Elmer Davis, Jr. v. State of North Carolina

SOBELOFF, Chief Judge, with whom BELL, Circuit Judge,

joins (dissenting).

Perhaps the most recalcitrant problem to engage the attention of courts in the area of law enforcement stems from the inveterate police practice of pressing for confessions behind closed doors where the accused is without access to legal guidance. That such inquisitions involve elements of coercion has long been recognized. Correction has been impeded by the inherent difficulty of ascertaining the truth between the possibly false or exaggerated claims of the accused and the customary unanimous denials of the police who in…