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Revisiting Colorado V. Connelly: The Problem Of Fase Confessions In The Twenty-First Century, Dan Harkins

Dan Harkins

This paper analyzes how the current constitutional test formatted in Colorado v. Connelly no longer sufficiently excludes unreliable confessions from being admitted into evidence at trial. In the last twenty years, a multitude of psychological studies have demonstrated that people confess to crimes they did not commit for a wider range of reasons than are recognized by the Connelly inquiry. This paper analyzes this phenomenon and examines potential methods (both inside and outside the constitutional standard) for preventing these confessions from reaching juries at trial.