Review of Research and Recent Case Law on Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda Warnings

Abstract

The Supreme Court's decision in Miranda v. Arizona entitled suspects in custodial interrogation to be informed of their rights to silence and counsel, an eponymous notification now known as the Miranda warnings. In many ways, the decision reflected the Court's appreciation of the psychologically coercive nature of police interrogation, which it viewed as problematic enough to warrant an effort to level the playing field between suspects and law enforcement. This chapter provides an overview of the legal and psychological landscape of the Miranda warnings. It begins with Miranda's inception in 1966 and the cases that shaped the warnings over the following decades. The chapter covers the translation of Miranda's legal requirements into psychological criteria suitable for evaluation by forensic mental health professionals. Based on this foundation, it presents recent advances in the Miranda warnings, both in terms of the contributions of researchers in measuring and identifying fundamental problems in understanding and appreciating the warnings and the judiciary's treatment of the Miranda decision over the past decade. Finally, the chapter concludes with recommendations for future research and policy work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)