NCJ Number
148267
Date Published
1993
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study examines age differences in young people's knowledge of legal concepts presumed to be important in terms of the capacity to instruct legal counsel.
Abstract
Forty-eight subjects in each of grades 5, 7, and 9, and 48 young adults participated in a structured interview containing four scenarios, each depicting a young person who had committed a criminal offense, was charged, and retained a lawyer. Subjects were questioned regarding their knowledge of the role of defense counsel, lawyer-client confidentiality, the meanings of the pleas of guilty and not guilty, and what happens during a trial. Results revealed that some aspects of legal knowledge were understood adequately by subjects of all ages (e.g., definitions of defense counsel's role, plea of guilty) while subjects were uniformly ignorant of others (e.g., plea of not guilty). Subjects' responses to most of the questions improved with age (e.g., understanding of lawyer-client confidentiality, trial descriptions). Certain misconceptions also increased rather than diminished with age (e.g., meaning of a not guilty plea). The authors discuss findings in terms of both developmental theory and practical implications for the legal system. Tables, endnotes, references