(1) Admission - a self-incriminating statement admitting to one or more
elements of a crime.
(2) Confession - a complete admission of guilt.
(3) Statement - a written or oral assertion of facts obtained from anyone
during an investigation.
(4) Evidence
-
anything
which
tends
to
prove
or
disprove
an
issue
in
question.
(5) Maker - a person who gives oral or written testimony.
(6) Subject - a person suspected of having committed an offense, or any
activity or area upon which investigative effort is focused during inquiry.
(7) Corpus delicti - the substantial and fundamental fact necessary to
prove the commission of a crime.
2.
a. Amendments V and VI to the U.S.
Constitution and Article 31, UCMJ, set
forth the fundamental rights of each person suspected or accused of a crime.
These provisions must be scrupulously adhered to by each SA if the ensuing
statement or confession is to be worthwhile.
Violation of these rules not only
invalidates the testimony, but subjects the SA to court-martial charges under
Article 98, UCMJ.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment V
"No person...shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process
of law."
U.S. Constitution, Amendment VI
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall...have the assistance of
counsel for his defense."
UCMJ, Article 31
(1) No person subject to this Code may compel any person to incriminate
himself or to answer any question the answer to which may tend to incriminate him.
(2) No person subject to this Code shall interrogate or request any
statement from an accused or a person suspected of an offense without
first informing him of the nature of the accusation and advising him that he does
not have to make any statement regarding the offense of which he is
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