Adolescent Transfer, Developmental Maturity, and Adjudicative Competence: An Ethical and Justice Policy Inquiry

WORKING PAPER FOR THE MacARTHUR RESEARCH NETWORK ON ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT AND JUVENILE JUSTICE METHOD, MEASURES, AND PROCEDURES FOR THE JUVENILE ADJUDICATIVE COMPETENCE STUDY

Adolescent development and juvenile justice.

Although justice system policy and practice cannot, and should not, be dictated solely by studies of adolescent development, the ways in which we respond to juvenile offending should be informed by the lessons of developmental science. This review begins with a brief overview of the history, rationale, and workings of the American juvenile justice system. Following this, I summarize findings fr...

Competence to waive interrogation rights and adjudicative competence in adolescent defendants: cognitive development, attorney contact, and psychological symptoms.

Although there is growing evidence of developmental differences in competency to waive interrogation rights and adjudicative competence, the correlates of adolescents' legal capacities remain unclear. This study examined the relationship of legal capacities to cognitive development, legal learning opportunities, and psychological symptoms. Participants were 152 male and female defendants aged 1...

Pre-adjudicative and adjudicative competence in juveniles and young adults.

There are several different types of legal competence, such as competence to waive Miranda rights, competence to confess, and competence to stand trial. Although it can be surmised that many of the underlying factors that influence the different legal competencies are similar, little research has been conducted to empirically test this hypothesis. In the present study, juveniles' and young adul...

Elements of Psychological Maturity and Its Influence on Antisocial and Criminal Behavior

Insights from developmental psychology provide a useful perspective from which to understand why young people might engage in higher levels of antisocial behavior than adults. They can also be useful in term of highlighting which aspects of development result in young people making less mature judgments. Yet despite this extensive body of knowledge, there is no psychological or legal definition...