Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision of In re Gault! Because of Gault children are guaranteed the same rights as adults in the justice system, including the right to an attorney (as in N.C.’s own family of some of the finest juvenile defenders in the U.S.!), the right to notice of charges, the right to remain silent and the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses.
As proud North Carolinians and in honor of the people who champion the rights of children in every field, we want to bring attention to this monumental occasion and the events going on specifically in our state. Firstly, there are some court actors who will possibly be giving presentations regarding the significance of Gault across N.C. at the courthouses. Secondly, we would like to remind everyone about the Office of Juvenile Defender’s #Gault50NC Twitter Town Hall discussion today at noon, so please tweet your questions and thoughts on Gault‘s importance on juvenile justice in N.C. and Raise the Age.
Thanks to our friends at the Administrative Office of the Courts we have also created a video regarding Gault and what North Carolina has done to fulfill the promise, which can be viewed here.
And you can also listen to Bob Simmons, executive director of Council for Children’s Rights, District Court Judge Elizabeth Thornton Trosch, and Mujtaba Mohammed, assistant of public defender of Mecklenburg County discuss due process rights afforded by Gault and raising the age in North Carolina on WFAE 90.7.