State ex rel. A.S.

A.S., a fourteen year old with an I.Q. of 83 and who could read only at a third-grade level, was adjudicated delinquent for conduct that, if committed by an adult, would constitute first-degree aggravated sexual assault. On appeal, she challenged the circumstances under which she was provided her constitutional warnings and then was subjected to police interrogation. The Appellate Division found that although A.S.’s adoptive mother was present for the interrogation, the mother’s presence did not provide any buffer of protection and assistance to A.S. in the exercise of the juvenile’s rights…