Voluntariness: Operating Mind
The common law confessions rule requires the Crown to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that a confession made by a suspect to a person in authority was voluntary. The factors to be considered to determine whether a statement was made voluntarily are set out in R. v. Oickle , 2000 SCC 38 (CanLII). Voluntariness is shorthand for a complex of values. A statement can be found to be involuntary if it is obtained as a result of threats, promises, inducements, oppression, or if the statement is taken when the person does not have an operating mind. Operating Mind An individual has an operating mind as long as he knows what he is saying, that he is communicating with police officers, and what is at stake if he chooses to speak to police. Oickle supra at para 63 citing R. v. Whittle , 1994 CanLII 55 (SCC), [1994] 2 S.C.R. 914 at p. 936. Factors to be considered in determining whether an accused had an operatin...