Book Review: Adams, H. (2008). Justice for Children: Autonomy Development and the State. New York: State University of New York Press. x, 254 pp

• Author: Edward J. Schauer
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016808326377
• Published date: 01 December 2009
• Date: 01 December 2009
• Subject Matter: Articles

Book Reviews 579

achieving successful prosecution through the adversarial legal system, what is the appropri-

ate balance, and how can this balance be facilitated?

The heart of the book is the chapter on investigative interviewing procedures, which

emphasizes the roles of all members of a multidisciplinary investigative team and, as a

result, does not provide “an investigative gold standard” for any of the interviewers to fol-

low. While a framework of testing alternative hypotheses is useful and appropriate, it is

insufficient as training for any investigator. However, numerous other sources exist for

this information, and Plach provides a rich set of resources for readers interested in

honing their investigative skills or otherwise enriching and deepening their knowledge

of this field. Similarly, the provision of practice exercises for investigators is useful, not

only because of their content but also as a reflection of the importance of continuous reas-

sessment of one’s skills and knowledge. On the whole, Plach contributes a useful supple-

ment to the training materials for novice child abuse investigation professionals, particularly

those new to multidisciplinary teams and those building or directing such teams.

Samantha Miller

City University of New York Graduate Center

Angela M. Crossman

John Jay College–City University of New York

Adams, H. (2008). Justice for Children: Autonomy Development and the State. New York:

State University of New York Press. x, 254 pp.

DOI: 10.1177/0734016808326377

Justice for Children is the exceptional product of philosopher and juvenile justician,

Harry Adams. This insightful and intricate work represents years of research, contempla-

tion, theory building, and logical deduction for its practical application. Adams’ goal in

writing Justice for Children is specifically to “present a theory of justice that lays out the

‘normative formative’ conditions and institutional arrangements that any just society will

provide for its children” (p. 2). The premise on which this project is built is that the moral

imperative to respect others’ autonomy can only be truly valid “when understood as the

imperative to ‘respect the possession, but also development, of persons’ autonomy” (p. 3).

Taking a giant step beyond John Rawls’ propositions concerning the limits on the curtail-

ment of a person’s freedom, the importance of education for all, and that personal autonomy

should be respected by other humans and by the state in his Theory of Justice (1971),

Adams argues that children need and deserve opportunity and the means or encouragement

to develop to the level of full autonomy as adults. Lacking autonomy, persons are dependent

on others or on the state.

The argument of Justice for Children is built with six chapters, the logical building

blocks of both theory and application, with each chapter sectioned into its necessary sup-

porting components. In chapter 1, “Autonomy,” the author defines autonomy as “the com-

plex ability to effectively govern one’s life according to one’s own preferences and

capacities” (p. 6). Adams presents six levels of adult autonomy: The first three Autonomy

Levels (AL), AL0, AL1, and AL2 are levels of dependency and stymied autonomy. The