The confession of a man in the robbery of a Pennsylvania credit union was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court today because authorities waited too long to bring him to court.
In a 5-4 ruling, the justices ruled that Johnnie Corley's 2003 confession of having robbed the Norsco Federal Credit Union in Norristown, Pennsylvania should be set aside because he wasn't arraigned until 29 1/2 hours after his arrest.
In the majority opinion, written by Justice David Souter, the justices set aside a lower court ruling that the confession was voluntary, despite the delay. They ordered the case back to the lower courts to determine if the confession took place within six hours of the arrest. If it took place later than that, the confession must be thrown out the conviction if the judges find the delay was "unreasonable or unnecessary."
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In the dissenting opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that because the confession was voluntary, it should be accepted regardless of the delay in the court appearance.
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