This work begins with the case of Manuel Sicar, a 17-year-old boy imprisoned by the Minors Defendant on request of his tutor. Exceptionally, Sicar succeeded in gaining access to the legal resources required to be freed. His case is the doorway to the world of the Public Defenders of minors. It is also the way to access a long history of rivalries, tensions and conflicts amongst the administrative and judicial authorities responsible for state guardianship of children.