DeShaney in the Shadow of the Fourteenth Amendment
Joshua DeShaney was less than four years old when his father's girlfriend first brought him to a hospital in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. An examination found abrasions and bruises, and the hospital personnel suspected child abuse and alerted the County Department of Social Services. After a meeting, the County lawyer found there was insufficient evidence of child abuse, and Joshua was returned to his father.
Three weeks later, the County social worker was informed of another hospital visit by Joshua under suspicious circumstances. Over the next year, the social worker visited Joshua's house seven times, and during the times she could see Joshua, he had bumps on his head, a scrape on his chin that looked like a cigarette burn, and a reported eye cornea scratch. He also had another emergency room visit, where the ER staff observed a cut forehead, bloody nose, swollen ear, and bruises on both shoulders. The ER personnel notified the County Department again of the suspected child abuse, but the Department took no action.
The day after the social worker's seventh visit to the DeShaney house, Randy DeShaney beat his son so severely that he critically injured Joshua's brain. The neurosurgeon who treated Joshua found evidence of previous head trauma and saw that Joshua's body was covered with bruises and lesions showing different beatings. Joshua's mother brought suit on behalf of Joshua, claiming that the County Department's failure to protect Joshua under these circumstances amounted to a deprivation of his civil rights.
Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Blackmun split in this case, and both wrote the case's majority and dissenting opinions. The positions they took on the responsibility of the state to act in this instance again reflected their worldviews. One maintained that the State of Wisconsin had a constitutional duty to act under the Fourteenth Amendment to protect Joshua. The other understood the Fourteenth as remedial in nature in order to address deliberate abuses of state power and rejected any expansion of the Due Process Clause that would further erode federalism.
Joshua DeShaney was less than four years old when his father's girlfriend first brought him to a hospital in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. An examination found abrasions and bruises, and the hospital personnel suspected child abuse and alerted the County Department of Social Services. After a meeting, the County lawyer found there was insufficient evidence of child abuse, and Joshua was returned to his father.
Three weeks later, the County social worker was informed of another hospital visit by Joshua under suspicious circumstances. Over the next year, the social worker visited Joshua's house seven times, and during the times she could see Joshua, he had bumps on his head, a scrape on his chin that looked like a cigarette burn, and a reported eye cornea scratch. He also had another emergency room visit, where the ER staff observed a cut forehead, bloody nose, swollen ear, and bruises on both shoulders. The ER personnel notified the County Department again of the suspected child abuse, but the Department took no action.
The day after the social worker's seventh visit to the DeShaney house, Randy DeShaney beat his son so severely that he critically injured Joshua's brain. The neurosurgeon who treated Joshua found evidence of previous head trauma and saw that Joshua's body was covered with bruises and lesions showing different beatings. Joshua's mother brought suit on behalf of Joshua, claiming that the County Department's failure to protect Joshua under these circumstances amounted to a deprivation of his civil rights.
Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Blackmun split in this case, and both wrote the case's majority and dissenting opinions. The positions they took on the responsibility of the state to act in this instance again reflected their worldviews. One maintained that the State of Wisconsin had a constitutional duty to act under the Fourteenth Amendment to protect Joshua. The other understood the Fourteenth as remedial in nature in order to address deliberate abuses of state power and rejected any expansion of the Due Process Clause that would further erode federalism.
Chapter Four
Product details
Hardcover
390 pages
Publisher: Lexington Books (December 31, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1498570593
ISBN-13: 978-1498570596
Dimensions: 6 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.74 pounds