The court of appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court judgment and remanded the action for further proceedings. The court held that a Fifth Amendment civil rights cause of action against law enforcement personnel arose when minor defendants’ unlawfully coerced statements were introduced against them during pre-trial proceedings.
In January 1998, 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe was stabbed to death in her bedroom in northern California. Police questioned members of the Crowe family, then decided to take Stephanie’s younger sister, Shannon, and her older brother, Michael, into protective custody. Michael was interrogated at the Escondido police station four times over the course of many hours by multiple detectives. The interrogations were grueling and psychologically abusive, and Michael was isolated from his family and had no access to an attorney.
