Case Brief-In Re Gault
Intro. To Criminal Law
26 March 2013
In Re Gault
I. Defendant- Gerald (“Jerry”) Francis Gault
Planitiff- The State of Arizona
II. Background of the case- A 15 year old male, Gerald Francis Gault, and a friend, Ronald Lewis, were taken into custody by the Children’s Detention Home after a complaint was filed after making a heinous phone call to a neighbor, Mrs. Cook on June 8, 1964. Gault at the time of being apprehended was already placed on probation for being associated with another boy who stole a wallet from a woman’s purse. At the time of Gerald being apprehended after making the licentious phone call, Gault’s parents were at work and were not informed or notified by the officer of their son’s arrest and wouldn’t later be aware of their son’s whereabouts until being notified by the family of Ronald Lewis. It was then that Mrs. Gault proceeded to the Children’s Detention Home where she was informed that a hearing in juvenile court was scheduled the following day. The arresting officer then filed for a petition with the court the same day as the initial hearing in which was not served on Gault or his parents. His parents wouldn’t see this petition until 2 months later on August 17, 1964 the same day as Gerald’s habeas corpus hearing. The hearing made on for June 9th was informal having no transcript or recording made, no one sworn in prior to testifying, and Mrs. Cook being absent during the hearing. It was during this hearing that Gerald was questioned by the judge and there were conflicting accounts as to what Gerald admitted or didn’t admit during this questioning. Gerald was later returned to the Children’s Detention Home being detained for 2 to 3 days before being released and a notification was sent to his parents of his upcoming hearing scheduled for June 15, 1964. It was at this hearing that Mrs. Cook was again absent despite Mrs. Gault’s request for...