Legal Updates Summer 2018

Aug 16, 2018

The Legal Updates Summer 2018 column contains cases which address the following issues
Interrogation 5 hours after initial advisement of rights was �reasonably contemporaneous� with the initial waiverValue...

Legal Updates Spring 2018

Jun 01, 2018

The Legal Updates Spring 2018 column contains cases which address the following issues:

Court finds Dr. Richard Leo's testimony of false confessions to be unreliableCourt rejects the testimony...

Legal Updates Winter 2018

Apr 06, 2018

The Legal Updates Winter 2018 column contains cases which address the following issues:

When the interview became custodial the suspect should have been advised of his Miranda rightsPromises on leniency nullify the...

Federal Appeals Court upholds confession of "Making a Murderer" subject Brendan Dassey

Dec 18, 2017

In Dassey v. Dittmann (December 2017) the U.S.Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, upheld the admissibility of Brendan Dassey's confession, ruling that the state court's determination that defendant confessed to murder voluntarily...

Massachusetts Supreme Court confirms that minimization/maximization techniques are acceptable

Nov 08, 2017

In the case of Commonwealth v. Cartwright (Novemebr 2017) the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts stated that "... we have not acted to prevent police investigators from suggesting to a suspect being...

Legal Updates Fall 2017

Nov 03, 2017

The Legal Updates Fall 2017 column contains cases which address the following issues:

Federal Appeals Court upholds confession of "Making of a Murderer" subject Brendan DasseyMassachusetts Supreme Court confirms...

The Legal Updates Summer 2017

Aug 31, 2017

The Legal Updates Summer 2017 column contains cases which address the following issues:

Objectionable interrogator tacticsCourt allows testimony of false confession expert Dr. Richard LeoCourt limits the rebuttal testimony on false confession...

Legal Updates Spring 2017

Jun 01, 2017

The Legal Updates Spring 2017 column contains cases which address the following issues:
Promise suspect would not be put on the sex offenders' list rendered his confession involuntaryThe...

Legal Updates Winter 2017

Mar 01, 2017

The Legal Updates Winter 2017 column contains cases which address the following issues:
Defendant claims his confession was involuntary because �his restrictive childhood conditioned him to acquiesce to...

States that require electronic recording of interrogations

Jan 16, 2017

Attorney Thomas Sullivan has done extensive work on promoting the value of electronically recording interrogations and he has extensively surveyed police departments around the country to determine the extent of recording interrogations...