Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-09-26

article examines. from q Legal point Of
view. one Of the problems inherent in
coping with juvenile delinquency.
~~~--~
hydra-headed monster whose vari-
Gus heads seem controlled by differ
ent nervous systems. But, happily,
everyone is aware of the problem
and many people, professional and
otherwise. are trying to do some
thing about it.
Among them, attacking that par
ticular head labeled parental de-
linquency," are jurists. legislators
and lawyers who are seeking some
effective-but legally feasible-way
OF prodding parents into better con-
troll Of their children.
This Is particularly knotty prob
lem and, at present a grave question
exists as to whether any change
in law or legal theory will help
much.
In recent weeks it has been sug-
gested by some that parents be made
criminally liable for the misdeeds
Of their children.
The Difficulties
There are several difficulties with
this idea, but the major one is that
1t runs head-on into the solidly
established legal principle that there
should be no individual liability
without individual fault-no crime
without the intent to commit one.
In our Anglo American scheme, men
fought for centuries to achieve this
level of justice.
While the parent-child relation
ship is close and special one. fin
ing or falling the parent for crimes
done by the child would seem such
a severe breach of our basic crimi-
nal concepts as to result in more
damage than healing. In effect, it
would be similar to guilt-by -associ-
alton.
.(All this, of course, is quite aside
from the probabilities of the mat
ter
There are exceptions to the Gin
tent" rule in criminal law. Negli-
gence in observing traffic regula-
tions is a good Illustration. It might
be possible to operate on some such
exception theory where the negli-
gence of the parent is a direct and
significant contributing cause of the
delinquent actor example, giving
a 13-year-old boy a revolver to play
with. But even this sort of parental
delinquency is outside currently es-
tablished criminal liability and
faces the added difficulty of being
downright hard to prove.
Civil Liability
Civil liability, however. may be a
more fertile area so far as the law
Is concerned. z....
Civilly, parents may be liable for
injuries or damages inflicted by
their children, provided the negl-
gence of the parent contributed ma
terially to the act of the child. But
here, again, proof may be difficult.
And since this has long been the
law in most States it is clearly not
an answer to modern juvenile de-
linquency.
What makes civil liability more
promising is the greater fexibility
of legal reasoning behind it.
AS a rule in civil law, as in Grim
inal law, there is no liability without
fault. However, in this area greater
attention can be, and has been,
paid to the needs of society as dis
tinguished from the rights of the
individual. That is, in certain cases
the law takes the position that
greater hardship results from failure
to impose liability-even though
there is no fault-than occurs when
liability is imposed.
One of the best examples of this
theory is to be found in the Work.
mems Compensation laws, now in
force in all 48 States. Under these
statutes an employer may be liable
for injuries sustained by his en-
ployes whether or not the injury
resulted from the employers negli-
gence. The law reasons that the
employer should help bear the cost
of such injuries which otherwise
fall. all too often, upon the general
community.
The efficiency Of this kind of law
rests largely upon the fact that
there is no difficulty encountered in
proving negligence. 1t is immaterial.
With this thought in mind, some
lawyers are asking such questions as
these:
. Could not a similar doctrine be
applied to juvenile delinquency cases
where children cause material dam
age?
. Could not a State pass laws to
the effect that, in such cases, the
parent may be prima facie negligent
and financially liable; that is, that
the parent has the burden Of prov
ing he was not at fault?
This idea seems legally feasible
and, If properly safeguarded. need
not violate established doctrines.
Enforcement Problem
The question still remains as to
whether laws Of this type could be
enforced since many Delinquent"
parents have little in the way Of
property or money. On the other
hand, the increased threat OF 6nan-
cial liability might help curb such
juvenile delinquency as may stem
from parental carelessness or lack
Of interest.
Recently there has been q DISPOSE
ton In some States to tighten up
their laws In order to hold parents
to more strict account for the mis-