Access to Counsel

OJJDP supports the development and adoption of policies and programs that: - Provide access to quality (not cursory) legal counsel for all youth in the juvenile justice system. - Ensure that juveniles consult with counsel at the outset of the juvenile justice process (before waiving their right to counsel) and at every subsequent step, through postdisposition. The right to counsel for juveniles was established in 1967 with the landmark case In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S. Ct. 1428 (1967). In Gault, Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas wrote, "under our Constitution the condition of being a boy does not justify a kangaroo court," and the Court ruled against the argument that a probation officer or judge could adequately represent a minor, given the "awesome prospect" of incarceration until the age of majority. The Supreme Court held in Gault that children have the right to remain silent and that no child can be convicted unless compelling evidence is presented in court, under the due process clause of the 14th amendment. Gault was a major change in juvenile law in that it upheld the constitutional rights of children. As Justice Fortas wrote: "Neither the 14th amendment nor the Bill of Rights is for adults only." The 6th amendment also protects children's rights to assistance of defense counsel (Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)) and, moreover, to effective assistance of counsel (Stickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984)). The 6th and 14th amendments, along with the privileges enumerated in the Bill of Rights, form the constitutional lexicon of juvenile justice.