Baltimore City Department of Social Services v. Bouknight
United States Supreme Court
493 U.S. 549 (1990)
Bouknight (defendant), suspected of abusing her infant son Maurice, temporarily lost custody to a Baltimore City Department of Social Services (BCDSS) (defendant) order and then regained custody under a supervision order requiring her cooperation with BCDSS. After she violated the order's conditions, the court ordered Maurice removed from her custody; when Bouknight refused to produce him, the court held her in contempt. Bouknight argued the contempt order forced self-incrimination in violation of the Fifth Amendment. The court of appeals agreed and vacated the contempt order, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether a person given custody of a child under a court's noncriminal regulatory order may invoke the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination to resist a later order to produce the child.