The People of the State of New York, Appellant v. Arthur L. Lewis, Respondent

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the Children’s Court committing Arthur L. Lewis, a fifteen‑year‑old, to a state industrial school, holding that the proceeding under the Children’s Court Act is not a criminal trial and therefore does not require the constitutional safeguards applicable to adult criminal prosecutions. The Court reversed the Appellate Division’s reversal and rejected the argument that the confession was inadmissible without a warning. Justice Crane dissented, arguing that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments protect juveniles and that the confession should be excluded.