Interrogations and Confessions

A confession must pass at least four, and in some jurisdictions five, legal hurdles before it will be received as evidence of guilt. Voluntary confessions that fail some of these requirements may be used as impeachment evidence. However, this use is relatively unimportant. Consequently, students need a solid grounding in the requirements for a valid confession and the phases in the development of a criminal case when each applies. When a confession is offered as evidence, the government bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the confession was given voluntarily. A confession is considered involuntary under the due process clause when an agent of the government applies improper pressures that overcome the suspect's free will. Confessions that are causally related to a police violation of the suspect's Fourth Amendment rights are inadmissible, even if voluntary.