No case supports the contention that using the Reid technique renders and adult's confession inadmissible

Written By: Reid
Dec 19, 2019

In the case State v. Belaunde (December 2019) the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division when considering the voluntariness of the defendant's incriminating statement, stated in their opinion that "No case supports the contention that using the Reid technique renders an adult's confession inadmissible. A suspect will have a natural reluctance ... to admit to the commission of a crime and furnish details.' Miller, 76 N.J. at 403. Therefore, an interrogating officer ... [may] dissipate this reluctance and persuade the person to talk ... as long as the will of the suspect is not overborne. Ibid. Recognizing that the questioning of a suspect almost necessarily involves the use of psychological factors, our Supreme Court held that appealing to a person's sense of decency and urging him to tell the truth for his own sake are applications of psychological principals, that are permissible. Id. at 405. Likewise, [t]he fact that the police lie to a suspect does not, by itself, render a confession involuntary. Galloway, 133 N.J. at 655.