Does the prosecution violate the corpus delicti rule by relying exclusively on the extrajudicial statements of an appellant?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from In Re W.R., B224494, Super. Ct. No. FJ44521 (Cal. App. 2011):
Finally, contrary to appellant's argument the prosecution did not violate the corpus delicti rule. Under that rule, the prosecution may not satisfy its burden in proving the body of the crime by relying exclusively upon appellant's extrajudicial statements. (People v. Alvarez (2002) 27 Cal.4th 1161, 1168.) The purpose of the rule is "to ensure that one will not be falsely convicted, by his or her untested words alone, of a crime that
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