Juvenile justice system in Georgia - Explained
Augusta GA Criminal Lawyer
The juvenile law criminal process is different from that of adults. Juveniles are usually charged with being a delinquent or engaging in delinquent behavior instead of being charged with a specific offense. The proceeding is brought before a juvenile court judge who sentences the juvenile with the intent to rehabilitate the young offender.
A special court called the Juvenile Court is designated to handle juvenile delinquency cases and dependency cases. Delinquency cases concern charges of criminal law violations against a minor. Dependency cases involve allegations of child abuse or neglect against the parents or guardian of a minor. Juvenile cases may be transferred into adult courts if the juvenile court waives its jurisdiction. This is done to deny some offenders the rights and protections of juvenile law. All states provide for some type of waiver mechanism, and most set a lower age limit (13 and 14 in a handful of states; 17 and 18 in most). Kent v. U.S. (1966) has become the settled law on how to properly conduct waivers.
Juveniles have different laws. Juveniles do not have the right to a trial by jury. A juvenile accused of committing a very serious offense, such as murder or rape can be tried as an adult by the the District Attorney, with the judge's permission. The minimum age for a juvenile to be tried as an adult is varies from state to state, but can be as less as thirteen. A number of states (about 35) allow the execution of juveniles regardless of age.
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