HR0432 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0432 LRB100 12904 MST 26806 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois is the home of the world's first juvenile court, beginning in 1899 in Cook County; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has long recognized the need to ensure all our State's children have an equal and fair right to justice when in conflict with the law; and

WHEREAS, Issued 50 years ago on May 15, 1967, In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that ensured the right to a lawyer for children accused of crimes in juvenile court; the ruling also provided other due process rights, including the right to be notified of the charges, the right to cross-examine witnesses, and the right to not make a statement against oneself; and

WHEREAS, Illinois complies with In re Gault through the statutory requirement of due process protections for all children in conflict with the law, including the requirement of a lawyer appointed at the first court hearing; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has been at the forefront of national reforms to ensure that all our children receive fundamentally fair and humane treatment throughout the juvenile justice system; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the landmark 1967 United States Supreme Court decision of In re Gault, by ensuring that Illinois fully honors the promise of Gault and of the juvenile court by ensuring that detention or confinement to State juvenile prison is a last resort and for as short a time as possible, by ensuring all children begin their case in juvenile court, by ensuring all children receive the protection of counsel beginning at the first point of contact, and by ensuring that all our children receive fundamentally fair and humane treatment within the juvenile justice system.