THE STATE[S] OF CONFESSION LAW IN A POST-MIRANDA WORLD.

Police interrogators often use lies, threats, subterfuge, and psychological pressure to coerce vulnerable suspects to speak. These tactics produce false confessions, contribute to racial injustice, and undermine the legitimacy of the criminal process. Despite a documented need for better regulation,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology Vol. 115; no. 1; pp. 79 - 133
Main Author: PRIMUS, EVE BRENSIKE
Format: Article
Published: Northwestern University Winter2025
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: THE STATE[S] OF CONFESSION LAW IN A POST-MIRANDA WORLD.
      aug:
        au: PRIMUS, EVE BRENSIKE
        affil: Yale Kamisar Collegiate Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School.
      su:
        United States. Supreme Court
        Confession (Law)
        Police questioning
        Social injustice
        State regulation
        Miranda v. Arizona
        Criminal law reform
      sug:
        subj:
          Confession (Law)
          Police questioning
          Social injustice
          United States. Supreme Court
          State regulation
          Miranda v. Arizona
          Criminal law reform
      ab: Police interrogators often use lies, threats, subterfuge, and psychological pressure to coerce vulnerable suspects to speak. These tactics produce false confessions, contribute to racial injustice, and undermine the legitimacy of the criminal process. Despite a documented need for better regulation, the U.S. Supreme Court has watered down constitutional protections in the interrogation room, signaling its intent to delegate most regulation of police interrogation practices to the states. Reformers and scholars must think about how best to push states to fill the void left by the absence of federal oversight. This Article catalogues four different state approaches to regulating confession law: procedural protections, substantive restrictions, rules of adjudication, and changes in police approaches to training. It then draws conclusions about the relative effectiveness of these different approaches in light of currently available empirical, psychological, and sociological research. It argues that substantive restrictions on interrogation practices through rules with robust remedies are the best way to promote lasting change and restore legitimacy to what is currently a broken system. Recognizing that policymakers in different states and localities face different political climates, the Article concludes by outlining a graduated set of reforms that permits policymakers to identify what would be most feasible and effective in their respective jurisdictions.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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