The Arizona v. Fulminante Case

The center of a circle can never be located with only one line running through the shape. There must be multiple lines, each one making it more clear where the center of the circle is. Analogously, the murderer of a case can never be indicted with only one piece of evidence pointing at them. There must be multiples indications, each one making it more clear who the murderer is. When Oreste Fulminante confessed to the first-degree murder of his stepdaughter, Jeneane Fulminante, the trial court used his confession as evidence to sentence him to death. However, since his confession was “coerced”, the Supreme Court decided to retry Fulminante’s case without the use of the “coerced” confession as evidence. Arizona v. Fulminante manifests an undeniably vital constitutional issue. Were his confessions coerced and, therefore, inadmissible as evidence (Appleby 119)? Did the trial court properly administer the totality of circumstances test, as well as the harmless error analysis (“Arizona v. Fulminante.” Oyez.org)? Fulminante’s compelled confession should be precluded from being used as evidence against him. If there was not enough evidence besides the confession, there was not enough evidence to convict him of first-degree murder. Using the confession as evidence against him was a violation of his right to due process of law and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Paramount to consider is the fact that the use of a forced confession is similar to the use of flawed information.

The Arizona v. Fulminante case encompassed an excessive amount of debate regarding the coerced confessions stated by Oreste Fulminante. When Fulminante reported his stepdaughter Jeneane Fulminante, to be missing on September 14, 1982, Jeneane’s dead b...

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...er for the victim of the case? The answer is patent. No, it is not viable. It is not viable, for Fulminante was wrongly compelled.

Works Cited

Appleby, Joyce. The American Journey: Supreme Court Case Studies. New York, NY: Glencoe/ McGraw-Hill, 2007. 119-120. Print.

“Arizona v. Fulminante.” Lawschool.courtroomview.com. Courtroom Connect, Inc., 2011. Web. 21 March 2011.

“Arizona v. Fulminante.” Oyez.org. Oyez, Inc., 2005-2011. Web. 27 March 2011.

“Arizona v. Fulminante Significance.” Law.jrank.org. Net Industries, 2011. Web. 21 March 2011.

“Arizona v. Fulminante (89-839), 499 U.S. 279 (1991).” Law.cornell.edu. Cornell University Law School, 2011. Web. 27 March 2011.

“Harmless Error.” Legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com. Farlex, Inc., 2011. Web. 27 March 2011.

“U.S. Constitution.” Lectlaw.com. The Lectric Law Library, 1995-2011. Web. 27 March 2011.