Lawyers for juvenile suspect John Malvo (now 18) disclosed new evidence today that may help them void Malvo's confession that was obtained during a seven hour interrogation session conducted outside the presence of his lawyers.

Investigators have said there was nothing wrong with the interrogation because Mr. Malvo was no longer represented by the federal public defenders in Baltimore and that the courts in Virginia had not officially appointed anyone to represent him. The public defenders made several objections that day to Mr. Malvo, who has since turned 18, being questioned without his legal guardian or court-appointed counsel.

But one of the defense team members said yesterday that they now had evidence that detectives "knew that they should not have been questioning him."

That lawyer said that evidence, which they plan to use to try to persuade a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge to throw out the statements, includes a Nov. 7 order signed by a federal magistrate in Baltimore, Judge James K. Bredar, that said Mr. Malvo was still represented by his federal lawyers. That order, which the lawyer said was being signed as Mr. Malvo was being interrogated, was unsealed last week by Judge Bredar. A copy of the order was sent that day to prosecutors working on the case.

Even without the new evidence, we've always thought the confession would be problematic. Even if inadmissible against Malvo, it could be admissible in a separate trial against Muhammed, and it might help his death penalty case. Here's more of the facts behind Malvo's interrogation. Still, the real news is today's assertion by Malvo's counsel that the Virginia detectives knew about Magistrate Bredar's Order that Malvo's federal lawyers were still on his case despite the dismissal of federal charges. The Order stated,

Judge Bredar's order said: "While certain charging documents may have been dismissed, you may not have had the opportunity to discuss the significance of those dismissals with your clients" and that "until such time as other competent counsel have assumed responsibility for the representation of your clients" the federal lawyers should continue their representation.

Malvo's lawyers tried to stop the questioning but were rebuffed.