Garrity Warnings Against Self-Incrimination

Protecting the rights of individuals is paramount for the administration of justice. It is important to protect the rights of all individuals accused of wrongdoing especially when it comes to self-incrimination, and the assertion of their Fifth Amendment rights. Just as it is important to protect these rights for the citizenry, which allows them to invoke the Fifth Amendment, it is important to afford law enforcement officers the same rights and protections against self-incrimination. Regrettably, there are times when it is necessary to investigate officers for wrongdoings or policy violations. The application of Garrity warnings provides officers protection against criminal self-incrimination during an administrative investigation. However,
First, Garrity is an administrative and investigative tool used to compel a truthful statement from an employee during an internal investigation. With this in mind, administrators should explain to employees that they “are under no obligation to read Garrity to the officer” during a non-criminal investigation (Rider, 2007, para. 2). Second, investigators should only use Garrity should when there is a criminal potential during the administrative investigation. Third, Garrity does not protect the employee from false statements made during the investigation. Fourth, criminal and administrative investigations conducted simultaneously “should be done in a manner that does not compromise the integrity of either investigation” (Daigle, 2012, p. 13). Finally, investigators should not use or share with prosecutors incriminating statements made under Garrity in criminal proceedings because of potential
One of the main concerns pertaining to the application of Garrity is that police managers and investigators sometimes do not completely understand the proper application of Garrity during investigations. This is particularly true when it comes to the application of Garrity to campus law enforcement officers. It is important for administrators and investigators to understand that Garrity Rights stem from the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments (Taylor, n.d., para. 3). For the purpose of this article, the Fifth Amendment protects individuals against self-incrimination and provides for due process of law, among other protections. The Fourteenth Amendment makes the “Fifth Amendment privilege is applicable to the states” (Guido, 2005, para. 5). This is significant because the application of Garrity applies “when a public employee is being questioned by their employer” (Taylor, Garrity Rights Frequently Asked Questions, n.d.). The key words here are “public employee”. In higher education, there are public and private institutions. An institution of higher education may have campus security or campus police officers with the same legal authority as municipal, county, or state law enforcement officers. For public colleges and universities, the answer is simple: Garrity may apply to internal investigations as provided by Garrity v. New Jersey, and as outlined in this article. The murkiness in the application of Garrity involves private