confession

A voluntary statement made by a person charged with the commission of a crime or misdemeanor, communicated to another person, wherein he acknowledges himself to be guilty of the offense charged, and discloses the circumstances of the act or the share and participation which he had in it.

See 18 U.S.C.A. No. 3501. A statement made by a defendant disclosing his guilt of crime with which he is charged and excluding possibility of a reasonable inference to the contrary. People v. Anderson, 236 Cal.App.2d 419, 46 Cal.Rptr. 1, 7.

Voluntary statement made by one who is defendant in criminal trial at time when he is not testifying in trial and by which he acknowledges certain conduct of his own constituting crime for which he is on trial; a statement which, if true, discloses his guilt of that crime. People v. Beverly, 233 Cal.App.2d 702, 43 Cal. Rptr. 743, 749.

Confessions are admissible in evidence if given voluntarily. 18 U.S.C.A. No. 3501.

See also interlocking confession

- involuntary confession

- interrogation

- oral confession

Classification of confessions

Confessions are divided into judicial and extrajudicial. The former are such as are made before a magistrate or court in the due course of legal proceedings; they include confessions made in preliminary examinations before magistrates. The latter is one made by the party out of court, or to any person, official or otherwise, when made not in the course of a judicial examination or investigation.

See also extrajudicial

An implied confession is where the defendant does not plead guilty but indirectly admits his guilt by placing himself at the mercy of the court and asking for a light sentence. An indirect confession is one inferred from the conduct of the defendant. An involuntary confession is one induced by hope, promise, fear, violence, torture, or threat. Lyons v. State, 77 Okl.Cr. 197, 138 P.2d 142, 148; Lyons v. State, 140 P.2d 248.

A naked confession is an admission of the guilt of the party, but which is not supported by any evidence of the commission of the crime. A voluntary confession is one made spontaneously by a person accused of crime, free from the influence of any extraneous disturbing cause, and in particular, not influenced, or extorted by violence, threats, or promises. It is the product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice by its maker, Interest of Ruth, 239 Pa.Super. 453, 360 A.2d 922, 923;

and, is made with full knowledge of nature and consequences of the confession. Martinez v. State, Okl.Cr., 496 P.2d 416, 421.

For criteria used in determining voluntariness, see 18 U.S.C.A. No. 3501(b).

A judicial confession is a plea of guilty or some similar action or conduct in court or in a judicial proceeding. People v. Telio, 1 Ill.App.3d 526, 275 N.E.2d 222, 226. Distinguished from admission.

A confession is a statement admitting or acknowledging all facts necessary for conviction of the crime. An admission, on the other hand, is an acknowledgment of a fact or facts tending to prove guilt which falls short of an acknowledgment of all essential elements of the crime. Gladden v. Unsworth, 9th Cir., 396 F.2d 373, 375 n. 2; People v. Fitzgerald, 56 Cal.2d 855, 861, 17 Cal.Rptr. 129, 132, 366 P.2d 481, 484