New Jersey Court finds Confession Inadmissible - cites our book Criminal Interrogation and Confessions

Written By: Reid
Jun 17, 2004
In the case of State v. Knight (June 7, 2004) the New Jersey Appellate Court found that the trial court erred in admitting the defendant's confession. In their opinion the Appellate Court said that 'The length of the interrogation alone exceeded the bounds of due process. Gregory acknowledged that he questioned defendant for 'hours' before and after the written waiver was signed. While there is no hard-and-fast rule delineating when the length of an interrogation becomes coercive, '[w]hen fatigue, withdrawal, hunger, thirst, or a craving for other biological needs serve as the primary incentive for a confession, duress may be claimed.' Fred E. Inbau, et al, Criminal Interrogation & Confessions, 422 (4th ed. 2001)
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