Miranda Rights: Age Relevance in Police Interrogation

If a seventh grade boy is interrogated by a police officer, he has the pressure to tell the truth; however if an adult was to be interrogated they would know that they have the right to remain silent. This correlates with the Miranda v. Arizona case, stating that you have the right to remain silent, and after you are told these rights anything you say can be used against you in the court of law. And because children are psychologically and socially different from adults this raises the question- if the age of a child subjected to police questioning is also relevant when determining police custody for Miranda purposes? There is no strict or absolute way in interrogating a child after a crime has been committed; nonetheless it is settled by

was taken out of class after suspected of committing two break-in robberies. Investigator DiCostanzo did not read him the Miranda Warnings and did not call a legal guardian to be present during questioning. J.D.B instantly denied his involvement, but after DiCostanzo warned that he may face juvenile detention, he confessed. After the confession DiCostanzo told him he could refuse to answer any further questions and leave. “J.D.B nodded and provided further detail, including information about the location of the stolen items. Eventually J.D.B wrote a statement, at DiCostanzo’s request” (J.D.B. v. North Carolina) it was after the confession that DiCostanzo told J.D.B that he could refuse any further questions, but he hadn’t told him this previously. Following the questioning J.D.B. was charged for breaking and entering, and

“With the language in J.D.B. as a guide, there is now an open door that litigators can walk through to make a variety of challenges when a seasoned law enforcement officer questions an immature child” (Tepfer). Even Justice Samuel Alito agreed with the previous statement, adding that in future cases dealing with children the court should consider age and additional characteristics that could affect the person under interrogation. Because there is not a written rule that can be applied to all cases, there have still been many issues dealing with children subjected to police questioning. In the case People v. White, the primary focus was whether the officer should have known that the suspect was at an understanding of the Miranda warnings or if the suspect was in a position to make a self-incriminating