Confessions and Guilty Pleas of Youth Developmental Science and Practical Implications

This timely volume provides authoritative, integrated coverage of the developmental science relevant to youth who self-incriminate, with implications for practice and policy.

In recent years there has been a surge in empirical research on confessions and pleas in general, and among youth specifically. Reforms have been proposed, and some have been adopted. However, in many ways youth continue to be treated either the same as adults or with well-intended but misguided procedures based on “common sense” rather than robust developmental science. Growing interest in this topic, coupled with a high volume of scholarship that is not yet reflected in policy, makes the time ripe for this book.

Chapters in the volume demonstrate that developmental science should be front and center when it comes to confessions and guilty pleas of youth, how the legal contexts surrounding confessions and guilty pleas are fraught with risk for youth overall—but especially for those facing systemic disparities—and that there are ways to improve outcomes for youth suspects and defendants. An international group of renowned experts review research and theory, examine current practice and procedure, and provide suggestions for empirically-based reform. A comprehensive, first-of-its kind work, the book links developmental science with applied scholarship and analysis to help inform practice, and to facilitate the development of empirically supported policy and law that takes appropriate account of the developmental capabilities and limitations of youth suspects and defendants.

Intended for researchers, practitioners, and students across a range of fields, including psychology, law, criminal justice, social work, and law enforcement, this book will be a must-read for all who are interested in understanding youth self-incrimination.

Lindsay C. Malloy, PhD, is an associate professor of forensic psychology at Ontario Tech University. She was on research leave for the 2021-2022 academic year as an honorary research fellow at City University London. Her research addresses questions concerning children’s and adolescents’ disclosure of negative or traumatic experiences, especially how, why, and to whom children disclose abuse; cognitive and sociocontextual influences on children’s memory, narratives, and deception; juvenile interrogations and confessions; investigative interviewing and interrogation techniques; and implications of research findings for the legal system. Her scholarship is widely cited in both forensic and developmental psychology, has appeared in amicus briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, and has resulted in multiple prestigious early career awards (e.g., from Divisions 37 and 41 of the American Psychological Association). She is coeditor of a 2011 volume concerning children’s testimony (Wiley). Dr. Malloy’s research has been funded by several U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Malloy has a long history of knowledge mobilization and is committed to disseminating research beyond academia. She regularly provides expert testimony and consultation related to children’s testimony and juvenile interrogations and confessions. Recently, she cofounded a nonprofit agency (Pandemic Parenting, Inc.) with the goal of sharing research to help all who care for kids navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. For this work, Dr. Malloy and her cofounder (Dr. Amanda Zelechoski) received the Citizen Psychologist Award and Outstanding Media Contribution award in 2021 from Divisions 37 and 56 of the American Psychological Association, respectively. Her TEDx talk entitled “Why Teens Confess to Crimes They Didn’t Commit” has been viewed over 1.5 million times.

Rebecca K. Helm, PhD, is a senior lecturer and clinic solicitor at the University of Exeter Law School and a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. She is an expert in the field of psychology and law, and using psychological theory and quantitative methodology to examine the legal system. Her work has been funded by several organizations including UK Research and Innovation, the Economic and Social Research Council, and the American Psychology-Law Society. Dr. Helm is recognized as one of the leading experts on guilty plea decision-making in the UK and internationally and is frequently invited to deliver talks to both practitioner and academic audiences, to contribute chapters to edited volumes, and to contribute submissions to inform parliamentary debate. She has a particular interest in guilty pleas from children, having completed her PhD in developmental psychology, and has written both academic articles and policy reports on child guilty pleas. Her work has been widely cited internationally in academic work, and has been cited in judgments in the U.S. Court of Appeals, the New York Court of Appeals, and the Iowa Supreme Court. She has also advised public bodies, practitioner organizations, and nongovernmental organizations in this area.

Tina M. Zottoli, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at Montclair State University and a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of New York. Her scholarly interests lie primarily in decision-making and legal competencies, with primary focus on the decisions of adolescent defendants and in reducing adverse outcomes for system-involved youth (e.g., wrongful conviction). She has particular expertise in guilty plea decision-making, of both youth and adults, and has testified in several cases involving suspected false admissions. Her work on recidivism risk in persons released from life sentences for crimes committed as youth has garnered national attention in the United States, and she has testified before the legislatures of several states with respect to proposed second-chance legislation for youth. Dr. Zottoli’s scholarship has been funded by several organizations including The Vital Projects Fund, Inc. and the American Psychology-Law Society, and she is regularly invited to speak or write on matters related to her scholarship. Her clinical practice focuses on issues pertaining to legal competencies, violence risk and sentencing mitigation, and she is regularly hired as an expert consultant in cases involving youth and young adults.

Foreword
Chapter 1. Confessions and Guilty Pleas of Youth: An Introduction
Lindsay C. Malloy, Tina M. Zottoli, and Rebecca K. Helm
Section I. Developmental and Legal Foundations
Chapter 2. Neurodevelopmental Foundations for Understanding Youths' Decision-Making
Jill Grose-Fifer
Chapter 3. Socio-Emotional Perspectives on Youth Decision-Making
Cortney Simmons, Imani Randolph, Jung Min Lee, and Caitlin Cavanagh
Chapter 4. Suggestibility and Misinformation Effects in Youth
Kamala London and Hera Yang
Chapter 5. Perceptions of Youth Suspects and Defendants: When Mock Jurors Get It Right Versus Miss the Mark
Margaret C. Stevenson, Kelly C. Burke, and Gabriela S. Rachman
Chapter 6. Legal Backdrop: Juvenile Justice Systems in the United States, Canada, England, and Wales
Christopher M. King, Sarah Hitchcock, Rachel Bomysoad, Sana Vora, Chinwe Ossai, and Savannah Cuellar

Section II. Interrogations and Confessions
Chapter 7. The Lee Arthur Hester Case Revisited
Steven A. Drizin
Chapter 8. Confessions: History, Research, and Current Directions
Saul M. Kassin
Chapter 9. Youth and Miranda/Police Cautions
Emily Haney-Caron, Kaillee Philleo, and Sydney Baker
Chapter 10. A Decade After J.D.B.: Youth and Custody
Fabiana Alceste and Reece Butler
Chapter 11. Police Station Legal Advice and Out-of-Court Disposals for Youth: An International Perspective
Vicky Kemp and Cerys Gibson
Chapter 12. Youth and False Confessions: An International Perspective
Gisli H. Gudjonsson
Chapter 13. Trauma and Youths' False and Coerced Confessions
Lucy Guarnera and Hayley Cleary
Chapter 14. Racial Criminalization, Stereotype Threat, and Interrogations of Youth
Cynthia J. Najdowski
Chapter 15. Interrogations in School Contexts: Psychological and Legal Considerations
Mark D. Snow and Lindsay C. Malloy

Section III. Guilty Pleas
Chapter 16. False Guilty Pleas: A Case Study in Emerging Adulthood, Coercive Tactics, and a Flawed System
Vanessa Meterko and Jaime S. Henderson
Chapter 16. False Guilty Pleas: A Case Study in Emerging Adulthood, Coercive Tactics, and a Flawed System
Vanessa Meterko and Jaime S. Henderson
Chapter 17. Guilty Pleas: History, Research, and Future Directions
Miko M. Wilford and Annabelle Frazier
Chapter 18. Cognitive Development and Guilty Plea Decision-Making
Rebecca K. Helm and Valerie F. Reyna
Chapter 19. Guilty Pleas and the Psycho-Legal Abilities of Youth
Tina M. Zottoli, Tarika Daftary-Kapur, Kimberly Echevarria, and Aliya J. Birnbaum
Chapter 20. Legal Procedures: Protecting Youth Making Plea Decisions or Exacerbating Vulnerabilities?
Talley Bettens, Allison D. Redlich, and Rebecca K. Helm
Chapter 21. System Disparities: Impact of Racial and Socioeconomic Inequalities on the Plea Process for Youth
Martine Fredrickson and Vanessa A. Edkins

Section IV. Confessions and Guilty Pleas in Practice
Chapter 22. Clinical Practice: Evaluating Youth Who Make Admissions of Guilt
Antoinette Kavanaugh and Kathryn Rea Smith
Chapter 23. Respectful Representation: Practical Guidance for Effective Counseling, Investigation, and Criminal Representation of Youth Who Have Confessed
Maria Hawilo and Megan Crane
Chapter 24. The Roles of Parents and Appropriate Adults in Youth Interrogation and Guilty Pleas
Jennifer Woolard, Grace Hickman, and Erika Fountain
Chapter 25. Applying the "PEACE Model" to Youth Suspect Interviews: Enabling a "Child First" Approach
Martin Vaughan, Rebecca Milne, and Ray Bull
Chapter 26. Expert Testimony on Youth Admissions
Jeffrey Kaplan and Brian L. Cutler
Chapter 27. Conclusions and Emerging Issues
Lindsay C. Malloy, Rebecca K. Helm, and Tina M. Zottoli