Chapter Twelve: Disclosing and Suppressing Evidence

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Chapter TwelveDisclosing and Suppressing
Evidence
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Discovery

• The informal and formal exchange
• of information between prosecution
• and defense, i.e., witness statements,
• confessions, police reports,
• and laboratory reports.

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Disclosure Rules - Civil

• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1938)
• state that every party in a civil action
• is entitled
• to the disclosure of
• any information in the possession of
• any person, unless that information is
  privileged.
• (Applicable in most states).

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Disclosure Rules - Criminal

• There is no general constitutional right
• to discovery in criminal cases.
• (Weatherford v. Bursey)
• However, prosecutors cannot suppress
• inconsistent and exculpatory evidence and the
  materiality of the evidence shall
• be considered in its entirety.
• (Jencks v. U.S. Brady v. Maryland Kyles v.
  Whitley)

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Criminal Discovery Law
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Questions

• Why is discovery important
• to the defense attorney?
• Why does the prosecutor look
• favorably upon informal disclosure?
• What is reciprocal disclosure?
• and, what is the danger to the
• defendant?

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Disclosing and Suppressing Evidence
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Disclosing and Suppressing Evidence
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Disclosing and Suppressing Evidence
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Exclusionary Rule

• Applies to
• Identification of Suspects
• (Line-Ups)
• Confessions
• (5th amendment)
• Searches and Seizures
• (4th amendment)

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How Can Eyewitness TestimonyContribute to
Wrongful Convictions?

• At a trial, eyewitness testimony which
  incriminates an offender is one of the most
  influential pieces of evidence,
• however,
• since DNA technology has developed, eyewitness
  error is a
• frequent cause of wrongful convictions.
• Psychological studies show that there is
  extreme variation with false
• identifications in both controlled field
  studies and actual studies.

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How Important is Eyewitness Testimony in
Criminal Cases?

• The Police
• Crimes most likely to be cleared by arrest
• are those in which the offenders
• were captured within minutes
• or
• those in which an eyewitness provided
• a specific piece of information.

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Supreme Court Decisions

• Simmons v. U.S. (1968) Court recognized
  dangers in the way police utilize lineups and
  photo arrays.
• United States v. Wade (1967) and Gilbert v.
  California (1967) The Court held that a suspect
  has the right to counsel during lineups (note
  the suspect has no right to counsel during photo
  arrays).
• Stovall v. Denno (1967) and Neil v. Biggers
  (1972) The Court acknowledges the danger of
  suggestive procedures.
• Neil v. Biggers (1972) and Manson v. Braithwaite
  (1977) The Court articulated five minimal
  factors which could increase the likelihood of an
  accurate identification. Those factors were
  opportunity, length of time, level of certainty,
  degree of attention, the accuracy of the
  witnesss prior description of the criminal.
• Major issues no consideration of system
  or estimator variables and the correlation
  between accuracy and high confidence levels are
  only somewhat more likely to be correct than
  those who have a low confidence level.

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Exclusionary Rule

• The prosecutor is prohibited from
• using illegally obtained evidence
• during a trial.
• No personshall be compelled in any
• criminal case to be a witness
• against himself.
• (5th Amendment)

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Confession

• A confession by a defendant
• an admission of guilt
• is the most damaging evidence
• that can be presented
• at the defendants trial.

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Confessions

• Use of physical coercion to obtain
• confessions violates the due
• process clause of the 14th Amendment.
• (Brown v. Mississippi)
• Psychologically coerced confessions are not
  voluntary and therefore not
• admissible in court.
• (Ashcraft v. Tennessee)

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Interrogative Coercion Tactics That Are
Considered Illegal And Are Both Physical and
Psychological

• Physical force
• Abuse
• Torture
• Threats of harm or punishment
• Prolonged isolation
• Deprivation of food or sleep
• Promises of leniency
• Failure to notify the suspect of their Miranda
  rights
• Certain types of psychological influences

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Confessions

• A coerced confession does not
• automatically overturn a conviction.
• harmless error
• Arizona v. Fulminante (1991)

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Confessions

• the introduction of a confession makes the
  other aspects of a trial in court superfluous,
  and the real trial, for all practical purposes,
  occurs when the confession is obtained.
• (Justice William Brennan Colorado v. Connelly,
  1986)

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The Supreme Court and Confessions

• The fundamental question asked by
• judges is whether the confession was voluntary.
• The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled
• that voluntariness of a confession
• is determined by the
• totality of circumstances.
• (Culombe v. Connecticut, 1961)

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Three Types of False Confessions

• Voluntary false confessions willful, without
  elicitation.
• Coerced-compliant confessions public admission
  versus private knowledge of innocence. Example
  Third-degree tactics.
• Coerced-internalized confessions heightened
  suggestibility truth and falsehood become
  confused in the suspects mind.

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• Police can use trickery,
• and they can lie to suspects
• and otherwise mislead them.
• Allowable tactics
• Misrepresentation of the facts.
• Use of techniques that take unfair advantage of
  emotions, beliefs, or medical condition of the
  defendant.
• Failure to inform the suspect of some important
  fact or circumstance that might make the suspect
  less likely to confess.

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Supreme Court and Trickery

• Frazier v. Cupp, (1969)
• Police misrepresentation, while relevant, is
  insufficient to make a voluntary confession
  inadmissible under a
• totality of the circumstances analysis.

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Custodial Interrogation

• Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
• Chief Justice Earl Warren expressed
• concerns over the police-dominated
• atmosphere of interrogation rooms.
• Chief Justice Warren further held that warnings
  were required to counteract the inherently
  coercive nature
• of stationhouse questioning.

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Miranda

• Miranda has become embedded in
• routine police practice to the point
• where the warnings have become
• part of our national culture.
• Chief Justice Rehnquist
• Dickerson v. U.S. (2000)

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Confession Questions

• Who has the burden to prove that
• a confession was not free and voluntary?
• How has the impact of Miranda changed under the
  influence of
• the Burger and Rehnquist courts?

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Search and Seizure

• the right of the people to be
• secure in their person, houses,
• papers, and effects against
• unreasonable searches and seizures,
• shall not be violated.
• (4th amendment)
• Weeks v. U.S. (1914)
• Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

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Search Warrants

• A search warrant is a written document,
• signed by a judge or magistrate,
• authorizing a law enforcement officer
• to conduct a search.
• no Warrants shall issue, but upon
• probable cause, supported by Oath
• or affirmation, and particularly describing
• the place to be searched and the
• persons or things to be seized.
• (4th Amendment)

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Questions

• What is the Leon ruling?
• (U.S. v. Leon 1984)
• (see also Illinois v. Krull 1987)
• Who prepares the warrant,
• signs the warrant,
• and, executes the warrant?
• What is a warrantless search?
• Give an example.

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Pretrial Motions

• The role of the courtroom workgroup
• during suppression motions
• Defense Attorney Catalyst, bear
• the burden of proof.
• Prosecutors Passive role, control the evidence
• and the case.
• Judges Final arbiter, key policy-maker, and
  great
• discretion concerning findings of fact.

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Questions

• Are the Courts decisions in
• Mapp and Miranda
• major sources of case attrition?
• What is the major argument against the
• exclusionary rule?
• Has the exclusionary rule had a major
• effect on the criminal justice system?