Frequently Asked Questions About Juvenile Court

What does "Juvy" mean?

"Juvy" is a slang term often used to refer to eithe Juvenile Court, a juvenile offender, or a juvenile jail (which is actually called a Youth Detention Center or YDC).

What types of cases or legal matters are heard in juvenile court?

In Georgia Juvenile Courts have jurisdiction to hear cases and actions regarding delinquency  , unruliness  , deprivation  , juvenile traffic offenses  , termination of parental rights  , emancipation of minors, parental notification of abortion, custody/treatment of mentally ill or mentally retarded children.  Juvenile criminal offenses generally fall under the category of delinquency.

Are there juvenile criminal offenses which juvenile court does not have the power to hear?

Yes.  In Georgia juvenile Courts do not have the power to handle cases involving the so-called "seven deadly" offenses of:  murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sodomy, and armed robbery with a firearm.  These cases will be handled in Superior Court.  The District Attorney can request a transfer of some such charges from Superior Court to Juvenile Court for "extraordinary cause," but such situations are rare.

My son is charged with a crime in Juvenile Court.  If I hire an attorney for my son, does the attorney represent me or my son?  Can the attorney represent both of us?

If the attorney is hired by parents to represent their child in Juvenile Court, then the attorney represents the child, not the parents.  Thus, the attorney's has a duty to zealously advocate for the child.  In many cases this distinction may not seem to matter, but it can be very important in certain cases.

Here is an example from one of my actual cases:

Mom & dad hired me to represent their son in Juvenile Court.  The son was charged with possession of drugs.  During the course of my representation it became apparent that the drugs belonged to the dad, and mom did not know about the drugs.  Thus, my duty was to defend my client (the son) even though that meant possible consequences for the dad.  The dad agreed to tell the Court that the drugs were his. 

The general rule is that an attorney should only represent one defendant per case.  While there can be limited excpetions to this rule, those should probably not apply in Juvenile Court because a juvenile defendant deserves an attorney's full attention, best advice, and zealous representation.