Legislation

It is an exciting time for criminal informant law. State and federal governments have begun examining and, in some cases, changing the law pertaining to informant use. Over the past few years, there have been numerous studies, commissions, hearings, and legislative proposals aimed at improving the reliability and accountability of informant policies. Below is a partial list of jurisdictions and their efforts, with links to statutes, bills, reports, and other legislative materials where available. Additional background is available under the LEGISLATION section on SNITCHING BLOG.

For those interested in reforming informant law in your jurisdiction, the Model Bill contains legislative proposals on a wide range of issues, from reliability hearings to protections for juveniles.

Model Legislation & Policy

• Comprehensive Informant Legislation: A Model Bill
• International Assoc. of Chiefs of Police Model Confidential Informant Policy

Reports

• Audit of the DEA’s Confidential Source Policies, U.S. Dep’t of Justice Office of the Inspector General (2015)
• Confidential Informants in New Jersey, ACLU (2011)
• Numbers Game: The Vicious Cycle of Incarceration in Mississippi, ACLU/Justice Strategies (2011) (identifying the rampant use of criminal informants as “one of the most troubling aspects of the state’s criminal justice system”)
• Targeted and Entrapped: Manufacturing the “Homegrown Threat” in the United States, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, NYU School of Law (2011)
• Report and Recommendations Regarding Informant Testimony, California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice (2007)
• Jailhouse Snitch Testimony: A Policy Review, The Justice Project, Washington D.C. (2007)
• The FBI’s Compliance with the Attorney General’s Investigative Guidelines, U.S. Dep’t of Justice Office of the Inspector General (2005)
• The Snitch System: How Snitch Testimony Sent 51 Innocent Americans to Death Row, Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern University School of Law (2005)
• American Bar Association Report on Jailhouse Informant Testimony (2005)
• Congressional Report: H. Rpt. 108-414: Everything Secret Degenerates: The FBI’s Use of Murderers as Informants, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2004)
• Report of the Kaufman Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin, Chapter III, Canada (1996)
• Report of the 1989-1990 Los Angeles Grand Jury: Investigation of the Involvement of Jailhouse Informants in the Criminal Justice System in Los Angeles County (1990)

U.S./Federal Legislation & Materials

• 2015 Confidential Informant Accountability Act, H.R. 2985 (would require all federal investigative agencies to report serious crimes committed by their informants to Congress)
• No More Tulias: Drug Law Enforcement Evidentiary Standards Improvement Act of 2011, H.R. 231, 112th Cong. (would require corroboration for drug informants and undercover officers, as well as training and data collection regarding federally funded drug task forces).
• State Witness Protection Act of 2010, S. 3017, 111th Cong. (would make it a federal crime to intimidate or tamper with a witness)
• U.S. House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee, Joint Oversight Hearing on Law Enforcement Confidential Informant Practices (Dec. 2007)
• U.S. Attorney Guidelines Regarding the Use of FBI Confidential Human Sources (2006)
• The FBI’s Compliance with the Attorney General’s Investigative Guidelines, U.S. Dep’t of Justice Office of the Inspector General (2005)
• Law Enforcement Cooperation Act of 2005, H.R. 4132, 109th Cong. (would require FBI agents to report their informants’ criminal activities to prosecutors)
• Congressional Report: H. Rpt. 108-414: Everything Secret Degenerates: The FBI’s Use of Murderers as Informants, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2004)

California

• Cal. Penal Code 1111.5  (requiring corroboration for jailhouse informant testimony) (approved August 2011)
• “Chad’s Law,” Cal. Penal Code 701.5 (prohibiting the use of informants age 12 and under and restricting the use of minor informants under the age of 18)
• Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Jailhouse Informant Policy (2005)

Connecticut

• SB 1098 (requiring state-wide tracking of jailhouse informants and reliability hearings in murder and rape cases) (effective Oct. 2019)

Florida

• “Rachel’s Law,” Florida Stat. Ann. 914.28 (requiring police to advise informants of certain rights and to maintain certain policies with respect to the recruitment and use of informants)
• Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220 (requiring disclosure regarding informant witnesses)

Illinois

• Ill. Comp. Stat. ch. 725, s. 5/115-21 (requiring reliability hearings and heightened discovery for jailhouse informants)

Maryland

• Maryland Code, Crim. Law 9-302 & Cts. and Judicial Proceedings 10-901 (increased penalties for witness intimidation and new hearsay rules permitting statements from absent witnesses)

Montana

• SB249 (requiring disclosure, tracking, electronic recording, and reliability hearings) (introduced 2017)

Nebraska

• Neb. Code 29-4702 et seq. (requiring enhancing disclosure, jailhouse informant tracking and victim notification)

New Jersey

• Attorney General Guidelines on the Use of Juveniles as Informants
• New Jersey Prosecutor’s Manual Policy on the Use of Informants

New York

• Bill A02906-2015 (would require corroboration of informant testimony, heightened discovery, and additional safeguards); see also Senate Bill S03876

North Dakota

• “Andrew’s Law,” N.D. Code 29-29.5 (banning use of juvenile informants age 15 or younger; prohibiting campus police from using student informants; requiring written informant agreements; mandating police training and special procedures in the event of an informant’s death)

Ohio

• Unanimous recommendation by the Joint Task Force to Review the Administration of Ohio’s Death Penalty, April 2014 (would ban imposition of the death penalty in cases where the state relies on uncorroborated jailhouse informant testimony)

Pennsylvania

• H.B. 793 (2015) (provides witness protection measures for confidential informants; requires police to provide potential informants with opportunity to consult with counsel; requires parental consent for juvenile informants; bars use of informants with chronic substance abuse problems)

Texas

• H.B. 34 (enacted 2017) (requiring tracking, electronic recording, and disclosure of jailhouse informant cooperation)
• Tex. Code Crim. Pro. art. 38-075 (requiring corroboration for jailhouse informants)
• Tex. Code Crim. Pro. art. 38-141 (requiring corroboration for drug informants)
• H.B. 564 (2015) (would ban all compensated informant testimony in capital cases)
• Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions, Chapter 6: Jailhouse Informant Testimony (2010)
• Tarrant County District Attorney’s Jailhouse Informant Procedure

Washington

• HB 2654: An Act Relating the Reliability of Incentivized Evidence (2016) (would mandate the use of reliability hearings for all informants); see also SB 6503 (authorizing reliability hearings).
• SB 5373: An Act Relating to Confidential Informants (2013) (would prohibit the use of informants under the age of 17 and require law enforcement agencies to promulgate new guidelines)
• Senate Bill 5004: An Act relating to disclosure and regulation of criminal informant evidence and testimony (originally introduced by Sen. Bob McCaslin (R-Spokane Valley) in January 2011)