Remaking Juvenile Justice
In Re Gault Anniversary
Realizing
Gault’s Promise
of Due Process
In this Issue:
BY PETER J. CAHILL & SARAH EDWARDS
I6In Re Gault and Collateral Consequences
BY HON. JAY D. BLITZMAN
20I8 The Rest of the Gault Story
Fifty years ago, Arizona played a pivotal role in a case that remade juvenile justice from shore to shore.
In re Gault is the succinct name that encapsulated a traumatic moment in the life of a young boy—and a landmark
American case.
In 1964, 15-year-old Gerald Gault was sent to a youth prison. Unremarkable enough, but his incarceration followed
a brief off-the-record session in a Globe, Arizona, judge’s chambers. By the time that session and a number of hearings
were held regarding his alleged lewd telephone call to a neighbor, Gault was sentenced to six years in juvenile detention—the amount of time until he reached adulthood. Had he been an adult facing the same charge, he would have
gone through a far more formal process, with multiple rights along the way. Ultimately, he may have faced a $50 fine.
But as a juvenile, the process that led to the incarceration of Gerald Gault was largely informal. He and his parents
were never served with the petition, the parents were not always able to be present, no recording was made of pro-
ceedings, and no one was sworn in prior to testifying.
Ultimately, his parents found a Sun City lawyer who agreed to take the case from Globe to Phoenix and then to
Washington, D.C. As a result, the Supreme Court held that all children accused of delinquent acts have the right
to counsel in proceedings against them. Five decades later, we marvel at how juvenile justice was administered, and
how a landmark legal case made a difference in the life of Gerald Gault and of generations of young people to follow.
law’s attic
Law’s Attic sheds light
on remarkable historical
events whose anniversary
is upon us. The feature
includes occasional short
essays on noteworthy
cases, laws or legal
events whose anniversary
is ripe—whether they
occurred 10 years ago, or
500. If you have suggestions for legal historical
events that we should
cover in 2017, contact
the editor at arizona.
attorney@azbar.org.
News sent to Arizona from the U.S. Supreme Court, May 15, 1967.