Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 133 § 133.400 — Recording of custodial interviews of adults
Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 133 ·
Oregon Code § 133.400·Enacted ·Last updated March 01, 2026
Statute Text
Recording of custodial interviews of adults.
(1) A custodial interview conducted by a peace
officer in a law enforcement facility shall be electronically recorded if the
interview is conducted in connection with an investigation into aggravated
murder as defined in ORS 163.095 or a crime listed in ORS 137.700 or 137.707.
(2) Subsection
(1) of this section does not apply to:
(a) A statement
made before a grand jury;
(b) A statement
made on the record in open court;
(c) A custodial
interview conducted in another state in compliance with the laws of that state;
(d) A custodial
interview conducted by a federal law enforcement officer in compliance with the
laws of the United States;
(e) A statement
that was spontaneously volunteered and did not result from a custodial
interview;
(f) A statement
made during arrest processing in response to a routine question;
(g) A law
enforcement agency that employs five or fewer peace officers;
(h) A custodial
interview conducted in connection with an investigation carried out by a
corrections officer, a youth corrections officer or a staff member of the
Oregon State Hospital in the performance of the officers or staff members
official duties of treatment, custody, control or supervision of individuals
committed to or confined in a place of incarceration or detention; or
(i) A custodial
interview for which the state demonstrates good cause for the failure to
electronically record the interview.
(3)(a) If the
state offers an unrecorded statement made under the circumstances described in
subsection (1) of this section in a criminal proceeding alleging the commission
of aggravated murder or a crime listed in ORS 137.700 or 137.707 and the state
is unable to demonstrate, by a preponderance of the evidence, that an exception
described in subsection (2) of this section applies, upon the request of the
defendant, the court shall instruct the jury regarding the legal requirement
described in subsection (1) of this section and the superior reliability of
electronic recordings when compared with testimony about what was said and
done.
(b) The court may
not exclude the defendants statement or dismiss criminal charges as a result
of a violation of this section.
(c) If each of
the statements made by the defendant that the state offers into evidence is
recorded, the court may not give a cautionary jury instruction regarding the
content of the defendants statements.
(4) A law
enforcement agency that creates an electronic recording of a custodial
interview shall preserve the recording until the defendants conviction for the
offense is final and all direct, post-conviction relief and habeas corpus
appeals are exhausted, or until the prosecution of the offense is barred by
law.
(5) The state
shall provide an electronic copy of a defendants custodial interview to a
defendant in accordance with ORS 135.805 to 135.873. Providing an electronic
copy of the custodial interview to the defendant constitutes compliance with
ORS 135.815 (1)(b), and the state is not required to provide the defendant with
a transcript of the contents of the interview. Unless the court orders
otherwise, the defendants attorney may not copy, disseminate or republish the
electronic copy of the custodial interview, except to provide a copy to an
agent of the defendants attorney for the limited purpose of case preparation.
(6) An electronic
recording of a custodial interview, and any transcription of the recording,
that is certified as containing a complete recording, or a complete
transcription, of the entirety of the custodial interview, from the advisement
of constitutional rights to the conclusion of the custodial interview, is
admissible in any pretrial or post-trial hearing for the purpose of
establishing the contents of a statement made in the recording and the identity
of the person who made the statement, if the statement is otherwise admissible.
A certification that complies with this subsection satisfies the requirements
of ORS 40.505 and 132.320 for the recording or transcription. This subsection
does not prohibit a party from calling a witness to testify regarding the
custodial interview.
(7) As used in
this section:
(a) Custodial
interview means an interview in which the person questioned is in custody and
is required to be advised of the persons constitutional rights.
(b) Good cause
includes, but is not limited to, situations in which:
(A) The defendant
refused, or expressed an unwillingness, to have the custodial interview
electronically recorded;
(B) The failure
to electronically record the custodial interview was the result of equipment
failure and a replacement device was not immediately available;
(C) The person
operating the recording equipment believed, in good faith, that the equipment
was recording the custodial interview;
(D)
Electronically recording the custodial interview would jeopardize the safety of
any person or the
Plain English Explanation
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Key Points
01Part of Oregon statutory law
02Referenced as Oregon Code § 133.400
03Subject to legislative amendments
04Consult a licensed attorney for application to specific cases
Frequently Asked Questions
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