miller fenton argued october decided december petitioner interrogation new jersey state police barracks confessed murder new jersey trial rejected motion suppress confession jury found guilty murder new jersey superior appellate division reversed finding matter law confession result compulsion thus impermissible fourteenth amendment due process guarantee new jersey reversed finding examining totality surrounding circumstances interrogation proper resulting confession voluntary properly admitted evidence petitioner sought writ habeas corpus federal district dismissed petition without evidentiary hearing appeals affirmed holding voluntariness confession factual issue within meaning provides findings fact certain exceptions shall presumed correct federal habeas corpus proceeding accordingly federal review new jersey determination petitioner confession voluntary limited whether applied proper legal test whether factual conclusions supported record standard appeals concluded district denial habeas corpus petition proper held voluntariness confession issue fact entitled presumption legal question meriting independent consideration federal habeas corpus proceeding pp support decisions suggestion enactment altered prior confession cases holding ultimate issue voluntariness legal question requiring independent federal determination importantly history undermines argument congress intended ultimate question admissibility confession treated factual issue within meaning provision pp addition considerations stare decisis congressional intent nature voluntariness inquiry lends support holding case moreover practical considerations led find issues within scope presumption absent confession context unlike issues impartiality juror competency stand trial assessments credibility demeanor crucial proper resolution ultimate issue voluntariness critical events surrounding taking confession almost invariably occur open secret coercive environment pp delivered opinion burger brennan white marshall blackmun powell stevens joined rehnquist filed dissenting opinion post paul martin klein argued cause petitioner briefs thomas smith claudia van wyk anne paskow deputy attorney general new jersey argued cause respondents brief irwin kimmelman attorney general allan nodes debra stone deputy attorneys general charles sims filed brief american civil liberties union et al amici curiae urging reversal justice delivered opinion findings fact shall presumed correct federal habeas corpus proceeding unless one eight enumerated exceptions applies question presented whether voluntariness confession issue fact entitled presumption morning august stranger approached rural new jersey home deborah margolin told heifer loose foot driveway set alone investigate never returned later day mutilated body found nearby stream victim brothers able provide description stranger car clothing based information officers new jersey state police tentatively identified petitioner later evening found place employment petitioner responded officers preliminary inquiries agreed return police barracks questioning approximately two hours later detective charles boyce led petitioner interrogation room informed miranda rights petitioner inquired scope privilege remain silent executed written waiver validity issue minute long interrogation session ensued course interview detective boyce told petitioner margolin died statement boyce knew untrue supported another officer earlier equally false suggestion victim still alive identify attacker app record detective boyce also told petitioner identified margolin home earlier day fact margolin brothers provided general description stranger car clothing finally detective boyce indicated blood stains found petitioner front stoop evidence introduced trial respondents contend ever fact existed throughout interview detective boyce presented sympathetic petitioner plight several occasions stated consider petitioner criminal perpetrator deed mental problem needed medical help rather punishment app eventually petitioner fully confessed crime lapsed detective boyce described state shock record repeated efforts rouse stupor failed police summoned ambulance transport hospital trial rejected petitioner motion suppress confession jury found petitioner guilty murder first degree superior appellate division reversed finding matter law confession result intense mind bending psychological compulsion therefore impermissible fourteenth amendment guarantee due process app three dissents new jersey reversed state miller examining totality surrounding circumstances including petitioner educational level age awareness miranda rights found interrogation exceed proper bounds resulting confession voluntary properly admitted evidence petitioner sought writ habeas corpus district district new jersey dismissed application without evidentiary hearing divided panel appeals third circuit affirmed relying circuit precedent held voluntariness confession factual issue within meaning accordingly federal review new jersey determination petitioner confession voluntary limited whether state applied proper legal test whether factual conclusions supported record whole standard concluded district denial petition habeas relief proper courts appeals reached differing conclusions whether voluntariness determinations entitled presumption correctness issue importance administration criminal justice granted certiorari compare brantley mckaskle oluntariness confession mixed question law fact alexander smith voluntariness determination entitled presumption cert denied reverse remand ii long held certain interrogation techniques either isolation applied unique characteristics particular suspect offensive civilized system justice must condemned due process clause fourteenth amendment brown mississippi wellspring notion deeply embedded criminal law faced statements extracted beatings forms physical psychological torture held confessions procured means revolting sense justice used secure conviction numerous subsequent occasions set aside convictions secured admission improperly obtained confession see mincey arizona haynes washington ashcraft tennessee chambers florida although decisions framed legal inquiry variety different ways usually convenient shorthand asking whether confession involuntary blackburn alabama analysis consistently animated view accusatorial inquisitorial system rogers richmond accordingly tactics eliciting inculpatory statements must fall within broad constitutional boundaries imposed fourteenth amendment guarantee fundamental fairness indeed even holding fifth amendment privilege compulsory applies context custodial interrogations miranda arizona binding malloy hogan continued measure confessions requirements due process see mincey arizona supra beecher alabama per curiam without exception confession cases hold ultimate issue voluntariness legal question requiring independent federal determination see haynes washington supra ashcraft tennessee supra recently reaffirmed bound voluntariness finding reiterated historic duty make independent evaluation record mincey arizona supra duty mincey makes explicit limited instances claim police conduct inherently coercive ashcraft tennessee supra applies equally interrogation techniques improper particular circumstances case confession unlikely product free rational see mincey arizona supra ultimate issue categories cases whether state obtained confession manner comports due process decisions leave doubt independent obligation decide constitutional question identical mincey ashcraft many early decisions applying rule confession cases came direct appeal judgments rule however less firmly established cases coming federal system application writ habeas corpus davis north carolina resolved issue unmistakable clarity state admitted evidence confession elicited impoverished mentally deficient suspect held incommunicado days barely adequate nourishment expressly relying cases stated unequivocally determinations concerning ultimate question voluntariness confession binding federal habeas corpus proceeding davis decided four months signed law act pub stat respondent contends whatever may case prior enactment year fundamentally altered nature federal habeas review state voluntariness findings suggestion finds support decisions see boulden holman finding confession voluntary making independent study entire record frazier cupp examining totality circumstances assess admissibility confession importantly history undermines argument congress intended ultimate question admissibility confession treated factual issue within meaning provision amendment almost verbatim codification standards delineated townsend sain determining district must hold evidentiary hearing acting habeas petition hearing obligatory townsend held federal ordinarily accept facts found state proceeding congress elevated exhortation mandatory presumption correctness absolutely indication intended alter townsend understanding ultimate constitutional question admissibility confession mixed questio fact law subject plenary federal review short unbroken line cases coming direct appeal review applications lower federal courts writ habeas corpus forecloses appeals conclusion voluntariness confession merits something less independent federal consideration sure subsidiary factual questions whether drug properties truth serum whether fact police engaged intimidation tactics alleged defendant lavallee delle rose per curiam entitled presumption federal habeas course give great weight considered conclusions coequal state judiciary culombe connecticut opinion frankfurter reaffirm ultimate question whether totality circumstances challenged confession obtained manner compatible requirements constitution matter independent federal determination iii appeals recognized treating voluntariness confession issue fact difficult square fifty years caselaw believed however substantial body contrary precedent controlling light recent decisions addressing scope presumption correctness see wainwright witt trial determination prospective juror capital case properly excluded cause entitled presumption patton yount impartiality individual juror rushen spain per curiam effect ex parte communication impartiality individual juror maggio fulford per curiam competency stand trial marshall lonberger determination defendant received understood sufficient notice charges render guilty plea voluntary acknowledge charted entirely clear course area reject however appeals conclusion holdings tacitly overturned longstanding rule voluntariness confession matter independent federal determination context elsewhere appropriate methodology distinguishing questions fact questions law say least elusive see bose consumers union baumgartner principles however well established example issue involves inquiry state mind inconsistent treating question fact see maggio fulford supra equally clearly issue lose factual character merely resolution dispositive ultimate constitutional question see dayton board education brinkman finding intent discriminate subject clearly erroneous standard review beyond elemental propositions negative form yet arrive rule principle unerringly distinguish factual finding legal conclusion swint perhaps much difficulty area stems practical truth decision label issue question law question fact mixed question law fact sometimes much matter allocation analysis see monaghan constitutional fact review colum rev least instances congress spoken issue falls somewhere pristine legal standard simple historical fact distinction times turned determination matter sound administration justice one judicial actor better positioned another decide issue question example proof actual malice first amendment libel cases relevant legal principle given meaning application particular circumstances case reluctant give trier fact conclusions presumptive force strip federal appellate primary function expositor law see bose consumers union similarly rare occasions years past justified independent federal appellate review means compensating perceived shortcomings trier fact way bias factor rehnquist dissenting see haynes washington watts indiana opinion frankfurter cf norris alabama contrast considerations often suggest appropriateness resolving close questions concerning status issue one law fact favor extending deference trial example issue involves credibility witnesses therefore turns largely evaluation demeanor compelling familiar justifications leaving process applying law fact trial according determinations presumptive weight patton yount supra wainwright witt supra illustrative stressed state trial judge position assess juror bias far superior federal judges reviewing application writ habeas corpus principally reason decisions held juror bias merits treatment factual issue within meaning notwithstanding intimate connection determinations constitutional guarantee impartial jury several reasons think inappropriate abandon longstanding position ultimate question admissibility confession merits treatment legal inquiry requiring plenary federal review note outset write clean slate weighty considerations underlie principle courts lightly overrule past decisions moragne marine lines thus even assuming contemporary considerations supported respondent construction statute nearly half century unwavering precedent weighs heavily suggestion discard settled rule area moreover previously noted congress patterned townsend sain case clearly assumed voluntariness confession issue independent federal determination thus stare decisis concerns compelling unlike marshall lonberger rushen spain recent cases confession context benefit congressional guidance resolving whether disputed issue falls outside scope presumption although history provision without ambiguities certainly clear enough tip scales favor treating voluntariness confession beyond reach addition considerations stare decisis congressional intent nature inquiry lends support conclusion voluntariness legal question meriting independent consideration federal habeas corpus proceeding although sometimes framed issue psychological fact culombe connecticut dispositive question voluntariness confession always uniquely legal dimension telling confession cases coming consistently looked due process clause fourteenth amendment test admissibility see mincey arizona locus right significant reflects consistently held view admissibility confession turns much whether techniques extracting statements applied suspect compatible system presumes innocence assures conviction secured inquisitorial means whether defendant fact overborne see gallegos colorado suggesting compound two influences requires confessions condemned culombe connecticut supra describing voluntariness amphibian hybrid quality voluntariness inquiry subsuming complex values blackburn alabama militates treating question one simple historical fact putting one side whether voluntariness analytically akin fact legal conclusion practical considerations led us find issues within scope presumption absent confession context first unlike impartiality given juror patton yount competency stand trial maggio fulford assessments credibility demeanor crucial proper resolution ultimate issue voluntariness course subsidiary questions length circumstances interrogation defendant prior experience legal process familiarity miranda warnings often require resolution conflicting testimony police defendant law therefore clear findings matters conclusive habeas fairly supported record circumstances enumerated inapplicable underlying factual issues resolved moment comes determining whether totality circumstances confession obtained manner consistent constitution judge appreciably better position federal habeas make determination second allocution guilty plea marshall lonberger supra adjudication competency stand trial maggio fulford supra determination juror bias wainwright witt take place open full record marked contrast critical events surrounding taking confession almost invariably occur secret inherently coercive environment miranda arizona circumstances standing alone dispositive question whether particular issue falls within reach however together inevitable understandable reluctance exclude otherwise reliable admission guilt jackson denno elevate risk erroneous resolution voluntariness question might inadvertently frustrate protection federal right see haynes washington ward texas reiterate confidence state judges less federal counterparts properly discharge duty protect constitutional rights criminal defendants note confession context independent federal review traditionally played important parallel role protecting rights stake prosecution secures conviction defendant admissions iv defending length conclusion voluntariness confession entitled presumption carefully analyzing petitioner confession standard appeals suggested brief reach result even give issue plenary consideration inasmuch clear language fact independently evaluate admissibility confession event think case warrants fuller analysis appropriate standard reverse decision remand proceedings consistent opinion ordered footnotes proceeding instituted federal application writ habeas corpus person custody pursuant judgment state determination hearing merits factual issue made state competent jurisdiction shall presumed correct unless federal concludes factual determination supported record whole following exchange representative tone interrogation boyce frank look want help frank miller yes uh huh yes yet going admit something involved boyce want want talk talking admitting anything frank want talk want tell think want tell think think miller think boyce yeah miller think whoever really needs help boyce think know need punishment right like said need help miller right boyce think better someone knows mental problem come forward say look done acts responsible want helped help control examined properly find case okay isten frank promise know psychiatrist everything get proper help talk miller ca talk something boyce alright listen frank right honest know know going inside frank want help know us right got talk way able work mean know listen want help mind responsible responsible frank frank matter miller feel bad app appeals relied earlier decision holding voluntariness waiver miranda rights entitled presumption patterson cuyler present case presents occasion us address question whether federal habeas courts must accord statutory presumption correctness findings concerning validity waiver voluntariness rubric variously condemned useless paulson fourteenth amendment third degree stan rev perplexing grano voluntariness free law confessions rev legal beisel control illegal enforcement criminal law role see generally kamisar police interrogation confessions justice rehnquist dissenting decides voluntariness confession issue fact presumed correct think difficult sensibly distinguish determination particular confession voluntary determinations held entitled presumption correctness see summer mata sumner mata per curiam marshall lonberger maggio fulford per curiam rushen spain per curiam patton yount wainwright witt relies principally stare decisis result reaches today almost cases upon relies entailed direct review decisions rather federal habeas review even difference deemed immaterial seems stare decisis sufficient reason excluding finding voluntariness confession presumption embodied recent cases cited evince reasoned approach issue interesting somewhat mystical exegesis cases culombe connecticut opinion frankfurter also disagree decision remand case appeals second run voluntariness issue think majority made clear evaluated admissibility confession correct standard defined today unfortunate petitioner challenge conviction murder occurred years ago subject additional unnecessary litigation delay respectfully dissent