Court Opinion

ID: 9658373
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 20:57:05.424781+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:54.069697
License: Public Domain

McCown, J.,
dissenting.
My opinion as set out in DeBacker v. Brainard, 183 Neb. 461, 161 N. W. 2d 508, is expressly reaffirmed.
The Constitution of Nebraska contains provisions dealing with criminal prosecutions similar to those of the federal Constitution. See Article I, section 11, Constitution of Nebraska. The state Constitution also contains a separate specific requirement that: “The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, but the Legislature may authorize trial by a jury of a less number than twelve in courts inferior to the District Court, and may by general law authorize a verdict in civil cases in any court by not less than five-sixths of the jury.” Article I, section 6, Constitution of Nebraska.
If an adjudication of juvenile delinquency is still regarded as civil rather than criminal, these provisions may well bolster an equal protection argument, as well as the due process argument.
The position of the majority here is that since juveniles may properly be classified separately from adults for certain purposes, they may also be classified separately from adults in granting or withholding specifically guaranteed constitutional rights. That position simply *358means that a juvenile is not a “person” or a “citizen” protected by either the state or the federal Constitution. That position I cannot accept.