46-4-406. Purpose. The legislature intends to require the electronic recording of custodial interrogations in felony cases based on the finding that properly recorded interrogations:
(1) provide the best evidence of the communications that occurred during an interrogation;
(2) prevent disputes about a peace officer's conduct or treatment of a suspect during the course of an interrogation;
(3) prevent a defendant from lying about the account of events originally provided to law enforcement by the defendant;
(4) spare judges and jurors the time necessary and the need to assess which account of an interrogation to believe;
(5) enhance public confidence in the criminal process; and
(6) have been encouraged by the Montana supreme court in a written opinion of that court.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 214, L. 2009.