Evidence
Part of the common law series
Types of evidence
Testimony · Documentary evidence
Physical evidence · Digital evidence
Exculpatory evidence · Scientific evidence
Demonstrative evidence · Real evidence
Eyewitness identification · DNA · Lies
Relevance
Burden of proof · Laying a foundation
Subsequent remedial measure
Character evidence · Habit evidence
Similar fact evidence
Authentication
Chain of custody
Judicial notice · Best evidence rule
Self-authenticating document
Ancient document
Witnesses
Competence · Privilege
Direct examination · Cross-examination
Impeachment · Recorded recollection
Expert witness · Dead man statute
Hearsay (and its exceptions)
Hearsay: in U.K. law · in U.S. law
Confessions · Business records
Excited utterance · Dying declaration
Party admission · Ancient document
Declarations against interest
Present sense impression · Res gestae
Learned treatise  · Implied assertion
Other areas of the common law
Contract law · Tort law · Property law
Wills and Trusts · Criminal law

In the law of criminal evidence, a confession means a statement by a suspect in crime which is adverse to that person. The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive "Testify" redirects here For other uses see Testify (disambiguation and Testimony (disambiguation. Documentary evidence is any evidence introduced at a trial in the form of Documents. Physical evidence is any evidence introduced in a trialin the form of a physical object intended to prove a fact in issue based on its demonstrable physical characteristics Digital evidence or electronic evidence is any probative information stored or transmitted in Digital form that a party to a Court case may use at Exculpatory evidence is the evidence favorable to the Defendant in a criminal trial, which clears or tends to clear the defendant of Guilt. This article is about the legal concept For scientific evidence in pure science see Scientific evidence. Demonstrative evidence is evidence in the form of a Representation of an object Real evidence is a type of Physical evidence and consists of objects that were involved in a case or actually played a part in the incident or transaction in question Eyewitness identification evidence is the leading cause of Wrongful conviction in the United States Lies, on their own are not sufficient evidence of a crime However Lies may indicate that the defendant knows he is guilty and the prosecution may rely on the fact that the Relevance, in the Common law of evidence, is the tendency of a given item of evidence to prove or disprove one of the legal elements of the case or to have Probative Burden of proof (onus probandi is the obligation to prove Allegations which are presented in a Legal action. In Law, a foundation is sufficient preliminary evidence of the authenticity and relevance for the admission of material evidence in A subsequent remedial measure is a term used in the Law of evidence in the United States to describe an improvement or repair taken following an injury Character evidence is a term used in the Law of evidence to describe any testimony or document submitted for the purpose of proving that a person acted in a particular Habit evidence is a term used in the Law of evidence in the United States to describe any evidence submitted for the purpose of proving that a person In the law of Evidence, similar fact evidence (or the similar fact principle) establishes the conditions under which factual evidence of past misconduct of accused Authentication, in the Law of evidence, is the process by which Documentary evidence and other Physical evidence is proven to be genuine and Chain of custody refers to the chronological documentation and/or Paper trail, showing the seizure custody control transfer analysis and disposition of Evidence Judicial Notice is a rule in the Law of evidence that allows a fact to be introduced into evidence if the truth of that fact is so notorious or well known that it The best evidence rule is a Common law rule of evidence which can be traced back at least as far as the 18th century A self-authenticating document, under the Law of evidence in the United States, is any Document that can be admitted into evidence at a trial An ancient document, in the Law of evidence, refers to both a means of authentication for a piece of Documentary evidence, and an exception to the A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about a Crime or dramatic event through their Senses (e In American law competence concerns the mental capacity of an individual to participate in legal proceedings Under Common law, privilege is a term describing a number of rules excluding evidence that would be adverse to a fundamental principle or relationship if it were disclosed The Direct Examination is a crucial part of the case Direct examination (also called examination in chief is the questioning of a witness by the party who called him or her in a See Structure of policy debate for cross-examination in Policy debate. Witness impeachment, in the Law of evidence, is the process of calling into question the credibility of an individual who is testifying in a trial. A recorded recollection, in the Law of evidence, is an exception to the Hearsay rule which allows a witness to testify to the accuracy of a recording or An expert witness is a Witness, who by virtue of Education, Training, Skill, or Experience, is believed to have Knowledge A dead man statute is a statute designed to prevent Perjury in a Civil case by prohibiting a witness who is an interested party from testifying about communications History of the rule The rules of hearsay began to form properly in the late seventeenth century and had become fully established by the early nineteenth century Hearsay is the legal term that describes statements made outside of court or other judicial proceedings The business records exception to the US hearsay rule is based on Rule 803(6 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE An excited utterance, in the Law of evidence, is a statement made by a person in response to a startling or shocking event or condition In the Law of evidence, the dying declaration is Testimony that would normally be barred as Hearsay but may nonetheless be admitted as evidence Background The party admission, in the Law of evidence, is a type of statement that appears to be hearsay (an out of court statement but is An ancient document, in the Law of evidence, refers to both a means of authentication for a piece of Documentary evidence, and an exception to the Declarations against interest are an exception to the rule on hearsay in which a person's statement may be used where generally the content of the statement is so prejudicial A present sense impression, in the Law of evidence, is a statement made by a person (the Declarant) that conveys his or her sense of the state of an This article is for the legal term 'Res Gestae' For the article on the record of the accomplishments of the first Roman emperor Augustus see the article for Res Gestae Divi A learned treatise, in the Law of evidence, is a text that is sufficiently authoritiative in its field to be admissible as evidence in a Court in support In the law of evidence, an implied assertion is a statement or conduct that infers some fact A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of Contractual duties Property law is the area of Law that governs the various forms of Ownership in Real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions In Common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the Testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her Property The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of Law which governs the management of personal affairs and the Disposition of Property of The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential

Contents 1 History 2 Reliability 3 Worldwide 3.1 England and Wales 3.1.1 Exclusion of prosecution evidence 3.1.2 Evidence tendered by a co-defendant 3.1.3 Statements made in the presence of the accused 3.2 United States 3.3 Italy 4 References 5 See also

History

This specific form of testimony, involving oneself, is used as a form of proof in judicial matters, this since at least the Inquisition. "Testify" redirects here For other uses see Testify (disambiguation and Testimony (disambiguation. The term Inquisition can refer to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics within the Roman Catholic Church and The value of confessions, however, are discussed, and law generally request cross-checking them with objective facts and others forms of evidence (exhibits, testimonies from witnesses, etc. The confession of one's Sins is a religious practice important to many faiths e The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e An exhibit, in a criminal Prosecution or a Civil trial, is physical or Documentary evidence brought before the Jury A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about a Crime or dramatic event through their Senses (e ) in order to evaluate their truth value. Confessions were first developed in the Roman Catholic Church under the Sacrament of Penance, where the confession of a sin is considered to be enough to absolve oneself. In Roman Catholic teaching the Sacrament of Penance (commonly called Confession, Reconciliation or Penance) is the method given by This aspect concerning moral guilt has been carried on in various legislative codes, in which a criminal is considered worse if he does not confess to his crimes. ---- Guilt is the Fact, state or Verdict (by a Court or other Tribunal) of an Offence, Crime, Violation

Reliability

On one hand, confessions obtained under torture have often been considered as not objective enough, since the use of such means may lead to the suspect in confessing anything. Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental is intentionally On the other hand, even without torture, various cases of avered false confessions demonstrate that, in itself, one man's confession is not a sufficient proof. see False confession (legal for more False Confession was a Hardcore punk band in the early 1980s that emerged in the Oxnard California False memory (including memory biases, etc. In Psychology and Cognitive science, a memory bias is a Cognitive bias that either enhances or impairs the recall of a Memory (either the chances ) or privileges granted under plea bargaining might lead to such false confessions. A plea bargain (also plea agreement, plea deal or copping a plea) is an agreement in a Criminal case whereby the Prosecutor offers

Worldwide

England and Wales

In English law a confession includes:^[1]

any statement wholly or partly adverse to the person who made it, whether made to a person in authority or not and whether made in words or otherwise.

A confession may be admitted in evidence so long as it is relevant to any matter in issue and not excluded under the court's discretion.

Exclusion of prosecution evidence

The court must exclude evidence:

• if the "admission of the evidence would have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceedings that the court ought not to admit it"^[2], or
• if it was obtained by torture ^[3].

The court may exclude evidence:

• in its common law discretion if the prejudicial effect of the evidence outweighs the probative value^[1], or
• under section 76 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ( PACE) (1984 c 60 is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in

Under section 76, following a representation by the defendant or upon the court's own motion, evidence tendered by the prosecution must not be admitted if it was or may have been obtained:

• by oppression of the person who made it; or
• in consequence of anything said or done which was likely, in the circumstances existing at the time, to render unreliable any confession which might be made by he accused in consequence thereof. ^[4]

Whether or not evidence was obtained in such circumstances will be decided by a judge sitting without a jury in a voir dire.

Oppression includes torture, inhumane and degrading treatment and the use or threat of violence^[4]. Oppression imports "some impropriety. . . actively applied in an inappropriate manner by the police"^[5]

Under the second limb, a judge is not to consider whether the confession made was truthful, but rather whether, under the circumstances, "whatever was said or done, was, in the circumstances existing as at the time of the confession, likely to have rendered such a confession unreliable, whether or not it may be seen subsequently - with hindsight and in the light of all the material available at trial - that it did or did not actually do so"^[6].

"Anything said or done" is not limited to the actions of the police, but does not include things said or done by the accused. ^[7] However, the circumstances existing at the time do include the accused's own mental state and capacities. ^[8]

Evidence tendered by a co-defendant

The court may exclude evidence under section 76A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ( PACE) (1984 c 60 is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in Following a representation by the defendant or upon the court's own motion, evidence tendered by a co-defendant of a defendant's confession must not be admitted unless the co-defendant proves on the balance of probabilities that it was not obtained:

• by oppression of the person who made it; or
• in consequence of anything said or done which was likely, in the circumstances existing at the time, to render unreliable any confession which might be made by he accused in consequence thereof. ^[9]

Statements made in the presence of the accused

The common law rules on the admission of confessions are preserved ^[10], and apply so long as the statement was made voluntarily. Under the common law, where a statement is made in the presence of the accused, by a person with whom the accused is on even terms^[11], upon an occasion which should be expected reasonably to call for some explanation or denial from him, the accused's acceptance of that statement^[12], including by giving an insufficient explanation^[12] or by acquiescence^[13]. In deciding whether to put the matter to the jury, the judge should ask:^[13]

(1) could a jury properly directed conclude that the defendant adopted the statement in question? If so, (2) is that matter of sufficient relevance to justify its introduction in evidence? If so, (3) would the admission of the evidence have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceedings that the judge ought not to admit it?

United States

In the 1936 case Brown v. Mississippi, the United States Supreme Court ruled that convictions, which are based solely upon confessions coerced by violence, violate the Due Process Clause. Brown v Mississippi, 297 US 278, (1936 was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that a defendant's confessions that is extracted Due process (more fully due process of law) is the principle that a person has a right to receive notice and be heard in an orderly proceeding in order to protect his or her

Italy

Confessions have been used extensively in Italy since the creation of the pentito status. Pentito ( Italian he who has repented, Plural pentiti) designates people in Italy who formerly part of criminal or terrorist Adriano Sofri, for example, has been given a life-sentence exclusively on the words of one pentito. Adriano Sofri ( Trieste, August 1, 1942) is an Italian Intellectual, a Journalist and a Writer.

References

See also

• False confession (legal). see False confession (legal for more False Confession was a Hardcore punk band in the early 1980s that emerged in the Oxnard California

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