Taking the next step in Miranda evaluations: Considering racial trauma and the impact of prior police contact.

Abstract

By law, before interrrogating a suspect who is in custody, the police should inform them of their Miranda rights-the rights against self-incrimination and to an attorney. When a suspect or defendant waives their Miranda rights, a judge ultimately determines whether the waiver was legal. In making this determination, the judge employs the totality of the circumstances (TOC) analysis, which includes factors related to the individual defendant as well as the environment in which they waived their rights. Frequently, forensic psychologists evaluate a defendant to offer courts a clinical opinion about the defendant's ability to understand and appreciate their Miranda rights and to provide other TOC information. These evaluations are referred to as Miranda evaluations. Using Miranda evaluations as an illustration, this article describes how the critical, yet often overlooked, concepts of racial trauma and vicarious and direct prior police contacts should routinely be considered as part of forensic evaluations. After providing a succinct overview of the relevant legal issues related to Miranda rights and of the existing guidelines for conducting Miranda evaluations, we discuss the psychological impact of racial trauma and prior vicarious and direct police contacts. We provide case examples to illustrate how evaluators can consider the impact of racial trauma and prior police contact when conducting Miranda evaluations. This article serves as a practical guide for understanding how and why-in the context of their lived experiences-suspects may waive their Miranda rights. Finally, we recommend how to improve policy and research to better capture issues related to racial trauma and prior police contacts. Public Significance StatementThe work of forensic psychologists can help shape policy and law at local and national levels. Using Miranda evaluations as an example, we demonstrate how forensic psychologists can modify their existing practices to ensure their work more accurately reflects the lived experiences of the people they evaluate and research.

Racial justice in psycholegal research and forensic psychology practice: Current advances and a framework for future progress.

“…After underscoring this incompatibility, the authors offer practitioners a process of evaluator self-awareness to address the tension. Kavanaugh et al (2023) argue that practitioners should consider the impact of racial trauma and previous vicarious and direct police interactions when conducting Miranda evaluations on BIPOC defendants. They explain how understanding the nature of prior police contacts can provide valuable insights into why BIPOC suspects may waive their Miranda rights.…”

“…This approach fails to decenter the beliefs, experiences, and behavioral norms of the majority culture in research and forensic-clinical work. In this issue, for example, Cole et al (2023) and Kavanaugh et al (2023) discuss the importance of vicarious and direct interactions with the police for understanding how BIPOC individuals make decisions about behaviors, such as rule violations and waiving Miranda rights. Culturally uninformed work also can harm relationships with BIPOC communities who may view the development and implementation of clinical and forensic initiatives as occurring without their input, that is, as something done "to them" rather than "with them."…”