Confessions Flashcards
What legislation defines a confession?
PACE s82(1)
How does PACE s82 define a confession?
a confession is any statement wholly or partly adverse to the person who made it, whether made to a person in authority or not and whether made in words or otherwise
What will satisfy the s82 definition of a confession?
Anything said by the defendant that constitutes an admission of any element of the offence with which he is subsequently charged, or that is in any way detrimental to his case
Which legislation sets out the circumstances in which a confession can be challenged?
s76(2)
When does s76(a) say a confession can be challenged?
Where it is obtained by oppression
When does s76(b) say confession evidence can be challenged?
Where it is obtained in consequence of anything said or done which was likely in the circumstances to render the confession unreliable
When may challenged confession evidence still be admissible
where the prosecution proves to the court beyond reasonable doubt that the confession was not obtained by oppression or things said or done
give the facts or R v Paris
In an audibly recorded interview the defendant was bullied and hectored into making a confession, this was inadmissible
In which case did the court of appeal define oppression?
R v Fulling
How did the court of appeal define oppression in R v Fulling
the exercise of authority in a burdensome, harsh or wrongful manner
What does s76(2)(b) not require but usually involve?
it does not require deliberate misconduct on the part of the police, the thing said or done will usually involve a breach of Code C which may lead to the confession being excluded
Give 5 circumstances in which the confession may be excluded for unreliability
- denying the suspect refreshments or appropriate periods of rest between interviews
- offering the suspect an inducement to confess
- misrepresenting the strength of the prosecution case
- questioning the suspect in an inappropriate way
- threatening a suspect
