Legal Definitions - incorrigibility

Incorrigibility refers to a legal concept describing a child's severe and persistent misbehavior that parents are unable to control or correct through their usual parental authority and disciplinary methods.

It signifies a situation where a child's conduct is so unmanageable and resistant to parental guidance that it becomes impossible or highly unlikely for the parents to reform the child's behavior on their own. This term is often relevant in legal proceedings concerning child welfare or juvenile justice, where authorities might need to intervene to ensure the child's safety or address their conduct.

Here are some examples illustrating incorrigibility:

• Example 1: Chronic Truancy and Defiance

  A 14-year-old consistently skips school, despite their parents attending numerous meetings with school officials, implementing strict grounding rules, and enrolling the child in counseling. The teenager continues to defy curfews, refuses to complete schoolwork, and shows no willingness to change their behavior, often running away for short periods when confronted.

  This illustrates incorrigibility because the child's truancy and defiance are persistent and severe, and the parents have exhausted typical disciplinary and supportive measures without success, indicating their inability to control or reform the child's conduct.

• Example 2: Repeated Substance Use and Running Away

  A 12-year-old has been caught multiple times using marijuana and alcohol, despite their parents' efforts to secure therapy, impose strict monitoring, and involve them in supervised activities. The child has also repeatedly run away from home, sometimes for several days, placing themselves in dangerous situations.

  This demonstrates incorrigibility as the child's substance use and running away are serious and recurring behaviors that the parents, despite significant intervention efforts, are unable to prevent or correct, highlighting their lack of control over the child's dangerous actions.

• Example 3: Destructive and Aggressive Behavior

  A 10-year-old frequently has violent outbursts at home, destroying property and physically threatening family members. At school, the child has been suspended multiple times for aggressive behavior towards peers and teachers, despite the parents trying various disciplinary techniques, enrolling the child in anger management classes, and seeking family counseling.

  This example shows incorrigibility because the child's destructive and aggressive actions are severe and persistent, and the parents have been unable to mitigate or reform these behaviors through their authority and various support systems, indicating the child's conduct is beyond their capacity to manage.