A 60-year-old precedent barring admission of unsigned confessions has been replaced by newer evidence rules, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday in permitting those statements to be used to refresh a witness’s memory. The Court’s unanimous decision, in State v. Gore, A-77-09, upheld a murder conviction, finding the confession admissible despite the defense lawyer’s silence at trial. The justices reached that conclusion after ruling that State v. Cleveland, 6 N.J. 316 (1951), has since been replaced by New Jersey Rules of Evidence 803(c)(5). The defendant had given both an informal and a transcribed confession, and did not review or sign the transcribed one.
UNSIGNED CONFESSIONS CAN BE USED TO ASSIST WITNESSES DURING TRIAL
by admin on March 23, 2011 in Commentary
The N.J. Law Journal reports:
A 60-year-old precedent barring admission of unsigned confessions has been replaced by newer evidence rules, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday in permitting those statements to be used to refresh a witness’s memory. The Court’s unanimous decision, in State v. Gore, A-77-09, upheld a murder conviction, finding the confession admissible despite the defense lawyer’s silence at trial. The justices reached that conclusion after ruling that State v. Cleveland, 6 N.J. 316 (1951), has since been replaced by New Jersey Rules of Evidence 803(c)(5). The defendant had given both an informal and a transcribed confession, and did not review or sign the transcribed one.
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