Defense Attorneys' Concerns about the Competence of Adolescent Defendants
- ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Twila Wingrove Ph.D., Associate Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- Appalachian State University (ASU )
- Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Abstract: Research indicates that a sizable proportion of adolescent defendants have difficulty
understanding and participating in legal proceedings against them, and may be
incompetent to stand trial. To examine attorneys' experience in defending adolescents
with competence-related difficulties, 214 juvenile attorneys were surveyed. Findings
indicated that attorneys have doubts about the competence of approximately 10% of
adolescent defendants, and that they find these cases particularly challenging to defend.
Most attorneys appear to recognize that developmental factors may contribute to
adolescents' competence-related difficulties, and believe that the law should accept
developmental immaturity as a basis for incompetence findings. In approximately half
of the cases in which attorneys had doubts about competence, attorneys did not request
a competence evaluation but instead made other efforts to address competence issues,
such as by teaching adolescents about legal proceedings and further involving their
parents. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Defense Attorneys' Concerns about the Competence of Adolescent Defendants
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Created on 2/5/2013
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Viljoen, J. L., McLachlan, K., Wingrove, T., & Penner, E. K. (2010). Defense Attorneys' Concerns about the Competence of Adolescent Defendants. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 8(5): 630-646 (Sep/Oct 2010). Published by Wiley (ISSN: 0735-3936). DOI: 10.1002/bsl.954
- Language: English
- Date: 2010