Judge: Give Malvo His Statements
By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Mon Dec 30, 2002 at 02:29:24 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Posted on Mon Dec 30, 2002 at 02:29:24 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
The Judge in the case of the accused sniper, juvenile John Malvo, ordered the prosecution to turn over to the defense any statements Malvo made to law enforcement. We're wondering why Malvo had to go to Court to get them in the first place. The Virginia rules of criminal procedure, like those in almost every state, provide that an accused is entitled to have any statements he made to authorities disclosed to him. How else could he make a meaningful motion to suppress the statements, or prepare for a hearing on their admission or exclusion? We can't see any justification for the states' withholding of the statements.
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