Gault

15-year-old Arizona boy Gerald Francis Gault was taken into custody for allegedly making an obscene prank phone call to a neighbor in June 1964. His parents were not notified of his arrest.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s In re Gault decision that established the right of children to counsel in juvenile court. In opening the way for a system of legal representation for youth in the juvenile justice system, the court famously declared that “[u]nder our Constitution, the condition of being a boy does not justify a kangaroo court.”

The authors – M. Dyan McGuire, Michael Vaughn, Jeffrey Shook and Tamara Kenny – have attempted to “fill a void by explicitly exploring whether juveniles comprehend what a lawyer is supposed to do for them.