Juvenile False Confessions and Competency to Stand Trial: Implications for Policy Reformation and Research

Amanda Ferguson; Megan M. Jimenez; Rebecca L. Jackson

Amanda Ferguson
Megan M. Jimenez
Rebecca L. Jackson

Abstract

In the 1990s, youth crime rates peaked, which led to an increase in arrests, interrogations, and prosecutions of juveniles (U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2006). The influx of juveniles in the justice system prompted many researchers to inquire about legal competence in minors. Despite recent declines in juvenile crime rates, researchers are still concerned about developmental capacities of adolescents who are involved in the legal system (Grisso et al., 2003). This review will address two related aspects of legal competence: false confessions resulting from the interrogation process and competency to stand trial. Factors associated with competence such as development, mental illness, and mental retardation will be reviewed. Lastly, suggestions are made for policy reformations and directions for future study.

References

Baldo, J. V., & Shimamura, A. P. (2002). Frontal lobes and memory. In A. Baddeley, B. Wilson, & M. Kopelman (Eds.), Handbook of memory disorders (2nd ed., pp. 363-379). London: John Wiley & Co.

Bonnie, R. (1992). The competence of criminal defendants: A theoretical reformulation. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 10, 291-316. Retrieved from http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/3512/home

Burnett, D. M. R. (2000). Evaluation of competency to stand trial in a juvenile population. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B. Sciences and Engineering, 61(2-B), 1074.

Burnett, D. M. R., Noblin, C. D., & Prosser, V. (2004). Adjudicative competency in a juvenile popula- tion. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(4), 438- 462. doi: 10.1177/0093854804265175

California Penal Code, § 13510-13519.14. (n.d.). Official California legislative information [Online California law]. Retrieved from http://www. leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection= pen&codebody=&hits=20

California Welfare and Institutions Code, §§ 316, 625, 627.5. (n.d.). Official California legislative information [Online California law]. Retrieved from http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.html/wic_table_of_contents.html

Colwell, L. H., Miller, H. A., Lyons, P. M., & Miller, R. S. (2006). The training of law enforcement officers in detecting deception: A survey of current practices and suggestions for improving accuracy. Police Quarterly, 9(3), 275-290. doi: 10.1177/1098611104273293

Cox, J. M. (2008). The impact of juveniles’ ages and levels of psychosocial maturity on judges’ opinions about adjudicative competence. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B. Sciences and Engineering, 69(9-B), 5772.

Drizin, S. A., & Leo, R. A. (2004). The problem of false confessions in the post-DNA world. North Carolina Law Review, 82, 891-1008. Retrieved from http://nclawreview.net

Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402 (1960).

Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707 (1979).

Feld, B. C. (2006). Police interrogation of juveniles: An empirical study of policy and practice. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 97, 219- 316. Retrieved from http://www.law.northwest- ern.edu/jclc/

First, M. B., & Gibbon, M. (2004). The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (SCID-II). In M. J. Hilsenroth & D. L. Segal (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of psychological assessment (Vol. 2, pp. 134-143). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Frumkin, I. B., & Garcia, A. (2003, November). Psychological evaluations and the competency to waive Miranda rights. Champion Magazine, 27. Retrieved from http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/$$searchChampion

Goldstein, N. E. S., Condie, L. O., Kalbeitzer, R., Osman, D., & Geier, J. L. (2003). Juvenile offenders’ Mi- randa rights comprehension and self-reported like- lihood of offering false confessions. Assessment, 10, 359-369. doi: 10.1177/1073191103259535

Grisso, T. (1997). The competence of adolescents as trial defendants. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 3(1), 3-32. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/law/

Grisso, T. (1998). Instruments for Assessing Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda Rights: Manual. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.

Grisso, T., & Barnum, R. (2006). Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version 2: User’s manual & technical report. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.

Grisso, T., Steinberg, L., Woolard, J., Cauffman, E., Scott, E., Graham, S., ... Schwartz, R. (2003). Juveniles’ competence to stand trial: A comparison of adolescents’ and adults’ capacities as trial defendants. Law and Human Behavior, 27, 333- 363. Retrieved from http://www.springer.com/psychology/law+&+psychology/journal/10979

Harter, S. (1999). The construction of the self: A developmental perspective. New York: Guilford. Hartwig, M., Granhag, P. A., Stromwall, L. A., & Vrij, A. (2004). Police officers’ lie detection accuracy: Interrogating freely versus observing video. Police Quarterly, 7(4), 429-456. doi:10.1177/1098611104264748

Heuves, W. (2003). Young adolescents: Development and treatment. In V. Green (Ed.), Emotional development in psychoanalysis, attachment theory and neuroscience: Creating connections (pp. 189-209). New York: Brunner-Routledge.

Inbau, F. E., Reid, J. E., Buckley, J. P., & Jayne, B. C. (2004). Criminal interrogation and confessions (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967).

Janku, A. D., & Yan, J. (2009). Exploring patterns of court-ordered mental health services for juvenile offenders: Is there evidence of systematic bias? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36(4), 402-419. doi: 10.1177/0093854808330799

Kassin, S. M., & Fong, C. T. (1999). “I’m innocent!” Effects of training on judgments of truth and deception in the interrogation room. Law and Human Behavior, 23, 499-516. Retrieved from http://www. springer.com/psychology/law+&+psychology/

Kassin, S. M., & Gudjonsson, G. H. (2004). The psychology of confessions: A review of the literature and issues. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5(2), 33-67. doi: 10.1111/j.1529- 1006.2004.00016.x

Kassin, S. M., & Norwick, R. J. (2004). Why people waive their Miranda rights: The power of innocence. Law and Human Behavior, 28(2), 211-221. Retrieved from http://www.springer.com/psychology/law+&+psychology/journal/10979

Keating, D. P. (2004). Cognitive and brain development. In R. M. Lerner & L. D. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology, (2nd ed., pp.45-84). New York: Wiley. Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541 (1966).

LaVelle Ficke, S., Hart, K. J., & Deardorff, P. A. (2006). The performance of incarcerated juveniles on the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA). The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 34(3), 360-373. Retrieved from http://www. jaapl.org/

Leo, R. A. (1996). Miranda’s revenge: Police interrogation as a confidence game. Law &Society Review, 30, 259-288. Retrieved from http://www.wiley. com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0023-9216&site=1

Leo, R. A. (2009). False confessions: Causes, consequences, and implications. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 37(3), 332-343. Retrieved from http://www.jaapl. org/

McGaha, A., Otto, R. K., McClaren, M. D., & Petrila, J. (2006). Juveniles adjudicated incompetent to proceed: A descriptive study of Florida’s competence restoration program. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 29(4), 427-437. Retrieved from http://www.jaapl.org/

Meissner, C. A., & Kassin, S. M. (2002). “He’s guilty!”: Investigator bias in judgments of truth and deception. Law and Human Behavior, 26, 469-48. doi: 10.1023/A:1020278620751

Meyer, J. R., & Reppucci, N. D. (2007). Police practices and perceptions regarding juvenile inter- rogation and interrogative suggestibility. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 25(6), 757-780. doi: 10.1002/bsl.774

Meyer, R. G., & Weaver, C. M. (2006). Law and mental health: A case-based approach. New York: Guilford.

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (2001). Childhood predictors differentiate life-course persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial pathways among males and females. Development and Psychopathology, 13(2), 355-375. doi:10.1017/S0954579401002097

Oberlander, L. B., Goldstein, N. E., & Ho, C. N. (2001).

Preadolescent adjudicative competence: Methodological considerations and recommendations for practice standards. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 19, 545-563. doi: 10.1002/bsl.459

Owen-Kostelnik, J., & Reppucci, N. D. (2009). Reid training and sensitivity to developmental maturity in interrogation: Results from a national survey of police. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 27, 361- 379. doi: 10.1002/bsl.871

Owen-Kostelnik, J., Reppucci, N. D., & Meyer, J. R. (2006). Testimony and interrogation of minors: Assumptions about maturity and morality. American Psychologist, 61(4), 286-304. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/amp/index. aspx

Poythress, N., Nicholson, R., Otto, R., Edens, J., Bonnie, R., Monahan, J., & Hoge, S. (1999). The Ma- cArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication: Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Redlich, A. D. (2004). Law and psychiatry: Mental illness, police interrogations, and the potential for false confession. Psychiatric Services, 55(1), 19- 21. Retrieved from http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/

Redlich, A. D. (2007). Double jeopardy in the interrogation room for youths with mental illness. American Psychologist, 62(6), 609-611. doi:10.1037/0003-066X62.6.609

Redlich, A. D., & Goodman, G. S. (2003). Taking responsibility for an act not committed: The influence of age and suggestibility. Law and Human Behavior, 27(2), 141-156. doi: 10.1023/A:1022543012851

Redlich, A. D., Silverman, M., & Steiner, H. (2003). Preadjudicative and adjudicative competence in juveniles and young adults. Behavioral Sciences & Law, 21, 393-410. doi: 10.1002/bsl.543

Reed, D. B. (2002). Legal developments: Educating judges about behavioral health. Community Mental Health Report, 3(1), 9-10. Retrieved from http://www.springer.com/medicine/psychiatry/journal/10597

Roesch, R., Zapf, P. A., Eaves, D., & Webster, C. D. (1998). The Fitness Interview Test (Rev. ed.) Burnaby, BC: Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute, Simon Fraser University.

Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005).

Ryba, N. L., Brodsky, S. L., & Shlosberg, A. (2007). Evaluations of capacity to waive Miranda rights: A survey of practitioners’ use of the Grisso Instruments. Assessment, 14(3), 300-309. doi:10.1177/1073191110730284

Scott-Hayward, C. S. (2007). Explaining juvenile false confessions: Adolescent development and police interrogation. Law & Psychology Review, 31, 53- 76. Retrieved from http://www.lawandpsycholo- gyreview.org/

Scott, E. S., & Grisso, T. (1997). The evolution of adolescence: A developmental perspective on juvenile justice reform. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 88, 137-189. Retrieved from http://www.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/

Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Dulcan, M. K., Davies, M., Piacentini, J., Schwab-Stone, M. E, ... Regier, D. A. (1996). The NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version 2.3 (DISC-2.3): Description, acceptability, prevalence rates, and performance in the MECA study. Methods for the epidemiology of child and adolescent mental dis- orders study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 865-877. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/jaacap/ pages/default.aspx

Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Lucas, C., Dulcan, M., & Schwab-Stone, M. (2000). NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (NIMH DISC-IV): Description, differences from previous versions, and reliability of some common diagnoses. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 28-38. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/jaacap/pages/default.aspx

Shufelt, J. L., & Cocozza, J. J. (2006, June). Youth with mental health disorders in the juvenile justice system: Results from a multi-state prevalence study [Research and program brief]. National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice. Retrieved from http://www.ncmhjj.com/pdfs/publications/prevalencerpb.pdf

Steadman, H. J., Osher, F. C., Clark Robbins, P., Case, B., & Samuels, S. (2009). Prevalence of serious mental illness among jail inmates. Psychiatric Services, 60(6), 761-765. doi: 10.1176/appi. ps.60.6.761

Steinberg, L. & Cauffman, E. (1999). A developmental perspective on serious crime: When should juveniles be treated as adults? Federal Probation, 63(2), 52-57. Retrieved from http://www.uscourts.gov/fedprob/1999decfp.pdf

Steinberg, L., Cauffman, E., Woolard, J., Graham, S., & Banich, M. (2009). Are adolescents less mature than adults? Minors’ access to abortion, the juvenile death penalty, and the alleged APA “flip- flop.” American Psychologist, 64(7), 583-594. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/amp/index.aspx

Susman, E. J., & Rogol, A. (2004). Puberty and psychological development. In R. M. Lerner & L. D. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (2nd ed., pp. 15-44). New York: Wiley.

Teplin, L. A., Abram, K. M., McClelland, G. M., Dulcan, M. K., & Mericle, A. A. (2002). Psychiatric disorders in youth in juvenile detention. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59(12), 1133-1143. Retrieved from http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/

U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006). Crime in the United States 2005. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/

Viljoen, J. L., Klaver, J., & Roesch, R. (2005). Legal decisions of preadolescent and adolescent defendants: Predictors of confessions, pleas, communication with attorneys, and appeals. Law and Human Behavior, 29(3), 253-277. doi: 10.1007/s10979-005-3613-2

Viljoen, J. L., & Roesch, R. (2005). Competence to waive interrogation rights and adjudicative competence in adolescent defendants: Cognitive development, attorney contact, and psychological symptoms. Law and Human Behavior, 29(6), 723-743. doi: 10.1007/s10979-005-7978-y

Viljoen, J. L.,, & Wingrove, T. (2007). Adjudicative competence in adolescent defendants: Judges’ and defense attorneys’ views of legal standards for adolescents in juvenile and criminal court. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 13(3), 204- 229. doi: 10.1037/1076-8971.13.3.204

Windle, M., Spear, L. P., Fuligni, A. J., Angold, A., Brown, J.D., Pine, D., ... Dahl, R. E. (2009). Transitions into underage and problem drinking, summary of developmental processes and mechanisms: Ages 10-15. Alcohol Research & Health, 32(1), 30-40. Retrieved from http://www.niaaa. nih.gov/Publications/AlcoholResearch/

Wechsler, D. (1999). Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.

Youtsey v. United States, 97 F. 937 (1899).

Zelle, H. (2008). Factor structure of the Miranda Rights Comprehension Instruments-II (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1860/2927