ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 discusses the central role of defense counsel in protecting youth due process rights. The chapter begins by establishing due process rights as protection from overarching state power and then discusses the legal framework of protecting due process rights for youth in delinquency court. The chapter presents the legal framework established by the US Constitution and the US Supreme Court, with a focus on the seminal court case affirming the right to counsel for youth in delinquency court: In re Gault. The chapter also continues to draw connections between the legal protection of due process rights and critical race theory.
