True Blue? Whether Police Should Be Allowed To Use Trickery and Deception To Extract Confessions

This Comment addresses whether or not, and if so, to what extent, police should be allowed to use trickery and deception to extract confessions from criminal suspects. It surveys the deceitful interrogation tactics included in the term "trickery" and summarizes the psychology of confessions. Major developments in the law regarding coerced confessions are analyzed and the author explores the policy arguments for and against the use of deception in police interrogations. The author recommends the prohibition of specific forms of trickery and offers an analytical approach as to whether a confession is admissible.