The State of New Jersey, Complainant-Respondent, in the Interest of Jose Angel Carlo, Juvenile-Appellant. the State…

Summary

The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed the juvenile court judgments against Thomas Stasilowicz and Jose Angel Carlo, holding that their confessions were not voluntarily given and therefore inadmissible under the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause. The Court applied a totality‑of‑the‑circumstances test, emphasizing the boys' ages, the prolonged interrogations, the denial of parental access, and the police station environment. The decision was unanimous and was contested in a concurring opinion by Chief Justice Weintraub, who warned against wholesale application of adult constitutional protections to juvenile proceedings.