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The Legal Decision Making of Well-Informed Subjects

The Effect of Miranda Warnings

Purdue University

JEFFREY C. SAVITSKY

Purdue University

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 protections, gave advice that accurately reflected the varying degree of legal jeopardy faced by the potential defendants. 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 Miranda warning continued to serve the important purpose of encouraging the use of self-protective legal safeguards.

Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 11, No. 3, 341-347 (1984)
DOI: 10.1177/0093854884011003006


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