"In re Gault"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the case "In re Gault" (1967), in which the Supreme Court examined the rights guaranteed to criminal defendants under the Constitution, to see if those rights applied to juveniles, as well as adults. The author describes the case, which was tried in Arizona, and how the Court began its examination by looking at the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which makes the Bill of Rights applicable to the states, and found that neither are only for adults. The paper explains that the Court also examined whether Arizona's delinquency statute violated the Constitution, whether juvenile proceedings were criminal prosecutions for the purposes of the Sixth Amendment, and whether juveniles had rights to the confrontation and cross-examination of witnesses, and determined that a juvenile's rights had the same constitutional protection as an adult's.

From the Paper:

"The juvenile, Gerald Gault, was taken into custody for making lewd telephone calls. He was committed to the Arizona State Industrial School as a juvenile delinquent, after hearings before a juvenile court judge. His parents brought a habeas corpus action, challenging the constitutionality of Gault's commitment. The Supreme Court agreed that Gault's confinement violated the Constitution. It came to this decision by looking at the Constitution, specifically amendments V, VI, and XIV."

Sample of Sources Used:

• In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967).
• U.S. Const. amend. V.
• U.S. Const. amend. VI.
• U.S. Const. amend. XIV.

More papers on "In re Gault":

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• Term Paper # 112365 : "Juvenile Justice"

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