Kent v. United States - Significance

The Court's ruling ushered in an era of reform in the juvenile legal system that granted increasing constitutional protections to minors.

The first mention of District of Columbia resident Morris A. Kent, Jr., in that city's juvenile court records came in 1959. At the age of 14 Kent had been arrested for several incidents of housebreaking and one of robbery. The juvenile court judge placed him on probation. Two years later, a woman was raped and robbed by an intruder in her home. Fingerprints taken from the scene matched those provided by Kent in 1959 at the time of his first arrest. He was taken into custody and questioned.