Opinion ID: 529909
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Voluntariness of Babian's Confession

Text: 12 Babian contends that his confession should have been excluded from the trial because it was involuntary. Babian argues that his recent hospitalization; his unexplained weight loss that he later learned was caused by infection with the AIDS virus; and his fears about being unable to care for Howard Conkle, an elderly man who had been in Babian's care for 23 years, 2 combined with an alleged threat by the police about Babian's potential prison term, rendered his confession involuntary. 13 In light of the testimony at the evidentiary hearing regarding Babian's physical and mental state and regarding the officers' conduct, and in light of the district court's opportunity to gauge the credibility of the witnesses, see Johnson v. United States Postal Service, 756 F.2d 1461, 1464 (9th Cir.1985) (special deference is given to a district court's credibility findings), we find that the district court did not err in concluding that the government had proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Babian's statement was voluntary. See United States v. Lewis, 833 F.2d 1380, 1388 (9th Cir.1987). 14 AFFIRMED.