Instant Maturation for the Post-Gault 'Hood'

Abstract

Instant Maturation for the Post-Gault ‘Hood’ concerns revolutionary changes for juvenile defendants when the Supreme Court in Gault v. Arizona ruled they were denied constitutional due process protections in juvenile court proceedings and thereby recognized this class of defendants as adults within the criminal justice system. The article details the deficiencies within the juvenile system prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling, and advocates for a radical revision or abolishment of the juvenile court system to the extent it fails to meet constitutional minimums for redress of criminal wrongs committed by juveniles. The author surveys a range of juvenile offenses and the proceedings that typically comprise a complex interrelated range of social, cultural, and psychiatric factors for which judges and courts are oftentimes ill-equipped or under-resourced to address. The author recommends a range of changes to spur this system towards more accountability and responsibility, on the part of parents, juveniles and society as strategies to remedy the ineffectiveness of the juvenile justice system.

Keywords: Justice, Supreme Court, Fortas, due process, juvenile, criminal, gault, arizona, parens, patriae, parent, child, welfare, agency, deterrent, adult

JEL Classification: K1, K14, K19