[ Written by a Sydney Criminal Lawyer ]
What happens if you make a confession to a Police officer and later-on feel as though the Police were very pushy.
A subject of the hugely popular Nexflix series “Making a Murderer” is back before the appeal Court in the USA. Read the recent ABC article here.
Prosecutors are appealing a decision that his confession was invalid.
He appealed his murder conviction on grounds that his confession was involuntary. He was only 16 at the time.
THE CASE LAW
In NSW, for a confession to be admissible it must be voluntary. Gibbs CJ and Wilson J said in MacPherson v The Queen (1981) 147 CLR 512; 37 ALR 81 (at 522; 88):
The condition of the admissibility of a confession is that it was voluntarily made, and the judge must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that this condition was fulfilled before he admits the evidence. If the accused asserts that inducements were offered or pressure exerted but denies that he made a confession, and the judge, without considering the question of voluntariness, admits police evidence that a confession was made, the obvious possibility exists that the jury will accept the police evidence and find that the confession was made, and if that occurs they will have before them evidence that has not been found to be admissible, and an important rule which exists to protect accused persons, and to maintain proper standards of police investigation, will have been subverted.
THE LEGISLATION
The Uniform Evidence Acts deal with voluntary confessions at section 84.
84 Exclusion of admissions influenced by violence and certain other conduct
(1) Evidence of an admission is not admissible unless the court is satisfied that the admission, and the making of the admission, were not influenced by:
(a) violent, oppressive, inhuman or degrading conduct, whether towards the person who made the admission or towards another person; or
(b) a threat of conduct of that kind.
Whatever the offence. Be sure to contact Hunter and Braddon Lawyers to ensure you have the best Sydney Criminal Lawyer at your side if you are talking to the Police.
[ by a Sydney Criminal Lawyer – Nicholas Digges ]