Interviews, Interrogations, and Witness Statements
Interviews, Interrogations, and Witness Statements
This domain tests lawful, reliable questioning: planning, rapport, memory, rights warnings, statement reduction, and identification procedures. Expect questions that turn on voluntariness, invocation, and the difference between an interview and an interrogation.
Legal framework
Article 31(b) applies to military questioners and requires warnings about the accusation, silence, and counsel. Miranda applies to custodial interrogation by law enforcement. Under MRE 305, a waiver must be voluntary, and counsel is required after invocation. Questioning must stop when a suspect unambiguously requests counsel or silence. Promises, threats, deception about legal consequences, and excessive duration can make a statement involuntary.
Witness interviews
Plan the interview, reduce distractions, and build rapport. Use open-ended questions, then funnel to specifics. The cognitive interview uses context reinstatement, exhaustive recall, reverse order, and changed perspective. Avoid leading questions that suggest facts. Record times, locations, and the witness's own words. Interpreters must be qualified and neutral.
Suspect interrogation
Use a structured, noncoercive approach. Establish the legal basis, deliver warnings, obtain a written waiver on DA Form 3881, and document breaks, meals, and bathroom requests. Do not promise leniency or threaten consequences. Record the statement when authorized. Reduce written statements on DA Form 2823, in the first person, with corrections initialed and each page signed.
Identification procedures
Use a double-blind, sequential lineup where practicable. Include fillers who match the description, admonish that the offender may not be present, and take a confidence statement immediately after any identification. Show-ups are permissible only when necessary and not unduly suggestive.
Worked example
A suspect says, "I think I need a lawyer." Questioning stops. The agent documents the time and exact words, does not reinitiate, and notifies the chain of command. If the suspect later initiates contact and waives counsel, questioning may resume only after a fresh waiver. Continuing to talk after the request would risk suppression.
Traps that cost marks
The question-first, warn-later technique. Promising leniency. Ignoring an invocation. Leading a child witness. Failing to document the exact request. Using an unqualified interpreter.