Supreme Court cases affecting disciplinary rules for teenagers.
Ingraham v. Wright
—Corporal Punishment
In 1970 James Ingraham, an eighth-grader in Dade County, Florida, was sent to the office for not answering his teacher fast enough. He was given twenty whacks with a wooden paddle for the offense. Mrs. Ingraham’s lawyer filed charges against the school in federal court arguing that the punishment was too severe and against the 8th Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The federal court judge disagreed with Mrs. Ingraham and she and her lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court. On April l9th, 1977 the court upheld the lower court decision that school could use physical punishment by a 5-4 majority. It said that, unlike prisons, schools are open institutions and while parents may protest mistreatment, the schools could in fact use corporal punishment. In addition, a hearing prior to the corporal punishment was not necessary.
In relating the various cases presented in this unit, an important point should be made. There are no clear cut answers. The 5-4 decision in
Ingraham v. Wright
shows a strong dissenting opinion. When preparing for classroom debate, teachers and students should consider all aspects of a case and their connection to other cases and points of view.
It is especially interesting, for example, that in
Ingraham
v. Wright
, Justice Potter Stewart agreed with the majority in upholding corporal punishment in schools. The decision, as mentioned, also said no hearing was necessary before the corporal punishment was administered. Yet, in the case of
Goss v. Lopez,
Justice Stewart agreed with the majority in saying the students must be guaranteed a hearing before being suspended even for a short time. Both decisions have had a major role in influencing schools throughout our country, and yet they were decided by the narrowest of margins. In preparing arguments for a particular position in debate, the student will quickly learn that simple answers are not possible for very complex questions and that even the experts disagree, sometimes even with themselves.
High v. Zant
No. 87-5666 and
Wilkins v. Missouri
No. 87-6026
Death Penalty for Juveniles
The final Supreme Court case discussed in this unit will be heard during the 1988-89 term. In this case the Supreme Court will consider banning capital punishment for all juvenile murderers. The question is whether the use of the death penalty for anyone under the age of 18 violates the Constitution’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Two cases, one in Georgia and one in Missouri will be used to help decide the issue.
Jose Martinez High is currently a prisoner on death row in Georgia. Just a few weeks short of his l8th birthday, he took part in a service station robbery during which an eleven year old boy was shot to death.
In the other case, Heath Wilkins, while 16, helped rob a liquor store in Missouri. Nancy Allen, a clerk, was fatally stabbed.
According to the National Coalition to abolish the Death Penalty there are currently about 2,100 people nationwide of death row. 30 of these inmates were under 18 when they committed their crimes. Of the 100 men and women executed in this country since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, three committed their crimes when they were 17. Since 1948, no one has been executed for a crime committed when he or she was younger than 17.
Four justices have already said the death penalty was unconstitutional for those who were younger than 16. Three justices did not set age limits for executions. One justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, ruled against the death penalty for one 15 year old because there was a state statute prohibiting the death penalty, but she did not state a general belief for all cases. New Justice Anthony M. Kennedy who has not yet expressed an opinion on the matter will play an important role in helping to decide this issue.