This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Appellant was a 12-year-old boy who entered a locker and stole $112 from a woman's pocketbook. He was brought to trial in New York where the statutory authority allowed conviction of a juvenile offense from a mere preponderance of evidence. He was sentenced to 18 months in a training school subject to annual extensions until his 18th birthday. An appeal ensued, and the case was affirmed by the New York State Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals indicated that a delinquency adjudication is not a 'conviction'; that it affects no right or privilege, including the right to hold public office or to obtain a license, and a cloak of protective confidentiality is thrown around all the proceedings. The delinquency status is not made a crime, and the proceedings are not criminal. There is, hence, no deprivation of due process in the statutory provision. The Supreme Court granted review.

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