In Arizona v. Fulminante (1991), a US Supreme Court majority stated that confessions are similar to, not fundamentally different from, other types of evidence. To evaluate this claim, three mock juror studies compared the impact of confessions to other common forms of evidence. In the first experiment, participants read summaries of four criminal trials (murder, rape, assault, theft), each of which contained a confession, an eyewitness identification, character testimony, or none of the above. Significantly, the confessions produced the highest conviction rates. In the second and third experiments, participants read a murder or assault trial containing all three types of evidence and made a series of mid-trial judgments. Results indicated that the confession was seen as the most incriminating, followed by the eyewitness and character testimony. Although the comparisons were limited in certain respects, findings suggest that confessions are uniquely potent. Notes, table, references