The susceptibility of juveniles to false confessions and false guilty pleas

Rutgers Law Review

Volumn 62, Issue 4, 2010, Pages 943-957

  Redlich, Allison D ^a  

^a STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 79955443826     PISSN: 00360465     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (152)

1. See INNOCENCE PROJECT, http://www.innocenceproject.org (last visited Aug. 27, 2010) (identifying various cases in which wrongly convicted persons were exonerated).
2. See Steven A. Drizin & Greg Luloff, Are Juvenile Courts a Breeding Ground for Wrongful Convictions?, 34 N. KY. L. REV. 257, 257-62 (2007).
3. See Saul M. Kassin et al., Police-Induced Confessions: Risk Factors and Recommendations, 34 LAW & HUM. BEHAV. 3, 5 (2010);
4. Jessica Owens-Kostelnik et al, Testimony and Interrogation of Minors: Assumptions About Maturity and Morality, 61 AM. PSYCHOL. 286, 296-97 (2006).
5. See Kassin, supra note 3, at 3-4.
6. See generally POLICE INTERROGATIONS AND FALSE CONFESSIONS: CURRENT RESEARCH, PRACTICE, AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS (G. Daniel Lassiter & Christian A. Meissner eds., 2010) (detailing scientific studies and findings on the psychological and physiological components of false confessions);
7. RICHARD A. LEO, POLICE INTERROGATION AND AMERICAN JUSTICE (2008) (using direct observation to analyze American police interrogation practices).
8. See Samuel R. Gross et al, Exonerations in the United States: 1989 through 2003, 95 J. CRIM. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 523, 542-46, 551-53 (2005);
9. Allison D. Redlich, False Confessions, False Guilty Pleas: Similarities and Differences, in POLICE INTERROGATIONS AND FALSE CONFESSIONS: CURRENT RESEARCH, PRACTICE AND POLICY 49, 60 (G. Daniel Lassiter & Christian A. Meissner eds., 2010);
10. Allison D. Redlich et al, Self-Reported Confessions and False Guilty Pleas Among Offenders with Mental Illness, 34 LAW & HUM. BEHAV. 79, 80-81, 87-88 (2010) (each analyzing the rise in false guilty pleas and false confessions).
11. U.S. DEP'T OF JUSTICE, BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS, FELONY DEFENDANTS IN LARGE URBAN COUNTIES, 2004 3 (2008), available at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/ content/pub/pdf/fdluc04.pdf;
12. Barbara Kaban & Judith C. Quinlan, Rethinking a "Knowing, Intelligent, and Voluntary Waiver" in Massachusetts' Juvenile Courts, 5 J. CTR. FAM., CHILD., & CTS. 35, 37 (2004).
13. Timothy Lynch, The Case Against Plea Bargaining, REGULATION, Fall 2003, 24, 24.
14. See Stephanos Bibas, Plea Bargaining Outside the Shadow of Trial, 117 HARV. L. REV. 2463, 2464-69 (2004);
15. Oren Gazal-Ayal, Partial Ban on Plea Bargains, CARDOZO L. REV. 2295, 2297-99 (2006).
16. Drizin & Luloff, supra note 2, at 257-62.
17. GEORGE FISHER, PLEA BARGAINING'S TRIUMPH: A HISTORY OF PLEA BARGAINING IN AMERICA, 223-27 (2003).
18. See Drizin & Luloff, supra note 2, at 257-62.
19. See John Scott, Rational Choice Theory, in UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY: THEORIES OF THE PRESENT 126-28 (Gary Browning, Abigail Halcli & Frank Webster eds., 2000) (explaining that people "calculate the likely costs and benefits of any action before deciding what to do").
20. See Phillippe Mongin, Expected Utility Theory, in HANDBOOK OF ECONOMIC METHODOLOGY 17 (John B. Davis et al., eds., 1997) (explaining that people make choices "by comparing their expected utility values, [or] weighted sums obtained by adding the utility values of outcomes multiplied by their respective probabilities").
21. See William M. Landes, An Economic Analysis of the Courts, 14 J.L. & ECON. 61, 61-62 (1971);
22. Douglas A. Smith, The Plea Bargaining Controversy, 77 J. CRIM. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 949, 950-51 (1986);
23. David L. Weimer, Plea Bargaining and the Decision to Go to Trial: The Application of a Rational Choice Model, 10 POL'Y SCI. 1, 3-4 (1978) (presenting economic models and empirical data to forecast factors in defendants' pleas bargaining decisions, including maximizing utility and the probability of conviction).
24. Jeremy D. Ball, Is it a Prosecutor's World?: Determinants of Count Bargaining Decisions, 22 J. CONTEMP. CRIM. JUST. 241, 242-43 (2006);
25. Erika D. Frenzel & Jeremy D. Ball, Effects of Individual Characteristics on Plea Negotiations under Sentencing Guidelines, 5 J. ETHNICITY CRIM. JUST. 59, 65-68 (2007);
26. Smith, supra note 14, at 950, 958.
27. See, e.g., Thomas Grisso et al., Juveniles' Competence to Stand Trial: A Comparison of Adolescents' and Adults' Capacities as Trial Defendants, 27 LAW & HUM. BEHAV. 333, 356-57 (2003).
28. Id. at 337-38, 357.
29. Id. at 356.
30. Id. at 351.
31. Id. at 357-58.
32. See Michele Peterson-Badali & Rona Abramovitch, Grade Related Changes in Young People's Reasoning About Plea Decisions, 17 LAW & HUM. BEHAV. 537, 537-41 (2006);
33. Jodi L. Viljoen et al, Legal Decisions of Preadolescent and Adolescent Defendants: Predictors of Confessions, Pleas, Communication with Attorneys, and Appeals, 29 LAW & HUMAN BEHAV. 253, 271 (2005).
34. Viljoen, supra note 21, at 264.
35. Id. at 270-72.
36. Id.
37. Id. at 271;
38. THOMAS GRISSO, JUVENILES' WAIVER OF RIGHTS: LEGAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPETENCE 59-93 (1981).
39. See Grisso, supra note 16, at 333;
40. Allison D. Redlich et al., Preadjudicative and Adjudicative Competence in Juveniles and Young Adults, 21 BEHAV. SCI. & L. 393, 396, 403-08 (2003).
41. See Kaban & Quinlan, supra note 6, at 48;
42. Karen Saywitz et al, Children's Knowledge of Legal Terminology, 14 LAW & HUM. BEHAV. 523, 531-34 (1990).
43. See Grisso, supra note 16, at 353-56;
44. Melinda G. Schmidt et al., Effectiveness of Participation as a Defendant: The Attorney-Juvenile Client Relationship, 21 BEHAV. SCI. & L. 175, 186-87, 193 (2003);
45. Lacey Cole Singleton, Say "Pleas": Juveniles' Competence to Enter Plea Agreements, 9 J. LAW & FAM. STUD. 439, 443-44 (2007).
46. AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, ABA STANDARDS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE PLEAS OF GUILTY 2-4 (3d ed. 1999).
47. Id. at 35-41, 61-62.
48. Id. at 64-70;
49. Redlich, False Confessions, False Guilty Pleas: Similarities and Differences, supra note 5, at 59;
50. Singelton, supra note 28, at 447-50.
51. See generally Grisso, supra note 16;
52. Norman Poythress et al, The CompetenceRelated Abilities of Adolescent Defendants in Criminal Court, 30 LAW & HUM. BEHAV. 75 (2006);
53. Patricia A. Zapf et al, Competency: Past, Present, and Future, in TAKING PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY 171 (J.R.P. Ogloff ed., 2002).
54. 509 U.S. 389, 397 (1993).
55. Id. at 401 n.12 (internal citations omitted).
56. Richard J. Bonnie, The Competence of Criminal Defendants: A Theoretical Reformulation, 10 BEHAV. SCI. & L. 291 (1992).
57. Godinez, 509 U.S. at 402.
58. Kaban & Quinlan, supra note 6, at 39.
59. Id. at 40-41.
60. Id. at 42.
61. Id. at 45.
62. See generally Richard Rogers et al, An Analysis of Miranda Warnings and Waivers: Comprehension and Coverage, 31 LAW & HUM. BEHAV. 177 (2007).
63. Allison Redlich, Address at the Rutgers Law Review Symposium: Righting the Wronged: Causes, Effects, and Remedies of Juvenile Wrongful Conviction (Apr. 9, 2010) (presenting the results of research conducted by Redlich and Norris).
64. ALA. ADMIN. OFFICE OF COURTS: ALA. UJS FORMS, FORM C-44A, EXPLANATION OF RIGHTS OF YOUTHFUL OFFENDER AND PLEA OF GUILTY (Revised June 2007), available at http://eforms.alacourt.gov/displayall.aspx (follow "Criminal" hyperlink; then follow "Explanation of Rights of Youthful Offender and Plea of Guilty" hyperlink).
65. Redlich, supra note 42.
66. FORM C-44A, supra note 43.
67. KARL O. HAIGLER ET AL., NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS, LITERACY BEHIND PRISON WALLS: PROFILES OF THE PRISON POPULATION FROM THE NATIONAL ADULT LITERACY SURVEY 20-23 (1994).
68. CAROLINE W. HARLOW, BUREAU OF JUST. STATISTICS, EDUCATION AND CORRECTIONAL POPULATIONS l (2003).
69. Malika Closson & Kenneth M. Rogers, Educational Needs of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System, in THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF YOUNG OFFENDERS: FORGING PATHS TOWARD REINTEGRATION AND REHABILITATION 229,233-34 (2007).
70. See H. Richard Lamb & Linda E. Weinberger, Persons With Severe Mental Illness in Jails and Prisons: A Review, 49 PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES 483, 483-84 (1998);
71. Allison D. Redlich, Double Jeopardy in the Interrogation Room for Youths with Mental Illness, 62 AM. PSYCHOLOGIST 609, 610 (2007).
72. Robert E. Shepherd, Jr., Plea Bargaining in Juvenile Court, 23 CRIM. JUST. 61, 61 (2008).
73. See e.g, Jennifer L. Woolard et al, Examining Adolescents' and their Parents' Conceptual and Practical Knowledge of Police Interrogation: A Family Dyad Approach, 37 J. YOUTH & ADOLESCENCE 685,695-96 (2008).
74. Judith B. Jones, Access to Counsel, JUV. JUST. BULL. (U.S. Dep't of Justice, Washington, D.C.), June 2004, at 1-2.
75. Drizin & Luloff, supra note 2, at 284-86.
76. Drizin & Luloff, supra note 2, at 289;
77. Joshua A. Tepfer et al, Arresting Development: Convictions of Innocent Youth, 62 RUTGERS L. REV. 887,911-12 (2010).
78. Jones, supra note 52, at 6;
79. Kaban & Quinlan, supra note 6, at 38.
80. Drizin & Luloff, supra note 2, at 289.
81. Ann Tobey et al, Youths' Trial Participation as Seen by Youths and Their Attorneys: An Exploration of Competence-Based Issues, in YOUTH ON TRIAL: A DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE 225, 225-26 (Thomas Grisso & Robert G. Schwartz eds., 2000).
82. Id. at 240.
83. Schmidt, supra note 28, at 191.
84. See supra text accompanying note 6.
85. See supra text accompanying notes 29-31, 37-48.
86. See supra text accompanying notes 16-17, 20-28.
87. See, e.g., Redlich, False Confessions, False Guilty Pleas: Similarities and Differences, supra note 5, at 58.
88. See, e.g., id.
89. See, e.g., Brandon L. Garrett, Judging Innocence, 108 COLUM. L. REV. 55, 74 (2008);
90. Gross, supra note 5, at 537, 544-45.
91. Kenneth S. Bordens, The Effects of Likelihood of Conviction, Threatened Punishment, and Assumed Role on Mock Plea Bargaining Decisions, 5 BASIC & APPLIED SOC. PSYCHOL. 59, 71 (1984);
92. W. Larry Gregory et al, Social Psychology and Plea Bargaining: Applications, Methodology, and Theory, 36 J. PERSONALITY & SOC. PSYCHOL. 1521, 1528 (1978).
93. Avishalom Tor et al, Fairness and the Willingness to Accept Plea Bargain Offers, 7 J. EMPIRICAL LEGAL STUD. 97, 106 (2010).
94. See Redlich et al, Self-Reported Confessions and False Guilty Pleas Among Offenders with Mental Illness, supra note 5, at 85.
95. Redlich, False Confessions, False Guilty Pleas: Similarities and Differences, supra note 5, at 59-62.
96. Gross, supra note 5, at 544-46;
97. Owens-Kostelnik, supra note 3, at 287;
98. Allison D. Redlich & Saul M. Kassin, Police Interrogation and False Confessions: The Inherent Risk of Youth, in CHILDREN AS VICTIMS, WITNESSES, AND OFFENDERS: PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE AND THE LAW 275, 276 (Bette L. Bottoms et al., eds., 2009).
99. Steven A. Drizin & Richard A. Leo, The Problem of False Confessions in the Post-DNA World, 82 N.C. L. REV. 891, 944 (2004);
100. Gross, supra note 5, at 545.
101. See generally GISHI H. GUDJONSSON, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INTERROGATIONS AND CONFESSIONS: A HANDBOOK (2003);
102. Kassin et al., supra note 3;
103. Lassiter & Meissner, supra note 4;
104. LEO, supra note 4.
105. Kassin, supra note 3, at 6-7;
106. see also Drizin & Leo, supra note 70, at 907-18.
107. FRED E. INBAU ET AL., CRIMINAL INTERROGATIONS AND CONFESSIONS 298-303 (4th ed. 2004);
108. Jessica R. Meyer & N. Dickson Reppucci, Police Practices and Perceptions Regarding Juvenile Interrogation and Interrogative Suggestibility, 25 BEHAV. SCI. & L. 757, 761 (2007);
109. Redlich & Kassin, supra note 69, at 277-79.
110. Owens-Kostelnik, supra note 3, at 291;
111. Redlich & Kassin, supra note 70, at 279-82;
112. Christine S. Scott-Hayward, Explaining Juvenile False Confessions: Adolescent Development and Police Interrogations, 31 LAW & PSYCHOL. REV. 53, 66-69 (2007).
113. Owens-Kostelnik, supra note 3, at 287;
114. Allison D. Redlich & Gail S. Goodman, Taking Responsibility for an Act Not Committed: The Influence of Age and Suggestibility, 27 LAW & HUM. BEHAV. 141, 152 (2003).
115. See Drizin & Luloff, supra note 2, at 274 (noting that juveniles [are] significantly more likely to claim responsibility for acts they did not commit than adults");
116. Redlich, False Confessions, False Guilty Pleas: Similarities and Differences, supra note 5, at 60;
117. Redlich & Kassin, supra note 70, at 282.
118. Drizin & Luloff, supra note 2, at 293.
119. See generally ROBERT B. ClALDINI, INFLUENCE: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE (4th ed. 2001) (describing various techniques of influence and persuasion).
120. For example, compliance with authority is a theorized reason for increasing juveniles' likelihood of accepting pleas in comparison to adults. Grisso, supra note 16, at 361.
121. Laurence Steinberg & Elizabeth S. Scott, Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence: Developmental Immaturity, Diminished Responsibility, and the Juvenile Death Penalty, 58 AM. PSYCHOLOGIST 1009, 1012 (2003).
122. Id.
123. See Candace McCoy, Plea Bargaining as Coercion: The Trial Penalty and Plea Bargaining Reform, 50 CRIM. L.Q. 67, 79-80 (2005);
124. Jeffrey T. Ulmer & Mindy S. Bradley, Variation in Trial Penalties Among Serious Violent Offenses, 44 CRIMINOLOGY 631, 632-33 (2006);
125. Jeffrey T. Ulmer & John H. Kramer, Court Communities Under Sentencing Guidelines: Dilemmas of Formal Rationality and Sentencing Disparity, 34 CRIMINOLOGY 383, 393-97 (1996);
126. Ronald F. Wright, Trial Distortion and the End of Innocence in Federal Criminal Justice, 154 U. PA. L. REV. 79, 84-86 (2005).
127. THOMAS H. COHEN & BRIAN A. REAVES, BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS, FELONY DEFENDANTS IN LARGE URBAN COUNTIES, 2002 26 (2006).
128. Abbe Smith, "I Ain't Takin' No Plea": The Challenges in Counseling Young People Facing Serious Time, 60 RUTGERS L. REV. 11,12 (2007).
129. Id. at 13.
130. Id. at 13-18.
131. Redlich, False Confessions, False Guilty Pleas: Similarities and Differences, supra note 5, at 53, 56.
132. COHEN & REAVES, supra note 83, at 25.
133. Tor, supra note 67, at 103-13.
134. Id. at 99.
135. LAURENCE STEINBERG, ADOLESCENCE 86-89 (Emily Barrosse et al. eds., 8th ed. 2008);
136. Laurence Steinberg, Cognitive and Affective Development in Adolescence, 9 TRENDS IN COGNITIVE Sci. 69,72-73 (2005).
137. Peterson-Badali & Abramovitch, supra note 21, at 548-49.
138. Josh Bowers, Punishing the Innocent, 156 U. PA. L. REV. 1117, 1173-74 (2008).
139. See id. at 1163 (noting that "|j]udges are especially loath to discredit even incredible police testimony").
140. Drizin & Leo, supra note 71, at 920-23.
141. Kevin Jon Heller, The Cognitive Psychology of Circumstantial Evidence, 105 MlCH. L. REV. 241, 250 (2006);
142. Saul M. Kassin & Katherine Neumann, On the Power of Confession Evidence: An Experimental Test of the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis, 21 LAW & HUM. BEHAV. 469, 479 (1997);
143. see Drizin & Luloff, supra note 2, at 272-73.
144. See STEINBERG, ADOLESCENCE, supra note 92, at 105-06.
145. Owen-Kostelnik, supra note 3, at 295-96;
146. Allison D. Redlich & Steven Drizin, Police Interrogation of Youth, in THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF YOUNG OFFENDERS: FORGING PATHS TOWARD REINTEGRATION AND REHABILITATION 61, 68-69 (Carol L. Kessler & Lovis James Kraus eds., 2007).
147. See Owen-Kostelnik, supra note 3, at 296 (providing the example of a fourteenyear-old boy who falsely confessed "after two days of questioning").
148. Drizin & Leo, supra note 71, at 907-12;
149. Brandon L. Garrett, The Substance of False Confessions, 62 STAN. L. REV. 1051, 1058 (2010).
150. Kassin, supra note 3, at 14-19.
151. Drizin & Luloff, supra note 2, at 260;
152. Tepfer et al., supra note 54, at 892-94.