Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Law Of Criminal Defense

Criminal Law

: Law Of Criminal Defense

SCOTUS: Confession to CI in violation of the Sixth Amendment can be used to impeach

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

When used to impeach an inconsistent statement, confessions obtained in violation of the Sixth Amendment undergo under a balancing test. The interests of truth finding and the role of the adversarial system outweigh the violation against the Sixth Amendment in this case. Police will still be deterred from violating the Constitution since evidence gained from informants who complied with the Constitution is more valuable because it can be used for more than impeachment purposes. Kansas v. Ventris, 07-1356 (U.S.S.Ct. April 29, 2009). The syllabus: Respondent Donnie Ray Ventris and Rhonda Theel were charged withmurder and other crimes. Prior to trial, an informant planted in Ventris’s cell heard him admit to shooting and robbing the victim, but Ventris testified at trial that Theel committed the crimes...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on April 30, 2009 (boomark / email).