NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a convicted teenager’s comments to his mother shouldn’t have been used against him when police were investigating a 2016 shooting.
The ruling sent the case of the youth, who was identified by the initials “A.A.,” back to a lower court for a new hearing and reversed his convictions for aggravated assault and weapons offenses.
Police testified they saw three people riding bicycles in the direction of a site in Jersey City where two people were shot. When the then-15-year-old was in custody, police said they overheard the teen talking to his mother through the gate of a holding cell and saying he was in the area of the shooting because people “had jumped us last week.” A.A.’s mother later contradicted that account.
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Citing a 2000 ruling that requires police to make their best efforts to find a parent or guardian before questioning a minor, the appeals court ruled the teen should have been read his rights against self-incrimination in the presence of his mother and then allowed to consult with her in private before police questioned him.
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