With support from SJI and in partnership with the National Juvenile Defender Center, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), a new juvenile delinquency information card is now available that highlights the key elements of ensuring meaningful access to counsel for juveniles at initial appointment.

The card, titled “Honoring Gault: Ensuring Access to Counsel in Delinquency Proceedings,” is named after the 1964 case against Gerald Francis Gault, aged fifteen, who was sentenced to the state youth correctional facility until his twenty-first birthday for making an annoying phone call.  It was later determined by the U.S. Supreme Court that, no matter the age, the accused should receive meaningful access to counsel.

Included in the card are four key elements to ensuring meaningful access to counsel for juveniles, and ethical standards for consideration by the parties involved in the proceedings.