NCJ Number
137808
Journal
University of Pennsylvania Law Review Volume: 139 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1991) Pages: 1123-1161
Date Published
1991
Length
39 pages
Annotation
Faced with increasing problems of child abuse, juvenile delinquency, and youth violence, many jurisdictions have passed parental responsibility laws, holding parents criminally liable for failing to supervise their children properly or failing to protect their children from violence.
Abstract
The parameters of a parent's duty to protect and supervise the child are examined in light of how legislatures and courts are redefining that responsibility. The first section of this article describes the emergence of parental responsibility laws and explores the relationship between the current trend and the traditional State deference to family autonomy. Several legal hurdles, including irrational presumptions, vagueness, and overinclusiveness must be overcome before parental responsibility laws can pass constitutional examination. Since parental responsibility laws would punish passive actions, they raise two additional issues touching on the unique requirements associated with criminal omissions and the element of criminal causation. The author has designed a model of parental control that should help in the drafting of legislation that will avoid punishing parents without regard to the parent's capacity to control or protect. 173 notes