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

参与法庭诉讼是法律所要求和期望的，并有助于确保司法程序对所有参与者来说是公平和公正的。参与一般是指被告对其法律处境的理解和欣赏、参与能力以及与法律行为者的互动。参与也可以指促进或阻止被告参与的法庭行动。尽管人们对成年被告的参与给予了大量关注，但对青少年被告的参与却知之甚少。由于大量青少年作为被告接触法律体系，并且由于他们在一般法律理解和参​​与能力方面存在潜在的脆弱性，因此评估青少年参与法庭诉讼的深度并确定是否因缺乏参与而出现不良后果（例如累犯）至关重要。这项合作研究的目标是对青少年参与一场几乎所有青少年被告都参加的关键听证会（认罪听证会）进行全面、多方法的调查。 研究结果将为了解青少年如何参与认罪过程及其一般法律案件奠定急需的基础，而且还可以了解青少年或案件的具体特征（例如，在哪个法庭环境中起诉）如何影响参与度。研究结果还将为现有的程序正义和治疗法学信念模型提供信息，这些模型认为更高水平的参与会带来更好的结果，例如提高对法院的遵守程度和减少累犯。由于犯罪通常始于青春期，因此确定青少年法律参与对这些结果的影响程度对于针对该人群的预防和干预工作非常重要。 最后，研究结果有可能通过强调有助于增强或抑制法律参与的做法和政策，确保在少年和刑事法庭审理的年轻被告理解并参与其法律处境（按照法律规定）。在这项研究中，将在两个法庭环境（少年和成人刑事法庭）中对 14 至 18 岁的青少年参与认罪过程进行审查。具体目标是： (1) 确定不同法庭环境中的青少年参与案件和认罪听证会的程度； (2) 确定青年与主要法律专业人员之间的互动如何影响青年的参与水平； (3) 评估法院的文化和氛围如何影响青少年的参与； (4) 检查青少年参与认罪过程和结果之间的联系（法庭/缓刑合规性、累犯）。在加利福尼亚州奥兰治县和纽约州奥尔巴尼县的少年法庭和刑事法庭，将对 400 场青少年认罪听证会进行观察和编码；将对律师、法官和青少年被告进行访谈/调查；认罪后一年的青年成果文件将被收集和分析。使用先进的统计程序，将分析青年特征、社会互动和法庭环境，以确定它们与青年参与的关系，以及参与与青年结果的关系。

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.