Opinion ID: 2079521
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Cat-Out-of-the-Bag Doctrine

Text: Appellant also argues that his confession to the robbery of the Logan Inn should have been suppressed because he let the cat out of the bag by confessing to the murder. In United States v. Bayer, 331 U.S. 532, 67 S.Ct. 1394, 91 L.Ed. 1654 (1947), the Supreme Court recognized that when a defendant has once let the cat out of the bag by confessing, a later confession may be looked upon as the fruit of the first. Id. at 540, 67 S.Ct. at 1398. However, this doctrine applies to the situation where there is a causal relationship between an improperly obtained earlier confession and the later confession. See Boykins v. United States, D.C.App., 366 A.2d 133, 136 (1976); Ruffin v. United States, D.C.App., 293 A.2d 477, 480 (1972). Moreover, the cat-out-of-the-bag doctrine is applicable only to the admissibility of a second confession that is an elaboration of the first invalid confession. United States v. Hackley, 204 U.S. App.D.C. 221, 230, 636 F.2d 493, 502 (1980). Thus, appellant's argument that his confession to the robbery of the Logan Inn was invalid under the cat-out-of-the-bag doctrine fails on two grounds: (1) his earlier confession was validly obtained; and (2) the robbery confession was not merely an elaboration of the earlier felony-murder confession but was entirely separate from it, concerning distinct offenses. Therefore, since this theory also is inapplicable, appellant's robbery confession was admissible.