Local midwife Elizabeth Catlin was arrested two times. Both times, the senior investigator for the New York State Police with over two decades of experience failed to read Elizabeth her Miranda rights when in custody, nor did any of the search warrants presented have an authorized signature.

When this was brought up at an early hearing, the senior investigator answered all those related questions with “I don’t recall” every time. The case would proceed.

The Miranda warning is part of a preventive criminal procedure rule that law enforcement personnel are required to administer to protect an individual who is in custody and subject to direct questioning or its functional equivalent from a violation of their Fifth Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination.

A search warrant must be signed by a judge or magistrate to be legally enforceable. If a warrant is unsigned, any evidence obtained during the search may be deemed inadmissible in court due to a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

In mid-July 2020, Catlin turned down a deal that would have seen her plead guilty to criminally negligent homicide, unauthorized practice of midwifery, and a forgery charge. If she had accepted the offer, Judge Jason Cook could have sentenced her to five years’ probation and up to six months in jail, although the sentence could have included no time behind bars.

While District Attorney Todd Casella had declined to elaborate on the homicide charge, one of Catlin’s attorneys asked for it to be dismissed. Catlin’s attorney, Michael Sussman, said the baby was taken to an area hospital and was alive for several hours under the care of a doctor........

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