Teen’s plea deal raises questions about youth, adult courts

When young defendants accept plea deals in adult criminal court, do they fully understand the rights they are giving up? That question is at the center of a New York case that has drawn the attention of Arizona State University psychologist Melanie Fessinger, whose research examines how people make decisions in the legal system. In this case, a teenager accepted a plea agreement that included a lengthy prison sentence and a waiver of his right to appeal his case later.