A Recorded Interrogation
Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 2-402 — reasonable efforts to record interrogations in murder, rape and first and second degree sexual offense cases
A public policy. It is the public policy of the state that a law enforcement unit that regularly uses interrogation rooms capable of audiovisual recording makes reasonable efforts to create an audiovisual recording of a custodial interrogation of a suspect in a case involving murder, rape, or a first or second degree sexual offense, whenever possible.
Without the rooms. A unit that does not regularly use such rooms makes reasonable efforts to create an audio recording in those cases, whenever possible.
Not wiretapping. An audio or audiovisual recording of a custodial interrogation made by a law enforcement unit is exempt from the state's wiretapping and electronic surveillance act.
The section states a policy and reasonable efforts; it does not itself say what follows when no recording is made. Whether questioning was a custodial interrogation, and what follows from a missing recording in a particular case, are questions of fact and law for a licensed Maryland attorney. Miranda and the voluntariness of a statement are separate questions this page does not cover.
Sources for this section (2)
- Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 2-402 — Recording custodial interrogations: the public policy
- Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 2-403 — Interrogation recordings and the wiretap act
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Maryland attorney.