The criminal justice system is designed to prevent convictions of the innocent, and, prides itself on fairness, particularly with vulnerable detainees:
Diminished mental capacity
Young age
Under the influence of a substance
The confessions rule is an important part of preserving the integrity of the criminal justice system.
Our courts claim that they are aware of, and keen to prevent, false, unreliable, or coerced confessions.
Many times, in our legal history our courts have learned that an earlier confession was later revealed to be the result of abuse by persons in authority to persons detained.
These concerns for fairness and reliability have resulted in “the confessions rule.” The rule seeks to ensure only voluntary, truthful statements from persons questioned by the police or in the custody of the police and facing criminal charges are admitted into evidence. The confessions rule seeks to eliminate admissions or confessions that are the result of abusive coercion by persons in authority.
The “confessions rule” focuses not just on reliability but also on voluntariness. The rule offers protections beyond those guaranteed by the Charter. The application of the confessions rule is contextual. Each hearing (voir dire) to determine the voluntariness of a statement provided by an accused to a person in authority permits the court to understand the circumstances surrounding the confession and to determine if those circumstances give rise to a reasonable doubt as to the voluntariness of the statement, considering all aspects of the rule.
See Part 2 of the Confessions Rule.
The above is the an excerpt of Patrick J Ducharme’s book, Canadian Criminal Procedure, available at Amazon or in bulk through MedicaLegal Publishing along with Criminal Trial Strategies.
Subscribe to Patrick Ducharme’s Youtube Channel