[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4976 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4976
To protect minors from premature waiver of their constitutional rights
during a custodial interrogation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 27, 2023
Mr. Cardenas (for himself, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Trone, Ms. Norton,
Ms. Ross, Mr. Espaillat, and Mr. Ivey) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect minors from premature waiver of their constitutional rights
during a custodial interrogation, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Miranda Rights for Kids
Act''.
SEC. 2. WAIVER OF MIRANDA RIGHTS BY A MINOR.
(a) In General.--Chapter 223 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 3051 the following:
``Sec. 3501A. Custodial interrogation of a minor
``(a) Notification.--Any law enforcement officer who has arrested a
minor for a violation of law shall notify the minor's parent, guardian,
or legal custodian that the minor has been arrested and shall provide
the location of where the minor is being detained.
``(b) Waiver.--A minor who is subject to a custodial interrogation
may only waive the privilege against self-incrimination or the right to
assistance of legal counsel if the minor consults with legal counsel in
person before such waiver.
``(c) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply if--
``(1) custodial interrogation of a minor is necessary to
gather information to protect life from an imminent threat; and
``(2) the questions that were asked during the custodial
interrogation were reasonably necessary to obtain such
information.
``(d) Assigned Counsel.--
``(1) In general.--A minor who is subject to a custodial
interrogation shall have the right to have the legal counsel
assigned to the minor's case physically present during such
interrogation.
``(2) Violation.--In the case of custodial interrogation of
a minor, it shall be a violation of this subsection for the
minor to be represented by any substitute counsel temporarily
assigned to represent the minor.
``(e) Inadmissible.--In any criminal prosecution brought by the
United States, any statement given by a minor during a custodial
interrogation that does not comply with this section, and any evidence
derived from that statement, shall be inadmissible.
``(f) Minor Defined.--In this section, the term `minor' means an
individual who has not attained 18 years of age.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 223 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 3501 the following item:
``3501A. Custodial interrogation of a minor.''.
<all>