Legal Decision-Making among Youth Defendants, Victims, and Witnesses

Abstract

Adolescence is characterized by multifaceted growth, change, and vulnerability. Several developmental characteristics of adolescence, such as youths’ tendencies to engage in exploratory and risk-taking behaviors, susceptibility to peer influence, and desire for autonomy, increase the likelihood that they will come into contact with the legal system not only as perpetrators but also as victims and witnesses. Those same characteristics then influence their experiences. In the present chapter, we describe these influences, focusing on how they likely influence legally relevant decisions adolescents make in interviews and in court as suspects and defendants and as victims and witnesses. We close by highlighting important new directions for research on how developmental characteristics shape legal decisions in unique subsets of adolescents (e.g., those who are both delinquent and victims) and by offering practical recommendations regarding the need for more in-depth training of legal professionals on how adolescent development affects youth involvement in the legal system.