The Constitutional Rights of Children: In re Gault and Juvenile Justice

by David S. Tanenhaus

Overview

This new edition upon the 50th anniversary of In re Gault includes expanded coverage of the Roberts Court’s juvenile justice decisions including Miller v. Alabama; explains how disregard for children’s constitutional rights led to the “Kids for Cash” scandal in Pennsylvania; new legal developments in the Gault case; and, updates the bibliography and chronology.

When fifteen-year-old Gerald Gault of Globe, Arizona, allegedly made an obscene phone call to a neighbor, he was arrested by the local police, tried in a proceeding that did not require his accuser’s testimony, and sentenced to six years in a juvenile “boot camp”—for an offense that would have cost an adult only two months. Even in a nation fed up with juvenile delinquency, that sentence seemed excessive and inspired a spirited defense on Gault’s behalf. Led by Norman Dorsen, the ACLU ultimately took Gault’s case to the Supreme Court and in 1967 won a landmark decision authored by Justice Abe Fortas. Widely celebrated as the most important children’s rights case of the twentieth century, In re Gault affirmed that children have some of the same rights as adults and formally incorporated the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process protections into the administration of the nation’s juvenile courts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700625055
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	11/04/2017
Series:	Landmark Law Cases and American Society
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	940 KB

About the Author

David S. Tanenhaus is professor of history and James E. Rogers Professor of History and Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is author of Juvenile Justice in the Making.

Table of Contents

Editors’ Preface

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Part I: Desert Justice

1. “A Disgrace for the State of Arizona”

2. “Do You Have Big Bombers?”

Part II: Legal Liberation

3. “It Is Going to Be a Great Case”

4. “It Will Be Known as the Magna Carta for Juveniles”

Part III: Just Deserts

5. “Kent and Gault Already Seem Like Period Pieces”

Epilogue

Chronology

Bibliographical Essay

Index

Editorial Reviews

"An effective tool for teachers and students to explore a crucial turning point in legal and constitutional history."—Journal of American History

"Tanenhaus’s story allows for insights into the incorporation process, the role of the American Civil Liberties Union, oral argument, and the life of a case after it has been decided. . . . The author complements his study with a most useful chronology of events and a bibliographical essay."—Choice

"Tanenhaus places what happened to Gault in social, legal, and historical context and packs his retelling of the now-famous case with fascinating detail. Even those familiar with the case In re Gault will find Tanenhaus’s behind-the-scenes insights revelatory."—Library Journal

From the Publisher - EBOOK COMMENTARY

"An effective tool for teachers and students to explore a crucial turning point in legal and constitutional history."—Journal of American History

"Tanenhaus’s story allows for insights into the incorporation process, the role of the American Civil Liberties Union, oral argument, and the life of a case after it has been decided. . . . The author complements his study with a most useful chronology of events and a bibliographical essay."—Choice

"Tanenhaus places what happened to Gault in social, legal, and historical context and packs his retelling of the now-famous case with fascinating detail. Even those familiar with the case In re Gault will find Tanenhaus’s behind-the-scenes insights revelatory."—Library Journal

From the Publisher

In 1964, 15-year-old Gerald Gault was arrested for allegedly making an obscene phone call. In a procedure stunningly devoid of due process protections, Gault was given a cursory hearing and sentenced to six years in a tough, boot camp-style boys' detention facility. Juvenile rights expert Tanenhaus (law & history, William S. Boyd Sch. of Law, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas; Juvenile Justice in the Making) places what happened to Gault in social, legal, and historical context and packs his retelling of the now-famous case with fascinating detail. Especially compelling is his account of how, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Gault's case was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The author's exploration of the intricacies of the oral arguments and Justice Fortas's majority opinion illuminate the legal issues and highlight the importance of the decision, which extended due process protections to juvenile court proceedings. VERDICT Even those familiar with the case In re Gault will find Tanenhaus's behind-the-scenes insights revelatory. Juvenile justice and constitutional law collections should add this book.—Joan Pedzich, Harris Beach PLLC, Rochester, NY

Library Journal