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Accomplices' Confessions And The Confrontation Clause, Welsh S. White
Accomplices' Confessions And The Confrontation Clause, Welsh S. White
William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal
The admissibility of an accomplice's confession against a criminal defendant has long been a subject of concern in Anglo-American law. The Supreme Court has held that accomplices' confessions to the police are presumptively unreliable under the Confrontation Clause, without clearly expressing what facts would lend to the reliability of such statements. However, Professor White argues that in Williamson v. United States, the Court adopted an empirical framework that will make such confessions more likely to be admissible against an accused.
In this Article, Professor White first explores the traditional skepticism towards accomplices' confessions and explains the nature of the current …