ON "VAGUE LATIN PHRASES" AND CRIMINAL CONFESSIONS: CORPUS DELICTI, TRUSTWORTHINESS AND CORROBORATION, AND THE FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE

The corpus delicti rule--prohibiting conviction of a crime based solely on a confession--has been a part of criminal law in the United States for centuries. However, the rule is applied differently by different jurisdictions and is subject to substantial criticism. In the 1950s, the United States Su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe journal of criminal law & criminology Vol. 114; no. 1; p. COV3
Main Authors Thumma, Samuel A, Brodman, Roger E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Northwestern University, School of Law 01.01.2024
Subjects
Confession (Law)
Confessions (Law)
Corpus delicti
Criminal procedure
Evidence (Law)
Federal courts
Government regulation
History
Laws, regulations and rules
Powers and duties
State courts
Truthfulness and falsehood
Void for vagueness doctrine
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Summary:The corpus delicti rule--prohibiting conviction of a crime based solely on a confession--has been a part of criminal law in the United States for centuries. However, the rule is applied differently by different jurisdictions and is subject to substantial criticism. In the 1950s, the United States Supreme Court replaced the traditional corpus delicti rule with a trustworthiness-and-corroboration requirement. When adopted in 1975, the Federal Rules of Evidence included a trustworthiness-and-corroboration requirement for the admissibility of confessions to a crime under Rule 804(b)(3) but omitted the requirement for confessions admitted under Rule 801(d)(2). What, then, is the current role of the corpus delicti rule in addressing the admissibility of criminal confessions?
ISSN:0091-4169