What if I told you that a bag of peanut M & M’s was what led to a false confession? Would you believe me? And wouldyou believe that the reason an individual made such a confession was because they wanted the M & M’s so bad they told the police what they wanted to hear? Today, we are going to discuss the topic of the confession and what can lead to one making an admission to something that they did not do.
The story starts with a young man that was questioned by the Michigan State Police. The young man was a suspect of a crime. He went into the police station and took a police polygraph. He was never read his Miranda Warnings and was at the station for 7 hours. The young man had mental health issues and all he wanted to do was leave the station. He was tired and he was hungry. The officer asked if the young man liked some candy. He responded that he would love some peanut M & M’s. The officer said he could have the M & M’s if he would just tell the police a few things. From there the camera “accidentally”went off but luckily for the prosecution, a written statement was present. The young man got his M & M’s and also got life in prison for a murder that DNA proved was not his. We hear horror stories of the “West Memphis Three”, “The Central Park Five” and Brendan Dassey. While all of these cases are tragedies, there are so many other that tragically fall under the radar. To combat this issue, the qualified criminal defense lawyer needs to bring in a false confession expert. Today, we spoke to several of the top lawyers in the state of Michigan to discuss the 6-step process of how you should make your argument at the Daubert Hearing for the False Confession Expert.
Step I: The Introduction. This is when you lay the foundation for who your false confession expert is. This will generally be 5 to 7 questions that will connect the expert with your judge. Matthew McManus is the Managing Member of McManus and Amadeo in Washtenaw County, Michigan and is known as one of the top brief writers in the state of Michigan. When asked about the introduction, McMauns stated, “It’s like the first quarter of a football game. You want to start strong. You do not need to go too long but you need to set the tone. Short and Sweet after you provided the CV for your expert and you start off on the right foot.”