California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Perez, B216938, No. BA324675 (Cal. App. 2010):
involuntary confession. [Citation.]... [] Under both state and federal law, courts apply a 'totality of circumstances' test to determine the voluntariness of a confession. [Citations.] Among the factors to be considered are '"the crucial element of police coercion [citation]; the length of the interrogation [citation]; its location [citation]; its continuity" as well as "the defendant's maturity [citation]; education [citation]; physical condition [citation]; and mental health."' [Citation.]... In determining whether a confession was voluntary, '[t]he question is whether defendant's choice to confess was not "essentially free" because his will was overborne.' [Citation.]" (People v. Massie (1998) 19 Cal.4th 550, 576.)
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