State v. Bates

The issue that defendant, whose confession was used in convicting him of burglary, wants this court to review is whether a police officer compelled his confession by “threatening” to question and possibly implicate defendant’s mother and brother. The Court of Appeals dealt with this claim by stating:

“We presume, therefore, that the officer threatened to question defendant’s relatives about the burglary, which he had a right to do. His ‘threat’ did not constitute coercion and does not render defendant’s subsequent statements involuntary. See State v. Medenbach, 48 Or App 133, 138, 616 P2d 543…