Legal Definitions - McNabb-Mallory Rule

The McNabb-Mallory Rule is a principle in criminal procedure that requires law enforcement officers to bring an arrested person before a judge or judicial officer without unnecessary delay. If there is an unreasonable or unnecessary delay in doing so, any confessions or evidence obtained by the police from the arrested person during that period of delay—especially if it occurs more than six hours after the arrest—may be excluded from being used against them in court.

The primary purpose of this rule is to prevent police from coercing individuals into making statements or providing evidence before they have had the opportunity to be informed of their rights and the charges against them by a judge. It ensures that individuals are promptly brought before a neutral judicial officer who can advise them of their rights, set bail, and arrange for legal counsel, thereby safeguarding their due process rights.

Examples:

• Scenario 1: Delayed Confession Over a Weekend

  A person is arrested on a Friday evening at 7:00 PM for a federal offense. Instead of arranging for an immediate appearance before a magistrate judge, the arresting officers decide to hold the individual in custody over the weekend, hoping to secure a confession. On Saturday morning, after hours of interrogation, the individual makes a detailed confession to the police. They are finally brought before a judge on Monday morning at 9:00 AM.

  How it illustrates the rule: Here, the confession was obtained more than six hours after the arrest and during an "unnecessary delay" before the individual was presented to a judge. Even if the confession was not physically coerced, the McNabb-Mallory Rule would likely require the court to exclude this confession because it was obtained during a period of prolonged detention that violated the requirement for prompt judicial presentment.

• Scenario 2: Evidence Discovered from Prolonged Questioning

  An individual is arrested at 10:00 AM on a Tuesday. The police, without immediately taking them before a judge, continue to question them for eight hours. During this extended questioning, the individual, feeling pressured and exhausted, reveals the location of a crucial piece of evidence, such as a stolen item. The police then use this information to retrieve the item. The individual is finally brought before a judge at 7:00 PM that evening.

  How it illustrates the rule: In this situation, the information leading to the discovery of physical evidence was obtained more than six hours after the arrest and before the individual's initial appearance before a judge. The delay in presentment was arguably unnecessary, as a judge could have been made available sooner. Under the McNabb-Mallory Rule, the court would likely suppress both the statement about the evidence's location and the evidence itself, as it was a direct result of the unlawful delay.