People v. Harris, 499 Mich. 332

Summary

The Michigan Supreme Court held that the Disclosures by Law Enforcement Officers Act protects information provided under threat of employment sanctions, including false statements, from use against the officer in a subsequent criminal proceeding. Because the officers’ statements were the sole basis for the obstruction-of-justice charges, the Court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the district court’s dismissals. The Court distinguished the broader statutory protection from the Fifth Amendment, which does not protect false statements.

Holdings

1. The Fifth Amendment does not bar the use of false statements made by a law enforcement officer in a subsequent prosecution for obstruction of justice.
2. Under the DLEOA, any information provided by a law enforcement officer under threat of dismissal or another employment sanction is protected from use against the officer in a subsequent criminal proceeding, regardless of whether the information is true or false.
3. The obstruction-of-justice charges must be dismissed because the officers' false statements were protected by the DLEOA and constituted the only basis for the charges.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Fifth Amendment bars the use of false statements made by police officers during a compelled internal investigation in a subsequent obstruction-of-justice prosecution.
2. Whether the Disclosures by Law Enforcement Officers Act, MCL 15.391 et seq., protects false or inaccurate information provided under threat of dismissal or another employment sanction from use in a subsequent criminal proceeding.
3. Whether the obstruction-of-justice charges had to be dismissed because the officers' protected statements were the only basis for those charges.

Disposition

reversed