Juror Perceptions of Intoxicated Suspects’ Interrogation-Related Behaviors

Abstract

Alcohol-intoxicated suspects’ confessions are admissible in U.S. courts; however, it is unknown how jurors evaluate such confessions. Study 1 assessed potential jurors’ perceptions of intoxication in interrogative contexts. Many respondents were unaware that questioning intoxicated suspects and presenting subsequent confessions in court are legal, and respondents generally reported they would rely less on intoxicated than sober confessions. In Study 2, potential jurors read a case about a defendant who had confessed or not while sober or intoxicated. Participants who read about an intoxicated defendant perceived the interrogation as more inappropriate and the defendant as more cognitively impaired than did participants who read about a sober defendant, and as a result, they were less likely to convict. Furthermore, intoxicated confessions influenced conviction decisions to a lesser extent than did sober confessions. Findings suggest that investigators might consider abstaining from interrogating intoxicated suspects or else risk jurors finding confessions unconvincing in court.

A survey of police officers encounters with sober, alcohol- and drug-intoxicated suspects in Sweden

“…Similarly, potential jurors rated being under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs or prescribed drugs was rated as a strong predictor of false confession (Mindthoff et al, 2018). Consistent with this, an experiment by Mindthoff et al (2020) found that potential jurors relied less on a confession from an intoxicated suspect than one from a sober suspect. The researchers thus argue that it may be more difficult to achieve a conviction based on a confession from an intoxicated suspect, and that it might be advisable not to interrogate suspects under the influence of alcohol or drugs.…”

“…This perception of intoxicated suspects as less cognizant decision makers is not confined to police officers' perceptions. For example, potential jurors rated suspect intoxication as a strong predictor of false confessions, and confessions from intoxicated suspects were rated as less credible compared to those from sober suspects (Mindthoff et al, 2018;Mindthoff et al, 2020). Memory impairment, whether alcohol-induced or not, has long been thought to contribute to the susceptibility to suggestions made by an interrogating police officer (Schooler & Loftus, 1986).…”

Memory and credibility perceptions of alcohol and other drug intoxicated witnesses and victims of crime

“…Previous research exploring the relationship between personal experience and perceptions of how drugs affect memory performance have yielded mixed results. In a survey regarding the perception of confessions given by alcohol-intoxicated suspects, Mindthoff et al (2019) found that participants' own drinking habits did not impact upon responses. However, Evans and Schreiber Compo (2010) found a negative relationship between personal alcohol consumption and perceived accuracy of sober witnesses, with individuals who reported consuming more alcohol rating sober witnesses as being more impaired.…”

Hazy memories

“…One study found that ninety percent of psychology and law experts agree that alcohol impairs eyewitness memory (Kassin et al, 2001). Other studies have found that potential jurors also agree with expert witness views regarding alcohol and memory (Benton, Ross, Bradshaw, Thomas, & Bradshaw, 2006), and that they perceive intoxicated witnesses and suspects to be more cognitively impaired than sober ones (Evans & Schreiber Compo, 2010;Mindthoff et al, 2019). While these views are certainly correct with regard to alcohol's robust impairing effects of true memory when present during encoding, the literature reviewed here showed that these matters are highly nuanced and complicated when it comes to false memory and suggestibility.…”

“…The majority had consumed alcohol only (witnesses 73%, suspects 63%), followed by substance combinations (witnesses 11%, suspects 16%), where alcohol combined with cannabis was the most common combination. It is also noteworthy that large proportions of adult and juvenile suspects reported having been intoxicated during interrogation (see Mindthoff et al, 2019).…”