You’ve all heard the phrase “good cop-bad cop,” where during an interrogation of a suspect, one detective will play the nasty sonofabitch and the second will come to the rescue trying to get the same information with kindness and maybe a soft drink. In the relief of the moment after relentless tough and loud questioning by the bad cop, sometimes suspects will then confess or reveal information.

In State v. L.H., (A-59-17) recently decided by a split New Jersey Supreme Court, two detectives interrogating a suspect in three sexual assaults both played the “good cop.” They suggested that if the defendant cooperated and incriminated himself, he would receive counseling and help, not go to jail, and remain free to raise his own child. “The truth will set you free,” the detectives told him. When the detective said he needed to “hear your side of the story so I can find out exactly where you are as far as getting the help you need, the right help,” the suspect responded: “The help I need is not sending me to jail is it?” The detective replied, “Not at all, nobody gets rehabilitated in jail,” and his partner replied “Yeah, I agree.”

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