Confession
A suspect's statement admitting guilt; admissible only if voluntary and obtained consistent with Miranda and the right to counsel.
Evidence questions rarely ask “is this a confession?” — they hand you a suppressed or defective statement and ask whether the prosecution may still use it to impeach the defendant who testifies. The hinge: a statement taken in mere Miranda violation (un-warned but voluntary) is barred in the case-in-chief yet admissible to impeach the defendant’s contradictory testimony (Harris v. New York); a genuinely coerced statement is out for everything, impeachment included (Mincey v. Arizona). Watch the Sixth Amendment “tell” — it is offense-specific and attaches only at formal charge, so post-charge questioning about an unrelated, uncharged crime is fine (Texas v. Cobb).
The classic trap is calling a confession “hearsay.” It is a party-opponent statement under FRE 801(d)(2), defined as not hearsay — never reach for an exception. Don’t confuse the Confrontation Clause (a non-testifying co-defendant’s confession implicating you, the Bruton problem) with your own. And admissibility here is a constitutional question the judge decides under Rule 104(a) — outside the jury’s hearing — not a credibility call left to the jury.
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