Andy Thompson

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Juvenile justice expert Marsha Levick has a vivid recollection of watching the interrogation videos in which Brendan Dassey admitted his involvement in the murder of Teresa Halbach.

“It was like a horror movie,” said Levick, deputy director and chief counsel at the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia. “It was jaw-dropping. It was just incredible.”

Levick supports a federal magistrate’s decision on Aug. 12 that overturned Dassey’s murder conviction on the grounds that Dassey’s constitutional rights were violated. Judge William Duffin found that investigators made false promises to Dassey during multiple interrogations.

Duffin gave prosecutors 90 days to decide whether to retry Dassey or set him free from prison, where he has been held since being convicted in Halbach’s 2005 murder. Dassey was 16 at the time of Halbach’s death. His uncle, Steven Avery, also was convicted and is serving a life term.

“Making a Murderer” introduced millions of people to Avery and Dassey, and many legal experts and defense attorneys were taken aback at techniques used to interrogate Dassey. Now that the conviction has been overturned, Levick — and others in the criminal justice system — say the case will have an impact nationally.

“What I would hope is it … might lead our policymakers and professionals in the justice system to re-think how we treat kids,” Levick said. “I think it is a teaching tool that we should be looking at … and develop a new paradigm on how to handle juvenile interrogations.”

Legal representation vital

Kim Dvorchak, executive Director National Juvenile Defender Center in Washington D.C., said Duffin’s ruling “will capture the attention of the defender community to pursue the rights of children and challenge interrogation tactics, as well as motivate policy reforms that create more protections for children in the police station."

“While the high-profile nature of this case is unique, these circumstances are not. Brendan was exploited by the police and by his own attorney. States must ensure counsel for children are well-trained, understand adolescent development, and stand up for their clients by listening to them and valuing their voice in the process. This is the ethical and professional responsibility of juvenile defenders.”

Dvorchak said the magistrate’s ruling could lead to more states adopting laws requiring an attorney be present to protect children’s rights in interrogations.

In Dassey’s case, no attorney was present when he confessed to participating in Halbach’s murder.

Levick said Dassey didn’t appear to be mentally equipped to undergo an interrogation by detectives.

“If an attorney had been present, Dassey probably wouldn’t have made any statements at all,” Levick said. “This is a case where there is nothing else (but the disputed confession) connecting Brendan Dassey to this crime. If he had advice from counsel, there never would have been a case constructed against him.”

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Hurdles remain

Jarrett Adams, who spent nearly 10 years behind bars for a wrongful sexual assault conviction in Wisconsin, said he “wasn’t surprised” with the magistrate’s ruling in Dassey’s case.

“It was unconstitutional for him to be sitting there and verbally beaten into a confession,” said Adams, who earned a law degree after being released from prison in 2007 and now works as a post-conviction litigation fellow for the Innocence Project in New York City.

“I’m not saying that all police and prosecutors behave wrongly when questioning, but the ones who are doing wrong should be called out.”

Adams said juveniles should have a responsible adult, or an attorney, present when they are interrogated by seasoned investigators.

“You need an adult there when a kid is in custody,” he said. “To be cornered in a room like that is scary. It’s very intimidating to be interrogated.

“You find yourself trying to talk your way out of (allegations) and say what you’re thinking the person wants you to say.”

If Dassey is released from prison, the impact of serving more than a decade in prison will not go away anytime soon, Adams said.

“He’s not done with all of the hurdles,” Adams said. “How do you function after (you’ve been released from prison)?”

Andy Thompson: 920-996-7270 or awthompson@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @Thompson_AW