NCJ Number
110477
Journal
Southern Illinois University Law Journal Volume: 1985 Issue: 2 Dated: (1985) Pages: 315-333
Date Published
1986
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the Supreme Court's 1984 holding in Schall v. Martin that the preventive detention of juveniles does not violate the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment and examines other Supreme Court decisions concerning a juvenile's rights under the due process clause.
Abstract
After considering Supreme Court cases dealing with the rights of juveniles, it notes that the Court has historically expanded the constitutional rights of children in juvenile court proceedings. It has done this to strike a balance between the need of the juvenile system for flexibility and the need of the juvenile for procedural rights. To date, the Court has not held that juveniles enjoy a constitutional right to be accorded in juvenile court all rights afforded the defendant in adult proceedings. Twelve States and the District of Columbia require that probable cause be established at a detention hearing. In Schall v. Martin a 14-year-old juvenile was detained for 6 days before his probable cause hearing. The juvenile filed a habeas corpus class action alleging that the New York statute authorizing pretrial detention of juveniles violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the fourteenth amendment. At trial, the plaintiffs prevailed and the statute was struck down. On appeal, the decision was upheld. However, the Supreme Court reversed the lower courts and held that the pretrial detention statute does not violate the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment but serves a legitimate state objective and has adequate procedural safeguards. 132 footnotes.