Jeff D. Gorman reports:
A teenager’s rights were not violated when his grandmother sent him to rehab for marijuana dependence, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled.
F.C.’s grandmother was concerned about the boy’s running away from home, using drugs, skipping school and stealing. She had been the 14-year-old’s guardian since he was 4.
She petitioned for the boy’s involuntary commitment to a drug and alcohol abuse treatment center. The trial court granted her petition.
The boy’s lawyer challenged the commitment on constitutional grounds, claiming that the boy has been denied his 14th Amendment due process rights because he was shackled and questioned without counsel.
Read more on Courthouse News, where you can also read the court’s opinion (pdf).