“New York has a chance to be one of the first states to require children to speak with an attorney before waiving their right to remain silent.”
Michael Appleton/Mayor’s Photo Office
Remember what it was like to be a teenager? The raging hormones. The awkwardness and anxiety. The pressures of young adulthood at a time when your understanding of the world is still very fresh. Teenage brains function differently under normal circumstances, leading to slower thinking, less impulse control and less social intelligence. But when subjected to the stress of a police interrogation, these traits can be a recipe for disaster.
As a former District Attorney, I know the damage these situations can cause. That’s why I strongly support S.1099 / A.8923, which will ensure a child’s constitutional right to remain silent. This legislation would put in place needed protections by requiring juveniles to meet with an attorney before any police interview and ensuring parents are notified before their child is taken to a police station.
These reforms are critical in New York because studies have shown that children are two to three times more likely than adults to make false confessions under pressure, a trend that threatens the administration of justice and jeopardizes law enforcement’s ability to solve crimes and keep the public safe.
Interrogators often increase this likelihood by lying to children, presenting false “evidence,” repeatedly denying their claims of innocence, and using other controversial tactics. As the Supreme Court has recognized, children are especially susceptible to this type of manipulation because they are desperate to end the riskiest interaction of their lives.
Interrogating children who have not spoken to lawyers often results in premature closure of investigations and release of the true perpetrators of crimes. New Yorkers remember the Central Park Five case, in which five children’s lives were destroyed by being subjected to brutal assaults during interrogations.
There was no DNA evidence linking them to the crime, and the descriptions the teenagers were coerced into giving about the scene and the victim’s clothing were completely wrong. In the end, they spent years in prison before the real culprits came forward. This was a grave injustice to those who were wrongly accused and the victims, and it only made New York City less safe by allowing the real culprits to go free.
“My job as District Attorney is to hold people accountable for their actions. When we succumb to sloppy practices, wrongfully convict people, and punish innocent people instead of their perpetrators, it brings our entire justice system into disrepute. And it’s even worse when children pay the price.
To combat this, it is essential that people, especially minors, understand their rights while being interrogated. With S.1099/A.8923, New York has the opportunity to become one of the first states to require children to speak with an attorney before waiving their right to remain silent. Laws requiring access to an attorney upon request are a good foundation, as are parental notification laws. But they do not replace a mandatory meeting with legal counsel. Children are not adequately equipped to advocate for themselves in such tense situations, and parents are often unfamiliar with their legal rights and what they mean when exercising them.
Looking back at my own youth and the decades since the unjust justice uncovered in the Central Park Five case, I can see how we can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. I wholeheartedly support S.1099/A.8923 because today’s young people deserve to be protected, just as we all did when we were teenagers.
Julie Garcia is a former District Attorney for Essex County, New York, and an Assistant District Attorney in the Domestic Violence Unit of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Garcia is a former Director of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York.
