Children and the Law: Cases and Materials

The third edition of Children and the Law retains the general organizational format of prior editions while presenting several new United States Supreme Court and state court cases as well as references to recent scholarship. Children and the Law examines the rights and protections afforded minors under common law doctrine, federal constitutional principles and legislative enactments. The casebook is divided into five sections: Chapter 1 discusses minority as a legal status including the contrasting theories of the rights of juveniles. Chapter 2 examines the rights of children with the context of the Family, including such topics as the interests of the parents, child and state, the care of the child, child abuse and protecting the health of the child. Chapter 3 addresses the rights of children in the context of Society, including such topics as obscenity and pornography, privacy rights of minors, contract liability and tort liability. Chapter 4 examines the rights of children in the context of School, including such topics as first amendment rights, religious practice, school discipline, school searches, discrimination, harassment and bullying and the disabled student. Chapter 5 covers the Juvenile Justice System, including such topics as procedure, jurisdiction, the pre-adjudicaiton process, adjudication, dispositions, and the future of juvenile justice. This book also is available in a three-hole punched, alternative loose-leaf version printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with wider margins and with the same pagination as the hardbound book.