Due Process

Question 1

Due Process: Fed and State

Answer 1

Fed: No personal shall be…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law (5th A)

State: Nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law (14th A)

Question 2

When is someone denied due process

Answer 2

A person is denied due process of law if an

• involuntary statement, i.e. a statement obtained as a result of undue police pressure,
• is used against her.

Question 3

What makes a confession Involuntary

Answer 3

If it is Coercive

1. Physical Brutality / threat of physical brutality – coercive (check) and unreliable (not key reason any more)
2. 36 hour interrogation – inherently coercive
3. Psychological coercion:
4. Psychological Coercion
   Promises of leniency/ threats of harsh legal treatment (including threats against loved ones)

Question 4

Trickery: Often Permissible

Answer 4

• False sympathy
• Claim to have incriminating evidence
• Claiming co-defendant implicated the accused
• Blaming suspect
• Minimizing the moral significant of arrestee