Allison D. Redlich

Police-Induced Confessions: Risk Factors and Recommendations

Recent DNA exonerations have shed light on the problem that people sometimes confess to crimes they did not commit. Drawing on police practices, laws concerning the admissibility of confession evidence, core principles of psychology, and forensic studies involving multiple methodologies, this White Paper summarizes what is known about police-induced confessions. In this review, we identify suspect characteristics (e.g., adolescence; intellectual disability; mental illness; and certain personality traits), interrogation tactics (e.g., excessive interrogation time; presentations of false evidence; and minimization), and the phenomenology of innocence (e.g., the tendency to waive Miranda rights) that influence confessions as well as their effects on judges and juries. This article concludes with a strong recommendation for the mandatory electronic recording of interrogations and considers other possibilities for the reform of interrogation practices and the protection of vulnerable suspect populations.

A Prospective Study of Memory for Child Sexual Abuse New Findings Relevant to the Repressed-Memory Controversy

Previous research indicates that many adults (nearly 40%) fail to report their own documented child sexual abuse (CSA) when asked about their childhood experiences. These controversial results could reflect lack of consciously accessible recollection, thus bolstering claims that traumatic memories may be repressed. In the present study, 175 individuals with documented CSA histories were interviewed regarding their childhood trauma. Unlike in previous studies, the majority of participants (81%) in our study reported the documented abuse. Older age when the abuse ended, maternal support following disclosure of the abuse, and more severe abuse were associated with an increased likelihood of disclosure. Ethnicity and dissociation also played a role. Failure to report CSA should not necessarily be interpreted as evidence that the abuse is inaccessible to memory, although inaccessibility or forgetting cannot be ruled out in a subset of cases.

Effect of Mental Health Courts on Arrests and Jail Days: A Multisite Study

CONTEXT Mental health courts are growing in popularity as a form of jail diversion for justice system-involved people with serious mental illness. This is the first prospective multisite study on mental health courts with treatment and control groups. OBJECTIVES To determine if participation in a mental health court is associated with more favorable criminal justice outcomes than processing through the regular criminal court system and to identify defendants for whom mental health courts produce the most favorable criminal justice outcomes. DESIGN Longitudinal study. SETTING Four mental health courts in San Francisco County, CA, Santa Clara County, CA, Hennepin County (Minneapolis), MN, and Marion County (Indianapolis), IN. PARTICIPANTS A total 447 persons in the mental health court (MHC) and 600 treatment-as-usual (TAU) controls. INTERVENTION Eighteen months of pre-entry and postentry data for 4 jurisdictions. All subjects were interviewed at baseline, and 70% were interviewed at 6 months. Objective outcome data were obtained on all subjects from Federal Bureau of Investigation arrest records, jails, prisons, and community treatment providers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Annualized rearrest rates, number of rearrests, and postentry incarceration days. RESULTS The MHC and TAU samples are similar on the major outcome measures in the pre-entry 18-month period. In the 18 months following treatment, defined as entry into mental health court, the MHC group has a lower annualized rearrest rate, fewer post-18-month arrests, and fewer post-18-month incarceration days than the TAU group. The MHC graduates had lower rearrest rates than participants whose participation was terminated both during MHC supervision and after supervision ended. Factors associated with better outcomes among the MHC participants include lower pre-18-month arrests and incarceration days, treatment at baseline, not using illegal substances, and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder rather than schizophrenia or depression. CONCLUSIONS Mental health courts meet the public safety objectives of lowering posttreatment arrest rates and days of incarceration. Both clinical and criminal justice factors are associated with better public safety outcomes for MHC participants.

THE SECOND GENERATION OF MENTAL HEALTH COURTS

Mental health courts (MHCs) generally began to appear in 1997. Today, more than 80 courts exist in the United States. In the present article, the authors argue that the 2nd generation of MHCs has arrived. The authors compare 8 previously described courts (P. A. Griffin, H. J. Steadman, & J. Petrila, 2002) with 7 newer courts that have not been previously described in the psycholegal literature. The authors identify 4 dimensions distinguishing 1stfrom 2nd-generation courts: (a) the acceptance of felony versus misdemeanant defendants, (b) preversus postadjudication models, (c) the use of jail as a sanction, and (c) the type of court supervision. The 4 dimensions are interdependent in that the acceptance of more felony cases contributes to the rise in processing cases postadjudication, using jail as a sanction and more intensive supervision. Potential reasons for the evolution of a 2nd generation are discussed.

Individual Differences in Emotional Memory: Adult Attachment and Long-Term Memory for Child Sexual Abuse

In the present study, attachment-related differences in long-term memory for a highly emotional life event, child sexual abuse (CSA), were investigated. Participants were 102 documented CSA victims whose cases were referred for prosecution approximately 14 years earlier. Consistent with the proposal that avoidant individuals defensively regulate the processing of potentially distressing information (Bowlby, 1980), attachment avoidance was negatively associated with memory for particularly severe CSA incidents. This finding was not mediated by the extent to which participants reported talking about the abuse after it occurred, although postabuse discussion did enhance long-term memory. In addition, accuracy was positively associated with maternal support following the abuse and extent of CSA-related legal involvement. Attachment anxiety was unrelated to memory accuracy, regardless of abuse severity. Implications of the findings for theories of avoidant defensive strategies and emotional memory are discussed.

VOLUNTARY, BUT KNOWING AND INTELLIGENT? Comprehension in Mental Health Courts

The number of mental health courts (MHCs) is steadily increasing. Although the courts are voluntary, it is unknown whether decisions to enter MHCs are made knowingly and intelligently. However, the ability to make these decisions is important given that MHCs are informal (and thus may lack built-in safeguards against constitutional violations) and given their rate of growth. Relevant research on other types of legal competencies suggests there may a substantial number of MHC participants who do not fully comprehend court processes and requirements. Furthermore, the level of comprehension at entry may predict future success or failure in the court. Thus, for both legal and practical reasons, the issue of MHC comprehension among its participants is critical.

Pathways to dissociation: Intrafamilial versus extrafamilial trauma in juvenile delinquents.

Dissociation is postulated to occur as a function of particular types of child abuse or chronic abuse. Additionally, there is an ongoing controversy examining the perpetrator’s relationship to the victim in the development of dissociation. In this study, reports of traumatic events experienced both in the family environment and in the community were used to examine the relationship between dissociative disorder as defined by DSM-IV (pathological dissociation), and dissociation as a defense mechanism. The first objective was to identify whether the site of the trauma or the quantity of trauma correlated more significantly with symptoms of dissociation. The second objective was to explore a potential correlation between topics that participants choose to disclose during a standardized Stress Inducing Speech Task (SIST), and symptoms of dissociation. The third objective was to examine the relationship between the age of occurrence, the duration of trauma, and symptoms of dissociation. Fifty-two delinquent juveniles completed measures (including the SCID-D, REM-71, CTQ, CTI, SIST) assessing traumatic experiences, psychopathological dissociation, and dissociation as defense mechanism. Blind raters scored the SIST for intrafamilial and extrafamilial trauma. The perpetrator’s relationship to the victim, site of the trauma, quantity of the trauma, age of occurrence, and duration of the trauma were analyzed by descriptive statistics and Pearson partial correlations. Significant correlations were found between symptoms of pathological dissociation and intrafamilial trauma. Significant correlations were not found between extrafamilial trauma and pathological dissociation and dissociation as defense mechanism. All these correlations held constant the chronicity of traumas reported. The results obtained in this study through blind and independent assessment suggest that special trauma characteristics (i.e., childhood trauma perpetrated by a family member) rather than sheer cumulative effects of trauma may have greater implications for the development of pathological dissociation. The relationships to dissociation as a defense were much weaker.

Enrollment in Mental Health Courts: Voluntariness, Knowingness, and Adjudicative Competence

Mental health courts (MHCs) are rapidly expanding as a form of diversion from jails and prisons for persons with mental illness charged with crimes. Although intended to be voluntary, little is known about this aspect of the courts. We examined perceptions of voluntariness, and levels of knowingness and legal competence among 200 newly enrolled clients of MHCs at two courts. Although most clients claimed to have chosen to enroll, at the same time, most claimed not to have been told the court was voluntary or told of the requirements prior to entering. The majority knew the “basics” of the courts, but fewer knew more nuanced information. A minority also were found to have impairments in legal competence. Implications are discussed.

The use of mental health court appearances in supervision

A defining feature of mental health courts (MHCs) is the requirement that enrollees appear periodically for status review hearings before the MHC judge. Although the research base on these specialty courts is growing, MHC appearances have yet to be examined. In the present study, the authors followed more than 400 MHC clients from four courts. We examined the number of court appearances that were mandated versus attended, the number of bench warrants issued, and the proportion of court appearances that were made in-custody versus out-of-custody. Finally, we describe and report on the proportion of clients at each court who had graduated, had been terminated, or who were still in the court one year following enrollment.

Questioning the Child Witness What Can We Conclude from the Research Thus Far

In recent years, increasing numbers of studies have investigated childrens memory, suggestibility, and false event reports. The purpose of this article is to highlight key findings from and implications of this research for interviewing child witnesses. First, developmental changes in childrens memory and suggestibility are discussed. Second, theory and research concerning relations between emotional distress and childrens memory are reviewed, with an emphasis on methodological differences that have led to varied results across studies. Third is a description of factors associated with the context of an interview that may influence childrens susceptibility to false suggestions. Fourth, recent studies are described concerning individual differences in childrens mnemonic capabilities, suggestibility, and false memories. At the end of the article, recommendations are provided about what can and cannot be concluded from research on questioning child witnesses.