The right against self incrimination

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution holds, among other protections, that no person "shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself ... ."

It is commonly known as the right against self incrimination.

In Nevada and some other states, however, it has been common practice for years to force juvenile criminal defendants to admit their guilt if they hope to avoid being tried as adults. But even such a declaration was no guarantee that prosecutors still wouldn't seek the harsher punishment -- and use those confessions against the suspects.

On Wednesday, though, the Nevada Supreme Court rejected such an approach, ruling it unconstitutional.

The case -- brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, the National Juvenile Law Center, Washoe and Clark county public defenders and various activists -- concerned two Las Vegas juveniles who were certified as adults for purposes of trial in a handful of robbery cases.

Because their admissions of guilt in an effort to avoid adult court could later be used against them, "the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination is available to juveniles in certification proceedings," justices wrote. The law's requirement that "a juvenile admit the charged criminal conduct, and thereby incriminate himself, in order to overcome the presumption of adult certification is unconstitutional," the court added.

Lee Rowland, an attorney for the ACLU of Nevada, hailed the decision, saying the old law "created a right for juveniles, but that right was conditioned on a willingness to admit guilt, and that is not a condition that government can create for anyone, let alone a juvenile."

He's correct. This is a sound and proper ruling that upholds an important provision of the Bill of Rights.

The decision in no way prevents prosecutors from seeking to try certain dangerous juvenile criminal defendants as adults. It simply demands that they not trample the Constitution when using such a bargaining chip.