THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Arthur T. Vanderbilt, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, in a foreword to Virtue, Basic Structure for Children's Services in Michigan (1953), p. x: "In their zeal to care for children neither juvenile judges nor welfare workers can be permitted to violate the CONSTITUTION, especially the CONSTITUTIONAL provisions as to DUE PROCESS that are involved in moving a child from its home. The indispensable elements of due process are:
First, a tribunal with jurisdiction; second, notice of a hearing to the proper parties;
AND FINALLY, A FAIR HEARING. ALL THESE THREE MUST BE PRESENT IF WE ARE TO TREAT THE CHILD AS AN INDIVIDUAL HUMAN BEING AND NOT REVERT, IN SPITE OF GOOD INTENTIONS, TO THE MORE PRIMITIVE DAYS WHEN HE WAS TREATED AS A CHATTEL OF HIS PARENTS."
A CHILD IS A PERSON NOT A SUB-PERSON
U.S.CODE 42 SUB-SECTION 1983 CIVIL RIGHTS OF CHILDREN. " A CHILD IS A PERSON AND NOT A SUB PERSON OVER WHOM THE PARENT HAS AN ABSOLUTE POSSESSORY INTEREST (THIS IS NOT OWNER SHIP BUT IN A STATUS SYSTEM, BECAUSE OF THE VULNERABILITY OF CHILDREN, THEIR POSSIBLE INABILITY TO MAKE CRITICAL DECISIONS IN A MATURE MANNER, SUCH AS IN THE IMPORTANCE OF GUIDANCE.) THE TERM "CHILD" DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN A MINOR, BUT CAN INCLUDE ADULT CHILDREN AND EVEN ADULT NON DEPENDANT CHILDREN. CHILDREN ARE GENERALLY AFFORDED THE BASIC RIGHTS EMBODIED BY THE CONSTITUTION. THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE OF THE 14th AMENDMENT IS SAID TO APPLY TO CHILDREN--LEGITIMATE OR OTHERWISE, BUT EXCLUDING UNBORN CHILDREN."
THE 14th AMENDMENT RESTRAINS THE STATE GOVERMENTS FROM ABRIDGING THE RIGHTS OF VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE PERSONAL LIBERTIES AND RIGHT GRANTED IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS TO PROTECTION AGAINST INFRINGEMENT BY STATE GOVERMENT.
The basic rationale for depriving people of rights in a dependency relationship is that certain individuals are incapable or undeserving of the right to take care of themselves and consequently need social institutions specifically designed to safeguard their position. It is presumed that under the circumstances society is doing what is best for the individuals. Along with the family, past and present examples of such arrangements include marriage, slavery, and the Indian reservation system. The relative powerlessness of children makes them uniquely vulnerable to this rationale. Except for the institutionalized, who live in a state of enforced childishness, no other group is so totally dependent for its well-being on choices made by others. Obviously this dependency can be explained to a significant degree by the physical, intellectual and psychological incapacities of (some) children which render them weaker than (some) older persons. But the phenomenon must also be seen as part of the organization and ideology of the political system itself. Lacking even the basic power to vote, children are not able to exercise normal constituency powers, articulating self-interests to politicians and working toward specific goals. Young children in particular are probably not capable of organizing themselves into a political group; they must always be represented either by their parents or by established governmental or community groups organized to lobby, litigate, and exhort on their behalf. The causes of younger children have not fared well, partly because these representatives have loyalties diluted by conflicts between children's rights and their own institutional and professional goals.
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(1) The Freedom of SPEECH, PRESS, RELIGION, PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY,
ASSOCIATION, THOUGHT AND REQUESTING CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT.
(2) The RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.
(3) THE government may not Quarter, or house, soldiers in
private homes during peacetime without the owner's consent.
(4) The Government may not search or take a person's property without a warrant.
(5) A person may not be tried twice by the same jurisdiction for the same crime
and cannot be forced to testify against him/herself.
(6) A Person charged with a crime still has many rights, including the right
to have a trial and be represented by a lawyer.
(7) The Right to a jury trial by his/her peers in most cases.
(8) Protects people against excessive or unreasonable fines or
cruel and unusual punishment.
(9) THE PEOPLE HAVE RIGHTS OTHER THAN THOSE MENTIONED IN THE CONSTITUTION.
(10) Any power not given to the Federal Government by the Constitution is a
power reserved either to the states or the people.
The 14th amendment also gives people including children the right to take
civil action for depresvation of these rights.
Domestic Violence on the Child
Domestic Violence Signs
The Child Abuse Prevention
Parents and Teachers Against Corporal Punishment
WV GrandChildren/GrandParents HOME
Missing Child Alert
Bill of Rights for the Child
Court Rulings on Children's Rights
1997 webailey@rcvideo.com
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