United States law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as v ...

, the ''Garrity'' warning is an advisement of rights usually administered by federal, state, or local investigators to their employees who may be the subject of an internal investigation. The ''Garrity'' warning advises subjects of their criminal and administrative liability for any statements they may make, but also advises subjects of their

right to remain silent The right to silence is a legal principle which guarantees any individual the right to refuse to answer questions from law enforcement officers or court officials. It is a legal right recognized, explicitly or by convention, in many of the worl ...

on any issues that tend to implicate them in a crime. (See ''Kalkines'' warning concerning federal employees.) It was devised in response to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruling in ''

Garrity v. New Jersey ''Garrity v. New Jersey'', 385 U.S. 493 (1967), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that law enforcement officers and other public employees have the right to be free from compulsory self-incrimination.. It gave birth t ...

'' (1967). In that case, a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

was compelled to make a statement or be fired, and then criminally prosecuted for his statement. The Supreme Court found that the officer had been deprived of his Fifth Amendment right to silence. A typical ''Garrity'' warning (exact wording varies between state and/or local investigative agencies) may read as follows:

You are being asked to provide information as part of an internal and/or administrative investigation. This is a voluntary interview and you do not have to answer questions if your answers would tend to implicate you in a crime. No disciplinary action will be taken against you solely for refusing to answer questions. However, the evidentiary value of your silence may be considered in administrative proceedings as part of the facts surrounding your case. Any statement you do choose to provide may be used as evidence in criminal and/or administrative proceedings.

The ''Garrity'' warning helps to ensure the subject's

constitutional rights A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...

, while also helping state or local investigators preserve the evidentiary value of statements provided by subjects in concurrent administrative and criminal investigations.

References

* ''Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Reference Book''. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008. * ''Deputy Attorney General Fisher Memorandum on Garrity and Kalkines Warnings''. U.S. Department of Justice, 2006. * ''Deputy Attorney General Wray Memorandum on Office of Inspector General Investigations''. U.S. Department of Justice, 2005. Law enforcement in the United States * {{US-law-stub

See also

References