NCJ Number
95395
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 11 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1984) Pages: 341-347
Date Published
1984
Length
7 pages
Annotation
College students were asked to serve as legal advisors to six potential defendants. Prior to this task, the subjects were either reminded or not reminded about the Miranda rights via a standard warning. It was found that the students, whether or not they had been reminded of the Miranda protection, gave advice that accurately reflected the varying degree of legal jeopardy faced by the potential defendants.
Abstract
Subjects indicated that legal protections were more needed for potential defendents who were involved in situations that contained police accusations, rather than merely accusations by school authorities, or accusations of more severe criminal activity. However, the presence of the Miranda warning also caused subjects to evaluate legal protections as more necessary. Thus, despite the fact the subjects in this study were well informed and able to utilize legal protections in an appropriate fashion, the presence of a Mirancda warning continued to serve the important purpose of encouraging the use of self-protective legal safeguards. (Publisher abstract)