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Children and the Supreme Court

NCJ Number
148842
Journal
Journal of Juvenile Law Volume: 14 Dated: (1993) Pages: 1-25
Author(s)
T A Croxton
Date Published
1993
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court addressing children's rights are discussed.
Abstract
This article reviews juvenile justice decisions decided by the U.S. Supreme Court (the Court) before and after its decision in In Re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1966). The author concludes that the cases decided prior to Gault focused primarily on the rights and authority of parents, not on the rights of children. Post-Gault cases also evidence a lack of attention to the voices of children, accompanied by a begrudging and fitful acceptance of the notion that some constitutional principles apply to children as well as adults. Where the constitutional rights of minors have been recognized, the author concludes that a study of the opinions suggests that the Court is much less solicitous of youth than advocates for children often assert. Rhetoric by the Court is often made to ring hollow by subsequent decisions. One could assert that the Court's view of children reflects a kind of parental ambivalence, at once giving and nudging the young toward adulthood, only to be followed by action which reinforces dependency and treats young persons as infants. Where adolescent behavior causes even minimal disruption, the Court has been quick to find on behalf of the parents or the state. Included in the article's discussion of pre- and post-Gault cases are cases examining education, law and children's rights, youth rights and other intrusive forms of school discipline, minors and procreational rights, and issues of power and control. Footnotes