Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 25, 1973 Page: 14 of 24
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New Juvenile Law Reforms Offered
Around the turn of the centu-
ry Texas, along with most other
states, enacted Its first laws
dealing with the juvenile law-
breaker.
These laws, swept in by a
wave of idealism and social re-
form, were designed to rescue
and rehabilitate the anti-social
child, for the benefit of him-
self and society.
Now, nearly three-quarters
of a century later, the State Bar
of Texas is proposing that it is
time to reform the reforms. A
complete new juvenile law will
be one of the largest bills in a
package of family law revisions
to be offered by the Bar at the
next session of the Texas Leg-
islature in January.
Impetus for change has come
from a number of sources. Se-
veral recent United States Su-
preme Court decisions pointed
cut that the youthful offender
was being given harsher treat-
ment and fewer rights than an
adult who had broken the same
law.
A 1972 Readers Digest arti-
cle flatly declared that the ju-
venile laws "mangle the lives
of thousands of children." Em-
barrassingly enough, the arti-
cle cited Texas for some of its
horrible examples. One was a
juvenile judge who allegedly in-
itialed mimeographed forms,
without hearing or investigation,
to send children off to reform
school.
The author also bore down on
the fact that many states (Tex-
as included) do not require ju-
venile judges to be lawyers or to
have any education whatever,
for that matter.
The proposed new Texas ju-
venile law is the product of
years of work by juvenile judg-
es, juvenile officers and law-
yers specializing in this field.
Its authors feel that, if passed,
it will become a modeal for the
nation.
One of the criticisms of pre-
sent law is that it draws no dis-
tinction between children who
break the penal code, as by
armed robbery, for example,
and those who engage in trou-
blesome behavior typical of
childhood.
"It is perfectly possible,"
said one lawyer of the present
juvenile law, "to send a kid up
for an indefinite term for such
"crimes" as playing hookey,
running away from home or sas-
sing his teacher or even, I sus-
pect, for being an emotionally
disturbed child whose parents
want him off their hands."
The proposed new law
would draw a sharp line
between the child who has
committed a criminal act
and the one who is driving
his parents and teachers up the
wall. Only the child who has en-
gaged in conduct criminal for
an adult could be committed to
the Texas Youth Council — or
one who, having been placed on
probation, has broken probation.
jaxDayers
Ask IRS
Q - My son earned nearly
$2,000 last year. Does he have
to file a Federal income tax
return?
A - If your on is single, you
are not claiming him as a de-
pendent and he did not have
self-employment earnings of
$400 or more, he does not have
to file a return because his
gross income is less than
$2050. However , if you or some-
one else could claim your son
as a dependent and he had in-
come from dividends, interest
or other types of unearned in-
come, he must file a return if
his gross income was at least
$750. He must also file a re-
turn if he had net self-employ-
ment earnings of $400 or mi 're.
Of course, he should file a
return to claim any refund due
him for income tax withheld.
Q - I have all my tax re-
cords. Can I file without my
Form W-2?
A - No. A withholding state-
ment, Form W-2, for each job
held during 1972 must be at-
tached to your return. Failure
to do so delayed the refunds of
many taxpayers last year.
Q - I plan to go to a com-
mercial tax preparer to have
my 1972 return filled out. Is he
responsible for any errors on
the return'7
A - No. Each taxpayer is re-
sponsible for the accuracy of
his Federal income tax return,
no matter who fills it out.
If you do use the services of
a tax preparer this year, be
sure he signs your return and
enters on the form his social
security number or employer
identification number.
Q - Is it true that this year
taxpayers can designate $1.00
of their tax to go to a presi-
dential election campaign fund?
A - Yes. This year, taxpay-
ers, at their option, may desig-
nate $1.00 of their taxes ($2.00
if a joint return) to go to the
political party of their choice or
to a nonpartisan general fund.
The "check-off" is made on
a separate form—IKS Form
4875--which is included in your
tax forms package, and not on
the Form 1040 itself. If you
want to designate a dollar for
the fund, complete the Form
4875 and attach it to your Form
1040. If you do not wish to ear-
mark money for this purpose,
do not file Form 4875.
Q - Will the IRS still figure
out a person's tax, if he wants
them to?
A - Yes. The Internal Reve-
nue Service will figure out your
tax if your adjusted gross in-
come is $20,000 or less and
was only from wages, salary
and tips, dividends, interest,
pensions and annuities, and if
you claim the standard deduc-
tion. For more details, see
your tax form instructions.
Q - What do you mean by
"adjusted gross income"?
A - This is the total income
that appears on line 17 of your
Form lolo. Adjusted gross in-
come is arrived at by sub-
tracting business expenses and
certain employee expenses,
such as sick pay, moving ex-
penses, etc. from your gross
income. For most taxpayers,
however, adjusted gross in-
come is equivalent to their to-
tal income.
This year, your Form 1040
instructions contain a glossary
of frequently used tax terms to
make it easier for you to fill
out your return.
Q - Are medical insurance
premiums deductible in full?
A - If you itemize deduc-
tions, you may deduct in full
one-half of the amount you paid
for medical insurance, up to
$150. The balance of your pre-
miums is added to your other
medical expenses. Only your
medical expenses in excess of
three per cent of your adjusted
gross income are deductible.
For more information, con-
tact your Internal Revenue of-
fice and ask for a free copy of
IRS Publication 502, "Deduc-
tion for Medical and Dental Ex-
penses."
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1973 THE RIO GRANDE HERALD PAGE 14
De la Renta Fashions
A Home For Orphanage
If the Kid strainhtens out,
the record would be wiped
clean.
Juvenile judges would have to
be lawyers. In counties where
the county judge is not a lawyer,
the district judge, who is re-
quired by law to be a lawyer,
would serve as juvenile judge.
"The new constitutional re-
quirements laid down by the Su-
preme Court make it really ne-
cessary that the juvenile judge
be a lawyer," say the bill's
authors.
Other new safeguards are
provided. A child would not be
allowed to waive certain rights,
such as the right to an attor-
ney, unless some responsible
adult, such as parent or guar-
dian, also agreed. The child
charged with a serious offense
could not waive the right to an
attorney under anycircumstan-
ces. Provision would be made
for the appointment of attorneys
for those two poor to hire one.
Another important new provi-
sion would allow the child who
has straightened out to get his
record wiped clean. After a
period of two years from the
time he was discharged if he
has no further trouble with the
law, the juvenile could have the
record sealed.
DALLAS — Oscar de la
Renta is the center of an $18
million a year fashion complex
that covers the backs of beau-
tiful people named Kennedy,
Ford and Rothschild.
But while his designs rake in
money and awards, he dreams
of becoming a country gardener
and works for an orphanage in
the Dominican Republic.
"1 plan two shows this year to
support the orphanage," he ex-
plained when showing his fall
fashion collection in Dallas.
"One show is in Puerto Rico
and one in Santo Domingo,
which is my birthplace."
De la Renta said he had
heard a priest was housing
some 310 orphans in the stables
of dictator Carlos Trujillo's old
mansion. So he talked to the
government about working to-
gether for an orphanage.
"My government is poor as
you know, but we will have
teachers for the children. And I
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Trejo, Raul. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 25, 1973, newspaper, January 25, 1973; Rio Grande City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194391/m1/14/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.