Constraints on Interrogation
No question can be asked in a state criminal or contract law
investigation or state trial if a narrow response cannot be material
to that investigation or trial, and no one can be compelled to answer
a question not phrased as a true or false question, though he can of
course choose to answer such a question. For the purposes of this
section, true or false questions cannot be used to cause the spelling
of words or identifying of numbers by the process of elimination,
successive approximation, or other methods which undermine the spirit
of a true or false question. An unembellished true or false answer
can be demanded in response to a properly formed true or false
question.
No question in state trial, and except in the security context
clearance application and evaluation process, no question in a state
investigation or state form, can prompt disclosure of, and no portion
of a statement can be recorded that reveals information about,
anyone's sexual orientation, or about ownership, custody, or nature of
property, or about travel history or previous residences, or about the
particulars (including names of participants, time and place of
activity, etc.) of any individual's sexual relations, drug use, or
about associations, communications, or prior occupational
arrangements, when such is not in direct pursuit of testimony
supporting or refuting commission of a crime of which an individual is
formally accused. "Direct pursuit" here means either that the
question must force a response that directly establishes that a crime
has or has not been committed, or directly confirms or refutes
testimony which has already been recorded, or elucidates the history
of a secured item of physical evidence regarding its production,
technical or forensic characteristics, location, use, or custody.
No one can be prompted or compelled by the state to reveal any
information about, and no portion of a statement can be recorded that
reveals information about, any individual's media consumption history,
or - except in cases of libel when the authored document is material -
about history of published authorship, whether attributed,
pseudonymous, or anonymous.
No information obtained in conflict with the above constraints can be
recorded in any affidavit, trial minute, or other official record of
investigation, trial, or other official activity.
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This is a preliminary draft. Pending changes are in The To-Do List