[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 78 (Friday, May 11, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6030-S6031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LANDMARK CASE OF IN RE GAULT, 
                                 ET AL

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 194.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the 
resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 194) commemorating the 40th 
     anniversary of the landmark case In re Gault, et. al., in 
     which the Supreme Court held that all children accused of 
     delinquent acts and facing a proceeding in which their 
     freedom may be curtailed have a right to counsel in the 
     proceedings against them.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, this year marks the 40th anniversary of 
the landmark Supreme Court decision of In re Gault in 1967, in which 
the Court declared that children accused of delinquent acts have a 
constitutional right to counsel. Before that decision, children accused 
of delinquency had virtually no legal rights. They were at the mercy of 
a legal system that often led to unjust results. Gerald Gault's 
experience illustrates the injustices that often took place.
  When he was 15 years old, Gerald was accused of a delinquent act that 
involved making a nuisance phone call. He was swept up in a juvenile 
justice system that had almost no procedural

[[Page S6031]]

safeguards. Basic rights available to adults were denied to him. He was 
sentenced by the juvenile court to 6 years in his State's Youth 
Industrial School, with no right to appeal the decision. Fortunately, 
his parents didn't give up. They filed a writ of habeas corpus for his 
release.
  Gerald's case eventually reached the Supreme Court, which held that 
proceedings against juveniles must meet the essential requirements of 
the due process clause of the 14th amendment to the Constitution. These 
rights included the right to advance notice of the charges, the right 
to counsel, the privilege against self-incrimination, and the right to 
confront and cross-examine witnesses. Eventually, the charges against 
Gerald were dropped, and his case changed the juvenile justice system 
forever.
  In fact, the development of the juvenile justice system was long in 
coming. Before the 20th century, children as young as 7 years of age 
could be tried as criminals, and if found guilty, could be sentenced to 
prison or even to death. The first juvenile court was established just 
over a century ago in Chicago as a result of the efforts of reformers 
who were appalled by the denial of rights to young offenders. By 1925, 
the majority of States had separate courts for juveniles in a system 
guided by the doctrine of parens patriae, which gave each State the 
authority to act as a parent for children in need of guidance and 
protection. Under the doctrine, States were able to provide treatment 
and rehabilitation or safe conditions of confinement for troubled 
youth, and the Gault decision guaranteed that juvenile offenders would 
have basic legal rights.
  In the years that followed, numerous improvements have been made to 
the juvenile justice system. In recent years, however, there has been 
an alarming escalation in the willingness of States to treat children 
as adults. Nearly 100,000 children today are incarcerated in juvenile 
facilities, and they may well be the most vulnerable and defenseless 
group in our criminal justice system. They are routinely sent to adult 
prisons where they face significant dangers. Juveniles in adult 
facilities are five times more likely than those in juvenile facilities 
to report being sexually assaulted. Even more disturbing, the suicide 
rate of children in adult prisons is over seven times higher than those 
in juvenile facilities. Their plight is shameful and unacceptable. 
Clearly, these children deserve better.
  Gerald Gault went on to have a long career in the United States Army, 
rising to the rank of sergeant. He has become a deeply devoted family 
man and will celebrate his 35th wedding anniversary 5 days after the 
40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in his case. Who knows 
what would have happened to Gerald if he had not been given his due 
process rights and had been locked away instead in a detention center? 
The anniversary of the Gault decision is a time for all of us to 
remember that the juvenile justice system is there to protect the 
rights of the Nation's children, and this resolution enables us to 
renew our commitment to building on the legacy of that historic 
decision.
  With this resolution, the Senate acknowledges the need for the Nation 
to recommit to the goals and purposes of this landmark decision to 
finally achieve the goals set forth in the Gault decision. I am pleased 
that the resolution has the support of so many organizations and 
individuals across the country, including the National Juvenile 
Defender Center, Harvard Law School, the Child Welfare League, the 
ACLU, the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, the Center 
for Children's Law and Policy, the National Immigration Project of the 
National Lawyers Guild in Boston, the Children's Law Center of 
Massachusetts and so many other distinguished individuals fighting for 
a better justice system for all children in the United States.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to this matter be 
printed in the Record as if given.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 194) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:

                              S. Res. 194

       Whereas, on May 15, 1967, the Supreme Court recognized in 
     In re Gault, et al., 387 U.S. 1 (1967) that all children 
     accused of delinquent acts and facing a proceeding in which 
     their freedom may be curtailed have a right to counsel in the 
     proceedings against them;
       Whereas the Supreme Court held that proceedings against 
     juveniles must meet the essential requirements of the due 
     process clause of the 14th amendment to the Constitution;
       Whereas the Gault decision recognized that the 
     constitutional protections of due process extend to juveniles 
     the right to fundamental procedural safeguards in juvenile 
     courts, including the right to advance notice of the charges 
     against them, the right to counsel, the privilege against 
     self-incrimination, and the right to confront and cross-
     examine witnesses; and
       Whereas, 40 years after the Gault decision, some children 
     appear in court with no legal counsel at all: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes and honors the 40th anniversary of the 
     decision in In re Gault, et al., 387 U.S. 1 (1967);
       (2) encourages all people of the United States to recognize 
     and honor the 40th anniversary of the Gault decision;
       (3) supports strategies to improve the juvenile justice 
     system that appreciate the unique nature of childhood and 
     adolescence; and
       (4) pledges to acknowledge and address the modern day 
     disparities that remain for children after the Gault 
     decision.

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