Court Opinion

ID: 9690380
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 19:10:02.615221+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:56.293021
License: Public Domain

*672LOUIS B. BUTLER, JR., J.
¶ 61. (dissenting). I join the dissent of Justice N. Patrick Crooks, as I conclude there was compulsion in this case. I write separately to emphasize the necessity and importance of police department internal investigations.
¶ 62. Every criminal prosecution depends upon the quality and accuracy of the work done by those working in law enforcement. Each police investigation must be carefully conducted to ensure that the guilty are apprehended and that the innocent go free. Citizens regularly depend on law enforcement officers for aid, comfort and assistance. Trust is the cornerstone of the relationship that law enforcement shares with the rest of the community.
¶ 63. When that trust is broken, people lose respect for law enforcement. Thus, it is critically important that law enforcement officers tell the truth at all times. The integrity of individual officers is a necessary component of the criminal justice system. Every investigation must be done in a thorough and thoughtful manner. And when problems occur with individual officers in the performance of their duties, law enforcement must be able to police itself in a constitutionally permissible fashion. Garrity1 warnings provide the mechanism for conducting internal investigations in a constitutionally permissible way.
¶ 64. For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully dissent.

 Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493 (1967).