In what circumstances will police be allowed to use false information to induce a suspect to confess?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Ortega, B235552 (Cal. App. 2013):

In People v. Musselwhite, supra, 17 Cal.4th 1216, police detectives falsely told a murder suspect his fingerprints had been lifted from the murder victim's neck. The court held the defendant's subsequent confession admissible, reasoning that the deception "f[e]ll short of what is required to make out a case of prejudicial deception . . . . it does not follow that telling a murder suspect in the course of questioning that his prints had been lifted from the neck of the homicide victim caused him to confess. The link between inducement and statement . . . falls short of being 'proximate.'" (Id. at p. 1241.)

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