Juvenile Discovery: A Developing Trend and a Word of Caution

The use of discovery is acknowledged as essential to the efficient administration of justice and to the fairness of the adversary system in both civil and criminal proceedings. However, the juvenile court system has been slow to implement various means of discovery, largely as a result of the doctrine of parens patriae and the unique nature of the juvenile process. Although a discernible trend indicates acceptance of pretrial discovery, there has been considerable experimentation at decisional and statutory levels to develop procedurally protective discovery mechanisms. Professor Geraghty traces the use of discovery in juvenile proceedings and devotes particular attention to whether civil or criminal techniques should serve as the basis for pretrial discovery.

As a corollary to such an examination, this article isolates the use of depositions and comments on the appropriateness of their inclusion in a model for juvenile discovery.