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They can't do 2. Or at least it would make the confession inadmissible evidence. The case law for this goes back more than a century. The general rule is that t
by voxic11 1y ago
They can't do 2. Or at least it would make the confession inadmissible evidence. The case law for this goes back more than a century. The general rule is that the police cannot promise you anything in return for a confession.
> Bram v. United States, 168 U.S. 532 (1897), was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that an alleged confession to a crime, in order to be admissible, must not be obtained by threats or violence, nor by any direct or implied promises, however slight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_v._United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_v._United_States
The ruling was later applied to the states as well in
Malloy v. Hogan
> The Court held that the Fifth Amendment's exception from compulsory self-incrimination is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment against abridgement by a state. When determining if state officers properly obtained a confession, one must focus on whether the statements were made freely and voluntarily without any direct or implied promises or improper influence.
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1963/110 https://www.oyez.org/cases/1963/110
The "you will get X years instead of Y years" has repeatedly been found to make testimony inadmissible. You might be confusing it with plea bargains which are legal but don't involve the police and are actually binding agreements. The prosecutor cannot lie to you about what you will receive in return for your cooperation.
- decimalenough 1y ago> The general rule is that the police cannot promise you anything in return for a confession. Yet plea bargaining is basically a promise in exchange for a confession (guilty plea), and that's why it's not allowed basically anywhere except the US.
- bryanrasmussen 1y agoplea bargaining in the U.S also is a promise that they will recommend that you get a particular deal, but the judge in sentencing can decide not to take that deal.
- voxic11 1y agoYes maybe my wording was clumsy but that is what I was attempting to say. The important thing is the prosecutor is not allowed to lie to you as part of the plea bargain. If they promise to do something like give a specific recommendation to the judge they must do it or risk the verdict being overturned.
- qingcharles 1y agoIn Illinois I noticed they modified the template admonitions they read to the defendant during a guilty plea to say something like "has anyone promised you anything, except for this plea agreement?"
- voxic11 1y agoCan you give any sources for plea bargains not being used outside of the US? I'm mostly familiar with US law but my understanding is that plea deals are used in most commonwealth/adversarial system countries such as the UK, Canada, and Australia. For example I can find a lot of Australian lawyers discussing plea deals. > There are three main types of plea deals in Australia: > Charge Bargaining – The defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge than initially filed. For example, a charge of aggravated assault may be reduced to common assault. > Sentence Bargaining – The defendant pleads guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence recommendation from the prosecution. > Fact Bargaining – The prosecution and defence agree on which facts will be presented to the court, potentially influencing sentencing outcomes. https://newsouthlawyers.com.au/plea-deals-in-australia-what-they-are-should-you-accept-one/ https://newsouthlawyers.com.au/plea-deals-in-australia-what-... If you just mean that plea deals are not used by inquisitorial systems then obviously that makes sense.
- brigandish 1y agoPlease bargains are allowed and used in the UK but their existence is not as explicit as in the US, hence most (English or perhaps British) people thinking they may not exist in English or Scottish common law. There’s certainly less statistical data on their use collected.