner, doctor and patient.

My only concern was that confession was not admissible in court at the time. I do agree with your point though, it was made to me specifically. Thanks for the reply.

 

[LdiJ]

Why do you think a confession made by a defendant to you (a detective)
is a privileged communication?

The confession was thrown out for a reason. The defendant was originally convicted even without the confession. The appeals court overturned the conviction. There cannot be retrial, (per the OP). Apparently the confession was made to the OP in his previous professional capacity. I don't think that I would want to volunteer anything on that in an interview. If the interviewer knows about it and brings it up then perhaps it would be safe, but I don't think that I would do so otherwise. We don't know WHY the confession was thrown out or why the appeals court overturned the conviction.

 

[quincy]

It depends on the relationship the detective believes he had/has with the defendant - hence my question to him.

Thank you for your response, cochraty.

 

[cochraty]

The confession was thrown out for a reason. The defendant was originally convicted even without the confession. The appeals court overturned the conviction. There cannot be retrial, (per the OP). Apparently the confession was made to the OP in his previous professional capacity. I don't think that I would want to volunteer anything on that in an interview. If the interviewer knows about it and brings it up then perhaps it would be safe, but I don't think that I would do so otherwise. We don't know WHY the confession was thrown out or why the appeals court overturned the conviction.

The confession was thrown out for a reason. The defendant was originally convicted even without the confession. The appeals court overturned the conviction. There cannot be retrial, (per the OP). Apparently the confession was made to the OP in his previous professional capacity. I don't think that I would want to volunteer anything on that in an interview. If the interviewer knows about it and brings it up then perhaps it would be safe, but I don't think that I would do so otherwise. We don't know WHY the confession was thrown out or why the appeals court overturned the conviction.

I am doing the interview because this was my case and it is an extreme miscarriage of justice. A sexual predator who was convicted and sentenced to life is going to walk free based on a prosecutorial clerical error. As for the confession, the judge erred on the side of caution because there was what he called an "insinuation of leniency" made during interrogation. I never planned on releasing any details about the confession but it should all be open record now that the case is finished completely. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Zigner]

I believe that if you do this interview without consulting with an attorney first, you may find yourself in need of the following subforum in the near future: https://forum.freeadvice.com/forums/libel-slander-defamation.88/