Main description:

In Children's Rights Under the Law, Professor Samuel M. Davis examines ways in which the law relates to children, from private law (torts, contracts, property, child labor, and emancipation) to public law (First Amendment rights of children in school, abortion decision-making for children, school discipline, compulsory school attendance, and regulation of obscenity). Professor Davis discusses the major Supreme Court decisions involving the parent-child-state
relationship. He describes issues of medical decision-making for children, personal freedoms of children, and property entitlements of children, and addresses issues that arise in the educational context, or "school law." Professor Davis also covers child neglect and abuse, and summarizes major Supreme Court
cases in the juvenile justice area, discussing the broad jurisdiction of the juvenile court, arrest and search and seizure as they apply to children, and police interrogation of children. Finally, he examines how some cases are prosecuted as criminal cases in adult court, issues related to the adjudicatory process (akin to the trial in adult court), and issues related to disposition in juvenile court (akin to the sentencing phase of criminal proceedings).

Contents:

Chapter 1: The Place of Children in the Law ; Chapter 2: Private Law and Children's Rights ; Chapter 3: Life, Liberty and Property: The Supreme Court and Children's Rights ; Chapter 4: <"Life>": Medical Decision-Making for Children ; Chapter 5: <"Liberty>": Personal Freedom of Children ; Chapter 6: <"Property>": Protected Entitlements of Children ; Chapter 7: Children and Education ; Chapter 8: Protection from Inadequate Parenting ; Chapter 9: The Supreme Court and Juvenile Justice ; Chapter 10: Delinquency: Differential Treatment of Children and Adults ; Chapter 11: Adjudication ; Chapter 12: Disposition ; Chapter 13: Conclusion