What is the current state of the law on coercive interrogation?

"The business of police detectives is investigation, and they may elicit incriminating information from a suspect by any legal means. '[A]lthough adversarial balance, or rough equality, may be the norm that dictates trial procedures, it has never been the norm that dictates the rules of investigation and the gathering of proof.' [Citation.] 'The courts have prohibited only those psychological ploys which, under all the circumstances, are so coercive that they tend to produce a statement that is both involuntary and unreliable.'" (People v. Jones (1998) 17 Cal.4th 279, 297-298.) Suggesting possible justifications for a homicide is not coercive; this tactic instead

Page 20

suggests "possible explanations of the events and offer[s] defendant an opportunity to provide the details of the crime." (People v. Carrington (2009) 47 Cal.4th 145, 171.)