Parham v. J. R.

Appellants

Parham, Commissioner, Department of Human Resources, et al.

Appellees

J. R., et al.

Appellants' Claim

That a federal district court had erred in ruling that a minor was allowed a hearing prior to being committed to a mental institution.

Chief Lawyer for Appellants

John L. Cromartie, Jr.

Chief Lawyer for Appellees

R. Douglas Lackey

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger (writing for the Court), Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

20 June 1979

Decision

Overturned a lower court's decision that would have barred the commitment of minors to mental institutions without a prior hearing.

Related Cases

• Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923).
• Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925).
• Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972).

Further Readings

• Harvard Law Review, Vol. 93, November 1979, pp. 88-89.
• Kramer, Donald T. Legal Rights of Children, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.
• "Mental Health . . . Commitment of Juveniles." ABA Journal, Vol. 65, September, 1979, p. 1391.