Statements And Confessions Flashcards
(46 cards)
Four Bases to Exclude statements and confessions
- Statements obtained by actual coercion
- When had right to counsel
- No Miranda Warnings
- Fruits of Illegal Conduct
A statement procured by actual coercion; police conduct that overbears the free will of the suspect is inadmissible:
for any reason
Factors of coercion include:
(1) The defendant’s age, health, education, intelligence, gender, cultural background;
(2) Location, duration, physical conditions of the interrogation
(3) Number and demeanor of police officers, suspect’s experience with the criminal justice system;
(4) Deception and Trickery
Voluntariness standard whe considering coercion is assessed based on the
totality of the circumstances
Coercion can take the form of
physical abuse,
psychological pressure,
or threats of future harm for failing to answer questions.
The initiation of formal adversarial process (formal charge, indictment, arraignment, or preliminary hearing) triggers
the Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel during all critical stages of the adversarial process.
the Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel for
all critical stages of adversarial process
A critical stage for 6th amend purposes
includes:
1. lineups,
2. preliminary hearings,
3. deliberate ellicitaiton of a statement,
4. trial
When does a suspect become a ∆
When they are formally charged
6th amendment rights for suspects v. ∆s
Yes for ∆’s no for supsects
Deliberate elicition is
express or implied questioning
Any statements obtained by the police from a defendant related to the crime he is formally charged with is inadmissible unless:
- Lawyer is present; or,
2. Has executed a knowing or voluntary waiver
Surreptitious questioning by a snitch or informant triggers?
right to counsel
Government agents are permitted to approach the defendant to elicit a waiver of his Sixth Amendment assistance of counsel during questioning, and the waiver is effective; so long as
- Knew the right he was giving up; and,
2. Did so without government coercion
6th amendment only bars
questioning about the specific events related to what is formally charged
5th amendment privilege means that
any person called to testify in any proceeding (trial, grand jury, preliminary hearing, administrative hearing, legislative hearing, court-martial, etc.) has an absolute privilege to refuse to testify
When can a person refuse to testify
(1) He has a “real and substantial fear” that his testimony will result in self-incrimination or contribute to his criminal conviction in the United States.
(2) He asserts the privilege by refusing to testify.
What does the 5th amendment apply to
applies only to “testimonial” evidence, and does not permit a witness to refuse to provide other evidence even if it is clearly incriminating (blood, hair, DNA, fingerprints, participation in a lineup, handwriting samples, etc.).
Waiver of 5th amendment occurs
Mere act of answering police or government questions
Use/Testimonial Immunity
Prohibits the use of the witnesses testimony against them
Transactional Immunity
Prohibits any future prosecution of the witness for the transaction that is the subject of the testimony
Miranda Rule
the prosecution may not use statements obtained as the result of questioning while in custody in the case-in-chief unless, the police must advise the suspect of the rights they are giving up by answering questions
The Miranda warning and waiver requirement is triggered by:
Custody: formal arrest, or a situation where a reasonable person in the suspect’s position would believe their freedom has been deprived to a degree analogous with formal arrest
+
Interrogation
Miranda Warnings
(1) the right to remain silent;
(2) that anything said can be used against him in court;
(3) the right to the presence of an attorney; and
(4) if he cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for him