California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Lopez, H039476 (Cal. App. 2016):
the defendant's confession. [Citation.] 'The prosecution has the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that a defendant's confession was voluntarily made.' [Citation.] 'Whether a confession was voluntary depends upon the totality of the circumstances.' [Citations.] 'On appeal, we conduct an independent review of the trial court's legal determination and rely upon the trial court's findings on disputed facts if supported by substantial evidence.' [Citation.] The facts surrounding an admission or confession are undisputed to the extent the interview is tape-recorded, making the issue subject to our independent review." (People v. Linton (2013) 56 Cal.4th 1146, 1176-1177.)
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