Admit or admitting refers to a statement made by an individual to confirm the truthfulness of a claim. In criminal law, admitting to a fact also serves as a confession of guilt. Following Alexander v. State, an admission is an acknowledgement by the accused of certain facts which tend, together with other facts, to establish guilt.
In Brady v. Maryland, after the petitioner was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, he learned that evidence was withheld by the state in which another individual admitted to the crimes that he was wrongfully accused of. The courts held that suppression of evidence that could potentially prove the innocence of an individual violates the due process clause under the U.S. Constitution.
See also:
- Admissible evidence
- Admission
- Admission of guilt
- Evidence
- Ohler v. U.S., 529 U.S. 753 (2000) (admitting evidence) and Dept of Human Servs. v. L.S.H. (In re C.I.H.) (2017) (admitting an allegation).
[Last updated in December of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]