Rights, Race, and Reform: 50 Years of Child Advocacy in the Juvenile Justice System - Hardcover

Barbara Bennett Woodhouse, L. Q. C. Lamar Professor of Law, Director, Child Rights Project, Faculty Director, Emory Law SJD Program at Emory University School of Law: 'Nationally recognized experts show how our juvenile justice system, originally intended to protect children, has too often violated children’s constitutional rights. Gripping stories from lawyers on the front lines document hard won victories in the battle for justice for juveniles and highlight the challenges that lie ahead.'

Mark Soler, Executive Director of the Center for Children's Law and Policy: 'The essays are thoughtful, fascinating and inspirational, written by those who worked on the front lines and later became national leaders of juvenile justice reforms. The historical chapters are like a time machine for those who care about social justice.'

In 1962, a 15-year-old Arizona boy named Gerald Gault may or may not have made a lewd phone call to a neighbor. Gerald was arrested, prosecuted, removed from his parents’ custody, and sent to a juvenile prison, all without legal representation. Gerald’s mother’s outrage at the treatment of her son eventually propelled the case to the United States Supreme Court. With its sweeping 1967 decision in In re Gault, the Court revolutionized the American juvenile court system by finding that children charged with delinquency have a constitutional right to counsel.

This anthology, which commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the Gault decision, blends, across its three parts, legal and historical analyses, oral history, and personal narrative to provide an overview of modern Supreme Court juvenile justice jurisprudence, the advocates and organizations that defend children in juvenile court, the role these lawyers have played in the fight for justice for accused children, and the contemporary challenges facing juvenile defenders and their clients. The authors are leading juvenile justice reformers, advocates, and scholars, all of whom have been deeply involved in shaping modern juvenile justice policy and practice and most of whom have represented children in juvenile court.

This book is for everyone concerned about justice in America. The personal narratives about children in the system will intrigue students and academics, engage lay individuals who are interested in children’s rights, and guide professionals, legislators, and other policymakers involved in juvenile justice reform and criminology.