Creating and Transferring Knowledge on Guilty Pleas

认罪是青少年和成年被告近乎唯一的定罪手段，必须在知情、明智和自愿的情况下进行。确定这些要求是否得到满足的主要方法是通过口头答辩、口头答辩和书面答辩表格。尽管它们每天都被广泛使用，在维护正当程序方面也很重要，但几乎没有人对这些认罪材料进行研究。本研究将解决三个问题：1)不同州和不同年龄段的被告是否获得了类似的认罪材料成分和年龄合适的可理解性水平？2)认罪决定受到认罪理解、有罪/无罪、年龄和认罪价值的影响？对于第一个问题，将获得州和县两级的认罪申诉书表格，并进行详细的内容和可理解性分析。第二和第三个研究问题将通过对照实验室研究来解决。青少年和成年人将参与一项研究，在这项研究中，将操纵有罪/无辜和辩诉价值(相对较好的与公平的交易)，并衡量裁决能力和对辩诉的理解。主要结果是愿意认罪。认罪决定背后的理由也将根据年龄、理解和条件进行审查。将获得关于影响认罪决策的情景和倾向因素的理论和实践知识。研究人员将深入了解认罪材料的内容是否完整和可理解(以及这是否因地点和年龄而异)，可能影响认罪决定和理由的因素，以及个人在何种情况下为自己犯下和没有犯下的行为承担责任。这一发现可能对青少年和成年被告、律师、学者和学生产生广泛的影响。随着社会科学在刑事法院中变得越来越普遍，从这项研究中获得的知识有可能影响实践和政策，教育法学家，并保障权利。

Guilty pleas, which are the near-exclusive means of conviction for juvenile and adult defendants, must be entered knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. The primary methods to determine whether these requirements have been met are through oral plea colloquies and written tender-of-plea forms. Despite their daily, widespread use and importance in safeguarding due process, almost no research has been conducted on these plea materials. The present research will address three questions: 1) Are defendants across differing states and age groups presented with similar components of plea materials and age-appropriate levels of understandability? 2) How are decisions to plead guilty influenced by plea understanding, guilt/innocence, age, and plea value? and 3) How do the rationales underlying plea decisions, regardless of the decisions themselves, differ by these factors?To answer the first question, state and county-level tender-of-plea forms will be obtained, and subjected to detailed content and comprehensibility analyses. The second and third research questions will be addressed via a controlled laboratory study. Juveniles and adults will partake in a study in which guilt/innocence and plea value (comparatively good vs. fair deal) will be manipulated and adjudicative competence and plea understanding will be measured. The main outcome is willingness to plead guilty. Justifications behind plea decisions will also be examined by age, understanding, and condition. Theoretical and practical knowledge will be gained about the situational and dispositional factors that influence plea decision-making. Researchers will provide insight into whether the content of plea materials is complete and comprehensible (and whether this differs by locale and age), the factors that can influence plea decisions and rationales, and the circumstances under which individuals take responsibility for acts they did and did not commit. Findings can have broad implications for juvenile and adult defendants, attorneys, scholars, and students. As social science is becoming more common in criminal courts, knowledge gained from this research has the potential to influence practice and policy, educate jurists, and safeguard rights.