Social Security Office Locations Michigan

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Department of Baltimore City Social Services v Bouknight,

488 U.S. 1301 (1988)

A three month old baby was admitted for treatment in a hospital. It became obvious that the mother, Jackie Bouknight may have abused the child. Therefore, the Department of Social Services (DSS) has asked the Court to declare the child as a child in need of assistance "and grant him the power to put the child in the care home (Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U.S. 1301 (1988). The court granted relief and it was agreed by the parties, Bouknight should have custody of the child subjected to conditions of supervised parenting and commitment Non-causing bodily harm and punishment to the child. At first, Bouknight met the conditions, but later she became uncooperative and refused to produce his son to the DSS.

DSS fear for the safety and well being of the child have filed a petition before the Court to compel Bouknight to produce his son. She did not appear before the Court, but was later arrested. On his refusal to disclose the whereabouts of her son, she was found guilty of contempt and was sentenced to be imprisoned until compliance with the order [Case of Mauritius, No. 50 (December 19, 1988) . 314 Md. 391, 550 A.2d 1135].

On certiorari, the Court of Appeals of Maryland ruled that the committal of Bouknight was a violation of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The Court of production son is in the nature of the evidence, since doing it only proves Bouknight of "continuous control" over her son that can be used in criminal proceedings. He held that acts of production are deemed to have value as evidence by citing the case of U.S. vs. Doe (Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U.S. 1301 (1988).

The U.S. Supreme Court granted the stay of DSS pending the filing of the petition for certiorari necessary. The grant of stay was based on the fact that even assuming that the act of producing children is evidence of character, the line of many court decisions are clear that in the relations between public needs vis-a -vis the claim of one individual on a constitutional privilege, the first is chosen. In this particular case, the safety and interests of the child victim must be allowed on the assertion Bouknight to consider that in the hierarchy of values, safety and welfare of the child has priority over other concerns (Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U.S. 1301 (1988). In addition, the information sought, which is where the child is for the contempt charge, and therefore civil in nature (Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U.S. 1301 (1988).

The Fifth Amendment: the right not to incriminate

The Fifth Amendment of England origin and derived from the Latin maxim "nemo tenetur seipsum accusare means" no one is compelled to accuse "(Levy, 1968). It has been used in the adversarial and inquisitorial legal systems of England (Levy, 1968).

In the U.S., after the revolution of states have ratified the Constitution with the inclusion of the privilege in the Bill of Rights. The original version of Madison has been amended by the House to include "in a criminal case" (Schwartz, 1971). Thus, in its current form, the Fifth Amendment provides, ". . . nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witn.