The new 4th edition has been thoroughly updated with the latest and best cases and statutory references. It includes references to the most recent scholarly articles, books and other publications. It also includes coverage of some recent Supreme Court decisions such as: Morse v. Frederick (the BONG HITS 4 JESUS student free expression case)Roper v. Simmons (the juvenile death penalty case)Davis v. Washington and Hammon v. Indiana (clarifying the meaning of "testimonial" in the Court"s earlier decision in Crawford v. Washington addressing Confrontation Clause issues with respect to statements made to police). This book is dinstiguished by its breadth of coverage and degree of flexibility in teaching. It deals with every aspect of how the law relates to minors, from free expression in school and other school-related issues to child custody, to private law (e.g., torts and contracts), to the juvenile justice system (i.e., delinquency and the operation of criminal justice principles to juvenile justice), to abuse and neglect (including medical neglect), to termination of parental rights, to foster care, to adoption, to the status of children as children (i.e., children"s "rights"). For that reason, the book lends itself to use in any number of courses that might be styled "Juvenile Law," or "Juvenile Justice," or "Juvenile and Family Law," or, indeed, "Children in the Legal System" or some other similar designation. As mentioned below, the flexibility of the book lends itself to varying numbers of credit hours. It contains a unique blend of cases, statutory references and scholarly commentary, including those from the social sciences in addition to law, in such a way that the teacher can draw on a number of sources in examining and teaching about any subject area covered in the book. No supplementary materials are needed; everything is in one book. The organization of the book is an important pedagogical tool as well. It is organized to flow from one area to the next as it explores the overall relationship between the state, parents and the child.