Publication Date
3-2008
Document Type
Comment
Abstract
In the first few weeks of working at the Macon Circuit Public Defender's Office in Macon, Georgia, I represented a juvenile client who was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds. She was a fourteen-year-old public high school student accused of bringing a knife to school. She did not mean to bring the knife to school, having that morning switched purses, and when she realized the knife was in her bag, she did not know what to do. She did not get caught with the knife in a fight, nor were there ever allegations that she was involved in an altercation with another student. Another girl saw the knife in her bag and reported it. The student was brought to the principal's office by the school resource officer. The officer participated in the ensuing interview with the student, but the principal did most of the questioning. When the officer stepped out for a moment, the principal told the student that if she confessed to bringing the knife to school, the matter would be handled at school quietly, and the student would not be referred to juvenile court. No one else was present for this part of the interrogation. The principal knew he was required to report this incident and that it would then be referred to juvenile court, and he intended to do so. The child, worried about how much trouble she could be in if the incident were referred to court, wrote out a statement, admitting that she brought the knife to school. The principal and school resource officer referred the matter to juvenile court. ...
The focus of this Comment is the lack of procedures in place in Georgia for dealing with school interrogations, the dangers of coercion, and the necessity for the Miranda warning. First, this Comment examines the Miranda warning, including its purposes and requirements. Second, this Comment analyzes how Georgia deals with school interrogations. Third, this Comment analyzes how other states have dealt with school interrogations. Finally, this Comment analyzes several previously proposed solutions to the problem and then synthesizes them into a workable solution for the children of Georgia.
Recommended Citation
Brandenburg, Elizabeth A.
(2008)
"School Bullies—They Aren't Just Students: Examining School Interrogations and the Miranda Warning,"
Mercer Law Review: Vol. 59:
No.
2, Article 7.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.mercer.edu/jour_mlr/vol59/iss2/7