Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary

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Confess: In criminal law, to voluntarily state that one is guilty of a criminal offense. A confession must be truly voluntary (not forced by threat, torture, or trickery) and generally cannot be admitted in trial if it is not. If the confession results from custodial questioning, it generally cannot be used at trial unless the defendant was given and waived the so-called Miranda warnings prior to questioning. (See: Miranda warnings)