Effectiveness of the Miranda Acquiescence Questionnaire for Investigating Impaired Miranda Reasoning

The capacity of arrestees to comprehend their Miranda rights adequately and to waive them intelligently remains largely unexamined by most defense attorneys and forensic practitioners. Although much is now known about Miranda comprehension, only recently has forensic research emerged on Miranda reasoning. This archival study utilizes an extensive dataset of 847 pretrial detainees who were administered the Standardized Assessment of Miranda Abilities. This study focuses on how forensic practitioners can evaluate Miranda misperceptions that may have contributed to highly consequential decisions to cooperate with law enforcement without seeking legal counsel. Specific items from the Miranda Acquiescence Questionnaire of the Standardized Assessment of Miranda Abilities clearly identified detainees with impaired Miranda reasoning. Two important patterns of Miranda misperceptions were observed: adversarial perspective on arrest and trusting law enforcement. For instance, more than 20 percent of detainees with impaired reasoning wrongly believed that cooperating with police could only have positive outcomes. Even more troubling, more than one fourth of detainees erroneously believed that they must always comply with police requests, which obviously could entail self-incrimination. These findings are then placed in a broader context when examining the professional roles of forensic practitioners in recognizing, understanding, and evaluating for impaired Miranda abilities.