DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services 1989
| Author | Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw |
| Pages | 362-368 |
Page 362
Petitioner: Melody DeShaney for her son, Joshua DeShaney
Respondent: Winnebago County Department of Social Services
Petitioner's Claim: That Winnebago County in Wisconsin violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to protect Joshua DeShaney from the violent abuse of his father.
Chief Lawyer for Petitioner: Donald J. Sullivan
Chief Lawyer for Respondent: Mark J. Mingo
Justices for the Court: Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting: Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall
Date of Decision: February 22, 1989
Decision: Ruled in favor of Winnebago County by finding the county was not responsible for Joshua's severe beating.
Significance: The ruling raised considerable concern among advocates for protecting children from abusive parents. The Court's decision approved the inaction of a government welfare agency, even when aware of ongoing abuse.
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Well into the nineteenth century, children were considered property of the father. However, later in the century concern increased over the wellbeing of the nation's children. The relationship between child and parent received more special legal attention. Cases of neglect or abuse attracted particular public interest.
In the United States, state laws primarily govern the parent-child relationship, protecting the relationship as well as the rights of both. Ordinarily, the parent holds a constitutional right to custody (making key life decisions for another) of their child as well as the duty to care for the child. A child has the right to receive sufficient care, including food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and presumably love and affection. Through time states have assumed greater responsibility for making sure children are receiving this proper care. The growing responsibilities include greater powers to intervene (come in to settle) in family matters, particularly in cases of neglect or abuse. Parents not adequately performing their duties may be criminally charged. In determining custody of children, a rule known as the "best interest of the child" is often used by the court for cases that come before them.
Joshua was born to Randy and Melody DeShaney in 1979 in Wyoming. Soon after, in 1980, the DeShaneys divorced with Randy receiving custody of Joshua. Randy and Joshua moved to Wisconsin and before long Randy remarried. With a break up of the second marriage soon occurring, a pattern of child abuse began to emerge. In 1982 the second wife, shortly before divorce, reported regular physical abuse of Joshua to Wisconsin child welfare agencies. The Winnebago County Department of Social Services (DSS) began to...
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