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13-YEAR-OLD APPELLANT’S CONFESSION MADE WITHOUT MOTHER PRESENT WAS ADMISSIBLE, THE INTERROGATOR’S HAVING APPELLANT WRITE A LETTER PURPORTEDLY TO APOLOGIZE TO THE VICTIM DID NOT RENDER THE CONFESSION INVOLUNTARY, STATEMENTS BY THE VICTIM IN MEDICAL RECORDS WERE ADMISSIBLE TO CORROBORATE THE CONFESSION (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Singh, over a two-justice dissenting opinion, affirmed the juvenile delinquent adjudication finding that appellant committed offenses which, if he were an adult, would constitute criminal sexual act, sexual abuse, sexual misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child. It was alleged that appellant, who was 13, put his penis in the anus and mouth of L.F., who was nine. The majority concluded the fact that the appellant’s mother left the room during the police interrogation (at appellant’s request) and the investigator’s having the appellant write a “letter of apology” to the victim during the interrogation did not render the appellant’s confession involuntary. The majority further held that the statements in the medical records made by L.F. during a physical exam were relevant to treatment and therefore admissible to corroborate the confession:

While a parent may choose not to be present when a child is being interviewed, “the police should always ensure that the parent is aware of the right of access to his or her child during questioning,” and if asked to leave, “the parent should be made aware that he or she is not required to leave” … .

To be sure, the presence of a parent is important, as a parent may help a child understand Miranda warnings “so that the child can consciously and voluntarily choose whether to waive or to exercise his constitutional rights to remain silent, to have an attorney present at his questioning, and to have an attorney provided for him without charge if he is indigent” … . A parent present at questioning also is able to “monitor the interrogation lest the police engage in coercive tactics” … .

However, a child does not have an absolute right to the presence of a parent during interrogation, and “it does not follow as a matter of law that a child’s confession obtained in the absence of a parent is not voluntary”  … . * * *

… [A]ppellant’s confession is corroborated by the medical records, which were properly admitted into evidence by Family Court. … Hospital records are admissible under the business records exception to the hearsay rule when they reflect “acts, occurrences or events that relate to diagnosis, prognosis or treatment or are otherwise helpful to an understanding of the medical or surgical aspects” of the patient’s hospitalization … . Matter of Luis P., 2018 NY Slip Op 02564, First Dept 4-12-18

​CRIMINAL LAW (JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, EVIDENCE, 13-YEAR-OLD APPELLANT’S CONFESSION MADE WITHOUT MOTHER PRESENT WAS ADMISSIBLE, THE INTERROGATOR’S HAVING APPELLANT WRITE A LETTER PURPORTEDLY TO APOLOGIZE TO THE VICTIM DID NOT RENDER THE CONFESSION INVOLUNTARY, STATEMENTS BY THE VICTIM IN MEDICAL RECORDS WERE ADMISSIBLE TO CORROBORATE THE CONFESSION (FIRST DEPT))/JUVENILE DELINQUENCY (EVIDENCE, 13-YEAR-OLD APPELLANT’S CONFESSION MADE WITHOUT MOTHER PRESENT WAS ADMISSIBLE, THE INTERROGATOR’S HAVING APPELLANT WRITE A LETTER PURPORTEDLY TO APOLOGIZE TO THE VICTIM DID NOT RENDER THE CONFESSION INVOLUNTARY, STATEMENTS BY THE VICTIM IN MEDICAL RECORDS WERE ADMISSIBLE TO CORROBORATE THE CONFESSION (FIRST DEPT))/CONFESSIONS  (JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, 13-YEAR-OLD APPELLANT’S CONFESSION MADE WITHOUT MOTHER PRESENT WAS ADMISSIBLE, THE INTERROGATOR’S HAVING APPELLANT WRITE A LETTER PURPORTEDLY TO APOLOGIZE TO THE VICTIM DID NOT RENDER THE CONFESSION INVOLUNTARY, STATEMENTS BY THE VICTIM IN MEDICAL RECORDS WERE ADMISSIBLE TO CORROBORATE THE CONFESSION (FIRST DEPT))/FAMILY LAW (JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, EVIDENCE, 13-YEAR-OLD APPELLANT’S CONFESSION MADE WITHOUT MOTHER PRESENT WAS ADMISSIBLE, THE INTERROGATOR’S HAVING APPELLANT WRITE A LETTER PURPORTEDLY TO APOLOGIZE TO THE VICTIM DID NOT RENDER THE CONFESSION INVOLUNTARY, STATEMENTS BY THE VICTIM IN MEDICAL RECORDS WERE ADMISSIBLE TO CORROBORATE THE CONFESSION (FIRST DEPT))/HEARSAY (CRIMINAL LAW, HOSPITAL RECORDS, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, 13-YEAR-OLD APPELLANT’S CONFESSION MADE WITHOUT MOTHER PRESENT WAS ADMISSIBLE, THE INTERROGATOR’S HAVING APPELLANT WRITE A LETTER PURPORTEDLY TO APOLOGIZE TO THE VICTIM DID NOT RENDER THE CONFESSION INVOLUNTARY, STATEMENTS BY THE VICTIM IN MEDICAL RECORDS WERE ADMISSIBLE TO CORROBORATE THE CONFESSION (FIRST DEPT))/BUSINESS RECORDS (HOSPITAL RECORDS, CRIMINAL LAW, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, 13-YEAR-OLD APPELLANT’S CONFESSION MADE WITHOUT MOTHER PRESENT WAS ADMISSIBLE, THE INTERROGATOR’S HAVING APPELLANT WRITE A LETTER PURPORTEDLY TO APOLOGIZE TO THE VICTIM DID NOT RENDER THE CONFESSION INVOLUNTARY, STATEMENTS BY THE VICTIM IN MEDICAL RECORDS WERE ADMISSIBLE TO CORROBORATE THE CONFESSION (FIRST DEPT))

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