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National Security Law

Pepperdine University

Pepperdine Law Review

Journal

Evidence

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Admissibility Of Confessions Compelled By Foreign Coercion: A Compelling Question Of Values In An Era Of Increasing International Criminal Cooperation, Geoffrey S. Corn, Kevin Cieply Jul 2015

The Admissibility Of Confessions Compelled By Foreign Coercion: A Compelling Question Of Values In An Era Of Increasing International Criminal Cooperation, Geoffrey S. Corn, Kevin Cieply

Pepperdine Law Review

This Article proceeds on a simple and clear premise: a confession extracted by torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment should never be admitted into evidence in a U.S. criminal trial. Whether accomplished through extending the Due Process or Self-Incrimination based exclusionary rules to foreign official coercion, or by legislative action, such exclusion is necessary to align evidentiary practice regarding confessions procured by foreign agents with our nation's fundamental values as reflected in the Fifth Amendment and our ratification of the CAT. This outcome is not incompatible with Connelly. Rather, this Article explores the limits of the Court's language in …


The Muted Rise Of The Silent Witness Rule In National Security Litigation: The Eastern District Of Virginia's Answer To The Fight Over Classified Information At Trial, Jonathan M. Lamb Feb 2012

The Muted Rise Of The Silent Witness Rule In National Security Litigation: The Eastern District Of Virginia's Answer To The Fight Over Classified Information At Trial, Jonathan M. Lamb

Pepperdine Law Review

The state secrets problem is emblematic of a judicial issue which is not confined to the civil cases in which the privilege is asserted - the tension between the government's interest in protecting classified information and society's interest in justice by resolution on the merits. The United States must be allowed to prosecute terrorists, conspirators, and enemies by using classified information as evidence; but how may the government act as a civil defendant without invoking the state secrets privilege to dismiss actions before trial (or pre-discovery)? The answer might be a little known evidentiary doctrine called the silent witness rule. …