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An Examination of Juveniles' Miranda Abilities: Investigating Differences in Miranda Recall and Reasoning
Author(s) -
Rogers Richard,
Steadham Jennifer A.,
Carter Rachel M.,
Henry Sarah A.,
Drogin Eric Y.,
Robinson Emily V.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2243
Subject(s) - waiver , recall , context (archaeology) , comprehension , psychology , operationalization , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , computer science , law , paleontology , philosophy , epistemology , political science , biology , programming language
Juvenile suspects are routinely expected to possess an accurate recall of written or oral Miranda warnings. This study addresses the Miranda‐related comprehension recall and reasoning of legally involved juveniles. It is the first juvenile research to compare systematically two levels of complexity for Miranda warnings with the three modalities (oral, written, or combined) of administration. Unexpectedly, easily read written warnings marginally outperformed the combined modality. In order to examine Miranda reasoning, three juvenile groups were operationalized: impaired, questionable, and likely adequate. Predictably, the impaired and questionable groups possessed significantly lower verbal abilities than the likely‐adequate reasoning group. In addition, the likely‐adequate group exhibited the strongest appreciation of the adversarial context in which Miranda waiver decisions are rendered. The discussion addresses the marked disparities in Miranda recall from a total recall versus component‐by‐component understanding of Miranda rights. It also considers more generally how crucially important Miranda misconceptions might be remedied. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.