California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Ackerman, 3 Crim. C065484, 3 Crim. C067078 (Cal. App. 2016):
" 'The Fourteenth Amendment of the federal Constitution and article I, section 7 of the California Constitution make "inadmissible any involuntary statement obtained by a law enforcement officer from a criminal suspect by coercion." ' [Citation.] The prosecution must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that a defendant freely and voluntarily gave police statements before the statements can be admitted. [Citation.] ' "Voluntariness does not turn on any one fact, no matter how apparently significant, but rather on the 'totality of [the] circumstances.' " ' [Citation.] The test considers several factors, including any element of police coercion, the length of the interrogation and its location and continuity, and the defendant's maturity, education, and physical and mental health." (People v. Peoples (2016) 62 Cal.4th 718, 740 (Peoples); accord, People v. Williams (1997) 16 Cal.4th 635, 660 [rejecting the view that an offer of leniency necessarily renders a statement involuntary].) Other factors include a defendant's
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