What Was The Legal Significance Of The Case Of Gerald Gault

In Re: Gault

The legal significance of the case of Gerald Gault was the process of due processing, and the violations/ discriminations made in the juvenile court system. The plaintiff was Gerald’s neighbor, Mrs. Cook. The defendant was fifteen year old Gerald Gault. On June 8, 1964, Gault and a friend Ronald Lewis made a lewd call to Gault’s neighbor Mrs.Cook. She called and made the complaint of the call and the calls sexual contents. On the same day the boys, both Lewis and Gault were taken to the state’s children detention center. Gault’s parent were never notified of the arrest until they went to look for him, and the Lewis’s family told Gault’s older brother. The parent went to the detention center, where the superintendent told them

The Appellants was this decision overturned, they feel their son is not getting fair treatment. He is a minor delinquent, the appeal system was not available for them, but that soon changed. The petition sent to the supreme court by, Officer Flagg, Gault’s probation officer said, “ this said minor is under the age of eighteen years old, and is in need of protection of this honorable court; { this said minor} is a delinquent minor. The plaintiff, Mrs. Cook never showed up to any of the hearings scheduled, so therefore her only complaint made was that of lewd phone call to the police. She was never there to testify again

Out of the nine justices only one voted against Gault, which was Potter Stewart. Also, out of the nine only two were concurring, they were Hugo L. Black and Byron White. They believed that the constitution should be taken literally, and that every step should be followed, but they also feel that Gault should be charged to an extent. Those who voted with the majority were those of, Earl Warren, William J. Bennan Jr., William O. Douglas, and Tom C. Clark. The majority opinion was the requirements of the fourteenth and sixth amendment were not met. The due processing was not completed. Steps were skipped, and the boy was discriminated because of his delinquency. The majority opinion was written by Abe Fortas. The legal significance of this case is the process of due processing, and the right to not be discriminated or treated unfairly. The decision of Gault’s court case sent the world into a “ due processing revolution”. In the 1970’s Gault’s case set precedent for two more cases, the cases of Mckeiver v. Pennsylvania, In Re: Burris. Also, the case of Goss v. Lopez. Both cases happen within four years. The case of Gault made the evaluation of the due process much more