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Appealing a Confession: What Counts as Voluntary?

By Walin & Klarich

A recent California Supreme Court opinion held half of a defendant?s statement to be inadmissible because it was coerced by the police. However, the first part of the statement was still enough for the jury to convict the defendant of a double murder. The California Supreme Court was not happy with the police tactics used to illicit the confession and wrote extensively about the improper procedure. The court ruled, in part, that the police may not illicit a confession through a direct or implied promise. In this case, the promise was to exclude the defendant?s wife from further investigation in exchange for a confession to the murders. In all criminal cases, a statement is involuntary if it is not the product of a rational intellect and free will...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on November 26, 2009 (boomark / email).