At the Crossroads of Richmond and Gault: Addressing Media Access to Juvenile Delinquency Proceedings Through a Functional Analysis

• NCJ Number: 174993
• Journal: Seton Hall Law Review Volume: 28 Issue: 4 Dated: 1998 Pages: 1155-1229
• Author(s): J M Dalton
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 75 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Debate over media access to delinquency proceedings requires the study of two major issues: the doctrine the U.S. Supreme Court has developed for addressing requests by the press, media, or other representatives of the public to attend a criminal justice proceeding; and the state of the juvenile justice system in general and delinquency proceedings specifically. This article examines both of these issues independently before considering how the two interact.

Abstract

Part I provides an overview of the rationale used by the Supreme Court in answering access questions in the past, evaluating each of the Court's major access cases. Part II takes a closer look at the two-part test the Court has developed to assess access issues and examines what each element of the Court's test has come to mean today. Having established the access elements, the article then focuses on juvenile proceedings as the case in point. Part III suggests functionalism as a methodology with which to conduct the examination of the juvenile justice system. The author points to Supreme Court decisions that apply a functional analysis of empirical elements for a study of this kind of First Amendment issue. The author argues that such an analysis requires looking past the labels and rhetoric surrounding an issue and toward a substantive understanding. Part IV applies the functional analysis recommended in Part III by examining the history, hyperbole, and reality of the juvenile justice system and delinquency proceedings. Part V then applies the Supreme Court tests discussed in Parts I and II to juvenile proceedings as seen through the functional analysis of Part IV. The author examines whether there is sufficient support to attach a presumptive right of media access to delinquency proceedings. He then considers the possible countervailing arguments against granting such access, resolving finally that Supreme Court precedent and the state of the juvenile justice system call for a presumptive right of access to juvenile delinquency proceedings. Finally, Part VI offers some concluding thoughts on media access to juvenile delinquency proceedings. 451 notes