Waiver of Attorney in Juvenile Court, Massachusetts and Virginia, 2014-2018 (ICPSR 37194)
Version Date: Jul 14, 2022 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Jennifer L. Woolard, Georgetown University
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37194.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
The goal of this study is to examine age-based differences in knowledge and beliefs regarding the role of counsel, presumptions about counsel, and maturity of judgement when making decisions about whether to waive the right to counsel or the right to trial in a plea context. The study extends existing limited work on age-based differences in knowledge and decision making in several ways that improve ecological validity. The study examines knowledge, beliefs, and decisions among parent-youth pairs from the same family. This sampling strategy more closely approximates the real-life circumstances of waiver of counsel in which knowledge, beliefs, and decisions are nested and tested within family units. The dyadic analysis can offer insight into the challenges and opportunities that face youthful defendants at these critical junctures in case processing. It provides information about whether parents and youth understand these rights and whether assumptions that parents compensate for youths' lack of knowledge is reasonable.
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Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
None
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
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Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The goal of this study is to examine age-based differences in knowledge and beliefs regarding the role of counsel, presumptions about counsel, and maturity of judgement when making decisions about whether to waive the right to counsel or the right to trial in a plea context.
Study Design View help for Study Design
Pairs of interviewers were assigned to each participant dyad based on availability. Interviewers met participants at a mutually agreed upon location and went through informed consent and assent procedures. Once consent and assent were obtained, parents and youth were interviewed in separate rooms. Interviews took approximately 60 minutes. Participants were compensated in cash at the end of the interview. Trained coders completed additional coding and scoring post-interview. Ten percent of the protocols were coded by a second coder for reliability.
Sample View help for Sample
Convenience sample of youth ages 18 and order who self-report contact with the justice system and their parent/guardian.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Participants included 40 younger adolescents (11-14 years old), 85 older adolescents (15-17 years old), and 96 adults.
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Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
- Miranda Rights Comprehension Instrument (MRCI)
- Hollingshead Index of Socioeconomic Status
- WASI
Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2022-07-14
Version History View help for Version History
2022-07-14 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.