DeShaney
What was the name of the boy in this case?
Joshua
What organization was in charge of Joshua's case?
The Department of Social Services.
Who wrote the concurring opinion for this case?
Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
How did this case start? Who took who to court?
Melody DeShaney (Joshua's mother) sued Winnebago County Department of Social Services on the grounds that they violated Joshua's right to the Fourteenth Amendment.
What was the decision in this case?
6-3 in favor of Winnebago County.
What were his parents' names?
Melody and Randy DeShaney
In what year did the county start to suspect abuse?
1982.
Who wrote the dissenting opinion for this case?
Justice William Brennan and Justice Harry Blackmun.
Where was this case first heard?
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Which Justices concurred?
Justice Rehnquist, Justice White, Justice Stevens, Justice O'Connor, Justice Scalia, and Justice Kennedy.
How old was Joshua when he was left paralyzed and severely mentally impaired?
Four years old.
Name one of the injuries that the caseworker saw on Joshua.
What specific clause was the basis for the concurring opinion?
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment which states that "no State shall ... deprive any person of life, liberty, and property, without due process of the law."
Who was the first ruling in favor of?
Winnebago County.
Which Justices dissented?
Justice Brennan, Justice Marshall, and Justice Blackmun.
What did Melody DeShaney claim Winnebago County did not do?
Save him from the violence of Joshua's father.
What was the concurring opinion's main point/argument?
The main point of the concurring opinion is that, though the Due Process clause states that no one should be "deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of the law," there is no evidence in such clause that says that it is the state's obligation to protect citizens against private actors. The purpose of the clause is to protect the people from the State, not for the State to protect them from each other.
What Court heard this case second?
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U. S. 97
OR
Youngberg v. Romeo, 457 U. S. 307
Who sued the county on behalf of Joshua claiming that the caseworkers should have done more to protect him?
Melody DeShaney.
How long did Winnebago keep Joshua under their supervision until returning him to his father?
What was the dissenting opinion's main point/argument?
The main point of the dissenting opinion is that the State created the system on how to deal with child abuse which was taking it out of the private citizens’ hands and into the DSS. Since they created this system, they have to deal with the consequences should something happen. Therefore, the dissenting Justices do believe that the State and DSS have deprived Joshua by creating a system and then not following through with it. Also, Brennan states that the Due Process Clause, which Rehnquist considers a large part of this case, is irrelevant here. Nonetheless, even in terms of the Due Process Clause, the dissenting Justices agree that the State deprived Joshua of liberty.
What did the Court of appeals rule?
The affirmed the decision of the lower courts.
Why was this case/decision so significant?
This ruling raised concerns about the importance of childhood safety and left many people deeply upset. Plaintiffs seeking to hold child welfare agencies accountable for their failure to protect children from parental abuse no longer have any recourse to federal courts as a result of the Supreme Court’s refusal in DeShaney to assign any constitutional duties to child welfare agencies. This case has also been regarded as very difficult due to the Supreme Court having to decide between two impossible sides. It is still widely known as a controversial case.