Loyalty, Paternalism, and Rights: Client Counseling Theory and the Role of Child\u27s Counsel in Delinquency Cases

This Article seeks to identify an attorney-child framework that will (1) give substantive meaning to the child\u27s constitutional right to counsel in delinquency cases, (2) satisfy the ethical mandates of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, (3) have the flexibility to accommodate cognitive limitations while enhancing the decisionmaking capacity of children and adolescents, and (4) engage parents in various aspects of the delinquency case without compromising the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship or sacrificing the fundamental rights, dignity, and autonomy of the child client