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The Detrimental Impact of Alcohol Intoxication on Facets of Miranda Comprehension
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The Detrimental Impact of Alcohol Intoxication on Facets of Miranda Comprehension

Amelia Mindthoff, Jacqueline R. Evans, Andrea C. F. Wolfs, Karina Polanco, Naomi E. S. Goldstein and Nadja Schreiber Compo
Law and human behavior, v 46(4), pp 264-276
01 Aug 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000490
PMID: 35878105
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000490View
Accepted (AM)Open Access (Publisher-Specific),  Open

Abstract

Government & Law Law Psychology Psychology, Social Social Sciences
Objective: Law enforcement officers often encounter alcohol-intoxicated suspects, suggesting that many suspects are presented with the challenge of grasping the meaning and significance of their Miranda rights while intoxicated. Such comprehension is crucial, given that Miranda is intended to minimize the likelihood of coercive interrogations resulting in self-incrimination and protect suspects' constitutional rights. Yet, the effects of alcohol on individuals' ability to understand and appreciate their Miranda rights remain unknown-a gap that the present study sought to address. Hypotheses: Informed by alcohol myopia theory (AMT), we predicted that intoxicated individuals would demonstrate impaired Miranda comprehension compared to sober individuals and those who believed they were intoxicated (but were in fact not; i.e., placebo participants). Method: After health screenings, participants completed the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-Second Edition verbal subtests, rendering a Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) score. We randomly assigned participants to consume alcohol (n = 51; mean breath alcohol concentration [BrAC] = 0.07%), a placebo condition (n = 44; BrAC = 0.00%), or a sober control condition (n = 41; BrAC = 0.00%). All participants (N = 136) completed the Miranda Rights Comprehension Instruments (MRCI), which measured participants' understanding of the Miranda warnings, recognition of the warnings, appreciation of their rights in interrogation and court settings, and understanding of Miranda-related vocabulary. Results: We found a significant effect of intoxication condition on participants' understanding of Miranda warnings (eta p(2) = .14) and Miranda-related vocabulary (eta p(2) = .05) when controlling for VCI scores. Specifically, intoxicated participants received lower scores for understanding of warnings compared to sober and placebo participants, and lower scores for understanding of Miranda vocabulary compared to sober participants. Alcohol did not significantly impact Miranda rights recognition or appreciation. Conclusions: Alcohol intoxication may detrimentally impact some facets of Miranda comprehension. Thus, it is important that law enforcement consider refraining from questioning intoxicated suspects. Public Significance Statement Alcohol-intoxicated suspects are often presumed capable of knowingly and intelligently waiving their Miranda rights. Our experimental findings, however, demonstrate that some aspects of individuals' understanding of their rights suffer as a function of alcohol intoxication. Specifically, participants' ability to verbalize the meaning of their rights, as well as the meaning of Miranda-specific vocabulary, appeared to suffer as a function of intoxication. Thus, as more research on this topic accumulates, law enforcement should consider waiting for intoxicated individuals to "sober up" before seeking to commence questioning.

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6 citations in Web of Science
6 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Law
Psychology, Social
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