Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-11
House Group
Will Push Own
Bill
New Version Adds
Provision on Police
Advice to Suspects

A special House Judiciary
Subcommittee today was set to
push forward its own version of
proposed legislation to remedy
the effects Of the Mallory
decision.
The new version was voted
at a meeting late yesterday of
the special subcommittee set up
study the effects Of Supreme
Court decisions.
The subcommittee has added
a provision that police must
advise suspects that they don't
have to make a statement and
that any statement they make
may be used against them. A
suggestion that police adopt the
policy of advising the accused
was made to 200 detectives last
week by United States Attorney
Oliver Gasch.
The Mallory decision, which
the subcommittee chose as its
first order Of business last sum-
mer, barred use of a confession
at a trial because. the Supreme
Court ruled, the defendant had
been held too long-71z hours
between arrest and police eff
forts to locate a committing
magistrate.
Clarifying Law Demanded
This decision has been inter-
preted in the courts as barring
confessions made soon after
arrest and has led to demands
for clarifying legislation.
Subcommittee Chairman VIII
lis, Democrat Of Louisiana. and
Representative Cramer. Repub-
lican of Florida, the ranking
minority member of the sub
committee. said they would
urge consideration of their re-
port and proposed legislation
by the full House Judiciary
Committee at the earliest pos
sible time because of what we
consider to be the urgency of
the situation"
The subcommittee bill pro-
vides:
Evidence, including state
ments and confessions, other
wise admissible. shall not be
inadmissible solely because Of
delay in taking an arrested
person before a commissioner
or other officer empowered to
commit persons charged with
offenses against the laws Of the
United States.
WARNING AeC4uA GU
mo statement, including a
confession. made by an arrested
person during an interrogation
by a law enforcement officer
shall be admissible unless prior
to such interrogation the ar
rested person had been advised
that he is not required to make
a statement and that any state
ment made by him may be used
against him."
The subcommittee, after
lengthy hearings, decided some
time ago that corrective legis-
lation was necessary and yes
terday agreed on the definite
form of legislation to recon-
mend to the full committee.
1.-THE legislation which we
propose will. in my opinion,
vindicate the rights of the
people and protect the rights
of the accused" said Mr.. Willis,
with Mr.. Cramer concurring.
THUS our proposal will pre-
serve the time-honored process
.of police interrogation but at
the same time it will require
the police officer to advise the
accused that he is not required
to make a statement and that
any statement made by him
may be used against him.
! "Our proposal very definitely
preserves the rule to the effect
that a confession to be admis-
sible must be freely and volun-
tarily made. Conversely. any
confession induced by so-called
third-degree methods. or by
threats, or fear, or pressure. or
promise of reward or leniency,
of course will not be admissible.
Whether or not a confess
sion was freely and voluntarily
made depends on the circum-
stances of each case to be con-
sidered usually first by the
judge. as a matter of law, and
then by the jury, as a matter
of fact.
For example, even before
the decision in the Mallory
case, and so in the future. if
delay between arrest and ar
raignment is deliberately taken
advantage of as an occasion for
pressure or coercion in order TO
obtain confession, then delay
would be one of the factors
to be considered in determining
whether or not the confession
is admissible.
I'm essence, what our pro-
posal does is to try to balance
the right Of a free society to
protect itself against crime and
the rights Of a person accused
Of crime. 1t is the kind of APP
proach, / think, which will
commend itself to liberals. con-
servatives. Democrats, Repub-
leans and all people sincerely
interested in the administra-