Supreme Court confronts conflict between constitutional rights and protecting children

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the only justice with young children at home, and the court face decisions on the rights of children. (Brendan Smialowski)

The case has prompted an outpouring of conflicting opinions from groups and agencies whose primary interest is in the well-being of children.

Supporting the Oregon officials are the Obama administration, 40 states, school boards, district attorneys and the National Association of Social Workers.

Oregon Attorney General John R. Kroger told the court in his brief that providing a judge with probable cause for a warrant in child-abuse cases is often impossible without interviewing the victim. It should be obvious, he said, why parental permission is not always an option.

"Protecting children from abuse is one of society's fundamental goals," he wrote. "The government has a compelling interest in conducting child-abuse investigations in a manner that is least likely to be traumatic for the child and is least likely to taint disclosures of abuse."

But the other side of the question is represented by 18 amicus briefs joined by 70 groups across the political spectrum arguing that the 9th Circuit should be upheld. The case raises important questions about parental rights and the rights of children, they said.

"The fact that the seized person here was a 9-year old girl requires, as a matter of constitutional law, more vigilance about protecting individual liberty from state abuse," the Center for Individual Rights said in its brief.

It will be the court's first major case involving child-protection services in more than two decades, advocates say.