|
Commonwealth v. Guthrie G. (Massachusetts Supreme Court No. SJC-09805)
When Guthrie G. was 14 years old, three police officers went to his home to question him about his possible possession of a gun. The police had been told by the father of one of Guthrie’s friends that Guthrie might have the gun. Guthrie was home alone when the police arrived and he invited them in. Once in the house, the police officers questioned Guthrie about the gun, and Guthrie told them he had a BB gun. The officers asked to see the gun and Guthrie showed it to them. The police then took Guthrie to the police station where his father later appeared. The Court of Appeals upheld the search and confession, and Guthrie appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
The Juvenile Law Center filed an Amicus Brief (pdf) on October 10, 2006, in support of Guthrie’s appeal. The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) joined the Brief along with numerous Amici organizations, including the Northwestern University School of Law Bluhm Legal Clinic, the Center for Children’s Law and Policy, and other organizations (listed below). Amici argue that Guthrie’s confession and the police officers’ search was unconstitutional because the state did not prove that he voluntarily consented to the search or made a knowing and intelligent waiver of his right against self-incrimination. The Brief argues that the developmental differences between adolescents and adults must inform the determination of a minor’s constitutional rights.
Counsel: Susan L. Collins for Guthrie G.; Lourdes Rosado and Marsha Levick, Juvenile Law Center, and Pat Arthur, NCYL, for Amici.
(Other organizations joining the Amici brief are the Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts, the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, the Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project, the New England Juvenile Defender Center, the Vermont Office of the Juvenile Defender, the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and the Southern Juvenile Defender Center.)
|
 | |
|
