In re Gault

The Court held that juveniles facing confinement are entitled to due process including notice, counsel, and the right to confront witnesses.

Overview

Fifteen-year-old Gerald Gault was committed to a state institution until twenty-one for making a lewd phone call, without counsel, sworn testimony, or a record of the proceedings. Justice Fortas, writing for the Court, rejected the claim that kindly paternity could substitute for constitutional safeguards, holding that neither the Fourteenth Amendment nor the Bill of Rights is for adults alone. Juvenile courts were transformed from informal welfare agencies into systems required to provide basic procedural rights, reshaping the entire structure of American juvenile justice.