GUILTY or NOT?

GUILTY or NOT? / Case library

The Conference Room

J.D.B. v. North Carolina (2011)

Charge: Breaking and Entering and Larceny (Juvenile Delinquency) Heard on GUILTY or NOT?: 5 July 2026

The facts

J.D.B. was a 13-year-old seventh-grade student at the middle school in Chapel Hill when a uniformed Police officer removed him from his classroom, escorted him down the hall, and placed him in a closed-door conference room. He was warned about the possibility of a secure custody order — that is, juvenile detention — before he confessed.

You have the facts the court had. Did the prosecution prove it? Render your verdict in the game, then see what the court actually decided — and why.

Citation: 564 U.S. 261 (2011)

Read the full decision at oyez.org. The source reveals the outcome.

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