Gault: Procedural Change and Substantive Effect

Abstract

Established to provide noncriminal treatment for youths, juve nile courts in the United States have been subjected recently to mounting criticism. Emphasis upon individual rights and the dis covery that the courts have often failed to achieve their goals contributed to an upheaval in the juvenile courts culminating in the Gault decision by the Supreme Court on May 15, 1967. To gauge the effects of the decision, this study analyzed a juvenile court's records for a two-year period. Both quantitative and quali tative changes were discovered, even though no statutory changes occurred. A doubling in the percentage of cases with counsel and a reduction in the total number of cases reflect an increased emphasis upon legal fact-finding. This change in normative em phasis was brought about primarily by changes in the attitudes of court personnel and law-enforcement agencies.