Juveniles’ Consent in Delinquency Proceedings

Abstract

The Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights—the rights to silence and to the benefit of legal counsel—are extended to persons in legal proceedings that might lead to their conviction of criminal offenses. In re Gault1 and subsequent cases extended these rights to minors. Whenever police or court officers wish to question a minor about alleged involvement in a delinquent act, the minor must first have waived the rights to silence and counsel: that is, must have consented to questioning in the absence of legal counsel. Waiver of rights must have been made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily in order for the products of the waiver (e.g., confession) to be validly obtained and admissable as evidence in proceedings against the suspect. These circumstances raise a critical question: to what extent can the waiver of the rights to silence and legal counsel by minors be made competently—that is, knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily?