Taking Gault Seriously: Toward a New Juvenile Court

Authors

Gary B. Melton, Center on Children, Families, and the Law, University of Nebraska–LincolnFollow

Abstract

I. Introduction

II. Historic Rationales for the Juvenile Court ... A. Juveniles Are Not Responsible ... 1. The Legal Framework ... 2. The Psychological Evidence ... a. Changing Views of Children's Competence ... b. The Low Expectations of the Criminal Law ... c. The Lack of Congruence between Competence and Responsibility ... d. Some Preliminary Conclusions ... B. Juveniles Are Especially Amenable to Treatment ... C. Formal, Adversary Procedures Are Not Conducive to Rehabilitation ... D. Summary: A Bankrupt Legal Theory

III. Why Due Process Requires a New Juvenile Court ... A. The Developmental Psychology of Procedure ... 1. The Salience of Freedom ... 2. The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice ... 3. Developmental Factors in Use of Procedural Protections ... B. A Psychological Approach to Due Process ... 1. Dual-Maximal Doctrine ... 2. An Example: The Privilege Against Self-Incrimination ... 3. The Need for Empirical Data ... 4. The Role of Counsel

IV. The Problem of Responsibility: A Return to the Past in the New Juvenile Court

V. Conclusions

Recommended Citation

Gary B. Melton, Taking Gault Seriously: Toward a New Juvenile Court, 68 Neb. L. Rev. (1989)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol68/iss1/3