YOUNG PEOPLES UNDERSTANDING AND ASSERTION OF THEIR RIGHTS TO SILENCE AND LEGAL COUNSEL

Using hypothetical vignettes, two studies examined factors affecting t he assertion of rights to silence and legal counsel. Study 1 tested Gr ade 6, 8, 10 and 13 students' understanding of their rights to silence and counsel and the impact of age and context-specific variables (gui lt and evidence) on their decision to assert rights. Study 2 examined the impact of guilt and evidence on young adults' decisions to assert rights to silence and counsel. In Study 1, a substantial majority (80- 90%) of subjects over the age of 16 successfully paraphrased these rig hts, while only a third of the youngest subjects did so. Over 75% of s ubjects in both studies asserted the right to counsel; assertion was u nrelated to grade. Less than half the subjects in Study 1 asserted the right to silence but assertion increased significantly with grade, wi th the Grade 10 and 13 students showing comparable assertion rates to the young adults (60%). Both youth and adult subjects were sensitive t o the contextual factors of guilt and evidence, though the nature of t he effects on assertion of rights depended on the particular right in question and on subjects' age. Youths' patterns of assertion suggest t hat they are more naive about the realities of the legal system than a re adults, although even adults showed evidence of naivety about the n eed for due process protection. Thus, merely extending due process rig hts to youths will not adequately protect them in an adult-like youth justice system.