6th Amendment Scenario 1: The Case of Jasper Madison Jasper Madison had never been in trouble before. At age 16, he lived with his mother and attended a local high school. One day, Jasper borrowed a cell phone from his mother. After school, Jasper and his friend Franklin Adams began playing with the phone. Franklin took the phone from Jasper and typed an obscene text message and sent it to the school Principal. Franklin typed the text message using the phone’s keypad. The message was childish, rude, and obscene. Franklin sent the message while Jasper held the phone and laughed nervously at what his friend was doing.

The Principal was not amused and called the police. The police tracked the telephone number back to Jasper and he was arrested at school. In the middle of the English class, he was handcuffed and marched to the police station. The police did not call his mother, or tell any other family member. Jasper was not told the charges on which he was arrested. That first night Jasper slept on the hard mattress in the local juvenile facility.

The next day, Jasper appeared before a juvenile judge. He did not speak to a lawyer. Jasper’s mother arrived but did not participate in the hearing. She was handed a piece of paper listing “unlawful communication of obscene messages” as the charge against Jasper. The Principal did not show up at the hearing. The text message was not reviewed by the judge. The judge questioned Jasper about the text message. Jasper admitted it was his phone, and he was present while Franklin typed the messages. After Jasper answered the judge’s questions, the judge found him guilty. There was no recording of what happened in the courtroom.
Questions: A-B & C
A). Does what happened to Jasper seem fair? Why or why not? B.) If you were Jasper, what would you want to happen? Who should he get to talk to? What information should he have been given? C). If you think it was unfair, where does that sense of unfairness come from? Do you know of a rule or law that protects someone like Jasper Madison?