At the time, Arizona law did not allow juvenile cases to be appealed. Gault's parents hired a lawyer named Amelia Lewis, who petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus. This means they asked the Supreme Court to let Gerald go because his imprisonment was unfair. The Supreme Court sent the case to the Arizona Superior Court, a regular trial court, for a habeas corpus hearing. This hearing would decide whether Gault was sent to juvenile prison unfairly.