Gault, Gerald (Gerry) (1949–)

Facts of the Case

On June 8, 1964, Gerry Gault and a friend were arrested by the sheriff for making obscene phone calls. At the time of his arrest, Gault was already on probation for involvement in the theft of a wallet. As was common practice at the time, the sheriff took him to the Children's Detention Home without informing his parents. When his mother finally discovered where Gault had been taken and arrived at the home, the probation officer informed her that a hearing would occur the following day in the judge's chamber.

At the hearing, Gault and his parents were not served with a copy of the formal petition that had been filed by the probation officer. In addition, the victim was not present at the hearing, nor was she interviewed by anyone other than the probation officer. No one at the hearing was sworn in and no official records or transcripts of the proceedings were made. The hearing concluded with the judge deciding to “think about” the case. Gault was sent back to the Children's Detention Home. Within a few days, Gault was released from the home to his mother, and another hearing was scheduled to occur in a week. At the second hearing, the judge committed Gault to the State Industrial School for a period of six years, until his 21st birthday, even though there was some dispute as to whether he had merely dialed the number or actually made the obscene comments.

Because there was no right to appeal for juveniles in Arizona, Gault's attorney filed a writ of habeas corpus with the Superior Court of the State of Arizona on his behalf. The writ was subsequently denied. Although the Arizona Supreme Court upheld that juveniles were entitled to due process rights during delinquency proceedings, they failed to require that Gault should be released from his commitment because the procedures used during his delinquency proceedings were, in their opinion, consistent with due process. Their denial of the writ forced Gault's attorney to seek relief from the U.S. Supreme Court. On May 15, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed with the Arizona Supreme Court's findings, reversed the case, and ordered that Gerald Gault be released from the State Industrial School. At the time of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, Gault was already 18 years old. He had spent the last three years in the State Industrial School on a charge that would have resulted in a $50 fine and a maximum of 30 days in jail if committed by an adult.

...