COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Understanding Youth Engagement in the Plea Process: Predictors and Consequences

参与法庭诉讼是法律要求和期望的，有助于确保司法程序对所有参与者公平公正。参与一般是指被告对其法律的情况的理解和评价、其参与的能力以及其与法律的行为者的互动。参与也可以指促进或阻止被告参与的法院行动。尽管大量的注意力集中在成年被告的参与，很少有人知道青少年被告之间的参与。由于大量青年作为被告与法律的系统接触，并由于他们在一般法律的理解和参与能力方面的潜在脆弱性，至关重要的是要评估青年参与法庭诉讼的深度，并确定是否会产生不利后果（例如，累犯）是由于缺乏参与而出现的。这项合作研究的目标是进行一个全面的，多方法的调查，青年参与一个关键的听证会，几乎所有的青年被告参加：答辩听证会。 调查结果将奠定一个急需的基础，不仅了解如何参与青年在认罪过程和他们的法律的案件一般，而且如何在青年或案件的具体特点（例如，在哪个法院提起诉讼）影响参与。调查结果还将为现有的程序正义和治疗性法学信仰模式提供信息，这些模式认为更高水平的参与会带来更好的结果，例如改善对法院的遵守和减少累犯。由于犯罪往往始于青春期，因此确定青年法律的参与对这些结果的影响程度，对于针对这一群体的预防和干预工作至关重要。 最后，研究结果有可能确保青少年被告-在少年和刑事法庭处理-理解和参与他们的法律的情况（如法律规定的），突出的做法和政策，有助于增加或抑制法律的engagement.In the study，engagement in plea process will be examined in two court settings-少年和成人刑事法庭-在14至18岁的青年之间。具体目标是：（1）确定青年在不同法庭环境中参与案件和认罪答辩听证的程度;（2）确定青年与主要法律的专业人员之间的互动如何影响青年的参与程度;（3）评价法院的文化和氛围如何影响青年的参与;和（4）检查青少年参与认罪过程与结果（遵守法庭/缓刑、累犯）之间的联系。在青少年和刑事法庭在橙子县，加利福尼亚州，和奥尔巴尼县，纽约州，400个青年的认罪听证会将被观察和编码;采访/调查将与律师，法官和少年被告进行;和文件的青年结果一年后认罪将被收集和分析。使用先进的统计程序，青年的特点，社会互动和法院的情况将进行分析，以确定它们如何与青年参与，并反过来如何参与与青年的成果。

Engagement in court proceedings is legally required, expected, and helps to ensure that the judicial process is equitable and fair to all participants. Engagement generally refers to defendants' understanding and appreciation of their legal situation, their ability to participate, and their interactions with legal actors. Engagement can also refer to court actions that promote or deter defendants' involvement. Despite substantial attention focused on engagement in adult defendants, very little is known about engagement among juvenile defendants. Because of the large number of youth who come into contact with the legal system as defendants, and because of their potential vulnerabilities in general legal understanding and ability to participate, it is crucial to evaluate the depth of youth engagement in court proceedings and determine whether adverse consequences (e.g., recidivism) emerge as a result of a lack of engagement. The goal of this collaborative research is to conduct a comprehensive, multi-method investigation of youth engagement in one critical hearing in which virtually all youth defendants participate: the plea hearing. Findings will lay a much-needed foundation for understanding not only how engaged youth are in the plea process and their legal case generally, but also of how specific characteristics in youth or the case (e.g., in which court setting it is prosecuted) affect engagement. Findings will also inform existing models of procedural justice and therapeutic jurisprudence beliefs, which posit that higher levels of engagement lead to better outcomes, such as improved compliance with the court and reduced recidivism. Because offending often begins in adolescence, determining the degree to which youth legal engagement affects these outcomes is important to prevention and intervention efforts with this population. Finally, findings have the potential to ensure that youthful defendants--processed in juvenile and criminal courts--comprehend and participate in their legal situation (as legally mandated), by highlighting practices and policies that serve to augment or inhibit legal engagement.In the study, engagement in the plea process will be examined in two court setting--juvenile and adult criminal court--among youth aged 14 to 18 years. Specific objectives are to: (1) Identify the degree to which youth in the different court settings are engaged in their case and plea hearing; (2) Determine how interactions between the youth and key legal professionals influence the youth's level of engagement; (3) Evaluate how the culture and climate of the court affects youth engagement; and (4) Examine the links between youth engagement in the plea process and outcomes (court/probation compliance, recidivism). In juvenile and criminal courts in Orange County, CA, and Albany County, NY, 400 plea hearings of youth will be observed and coded; interviews/surveys will be conducted with attorneys, judges, and juvenile defendants; and documentation on youth outcomes a year post-plea will be collected and analyzed. Using advanced statistical procedures, youth characteristics, social interactions, and court contexts will be analyzed to determine how they relate to youth engagement, and in turn how engagement relates to youth outcomes.