Juvenile Justice System Georgia History

The Department of Juvenile Justice Georgia History http://www.djj.state.ga.us/

History of the JJS In 1906, the Georgia General Assembly passed a law that established a special court for juveniles. In 1911, Fulton County became the first county in GA to set up a juvenile court. Today every county in GA has one A juvenile is defined as anyone under the age of 17.

Young People and the Law Did you know that on any given day, over 2,500 children are locked up in Georgia? Most of these young people are jailed for nonviolent crimes such as shoplifting, breaking windows, truancy (failure to attend school), or running away from home.

Juveniles As citizens, juveniles must follow the same local, state, and federal laws that all other citizens follow. But juveniles have special status under the law, and they must also follow some laws that do not apply to adults.

Unruly Child A child who commits an act that would not be considered a crime if committed by an adult is called an unruly child or a status offender. These children are often described as “unmanageable” or “disobedient.” If the court decides that the unruly behavior is serious, the child may be committed to a Georgia detention service, for up to two years.

Unruly behavior – AKA Status Offenses Juvenile courts in GA can decide that a child shows unruly behavior, which can be any of the following: 1) The child frequently refuses to go to school (truancy) 2) Has run away from home 3) Disobeys reasonable commands from a parent or guardian 4) hangs around city streets, highways, or other public places between the hours of midnight and 5am 5) goes to a bar without a parent or guardian or is in possession of alcoholic beverages 6) disobeys the terms of supervision contained in a court order CRCT 220 CRCT 220

Delinquent Behavior Juvenile courts may also judge that a child shows delinquent behavior. Delinquent behavior means committing a crime. On the other hand, children from 13 to 17 years old will be punished according to the law. This may include spending up to five years in a detention facility. A delinquent act is the term used to describe an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult. Burglary and car theft are examples of delinquent acts.

Deprived Children Deprived child is the legal term for a child under the age of 18 who is without adequate food, shelter or protection. The child is not at fault; the state prosecutes parents or guardians who endanger or neglect children. Abuse, neglect or drug/alcohol use are reasons DFCS gets involved.

JJS Jurisdiction Juvenile courts have three main areas of jurisdiction: unruly juveniles or status offenders, deprived juveniles, and delinquent juveniles. Juvenile courts also have the jurisdiction to determine if a child needs to be committed for psychological evaluation or treatment for mental incompetency.

Rights of Juveniles in Custody Children accused of unruly or delinquent behavior have the following rights: Right to have a lawyer: If parents or caregivers can afford a lawyer, they are urged to hire one; if parents cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint a lawyer for free. In addition, the juvenile court judge must tell the child and his or her parents or caregiver, that there may be dangers if they choose not to use a lawyer.

Rights cont’d Right to cross-examine witness Right to provide evidence to support one’s own case Right to provide witnesses to support one’s own case Right to remain silent: The child does not need to say anything about what they are charged with, and the judge cannot use this silence against them. However, if the child does choose to state their case in court, the judge can use what they say in order to judge the facts of the case.

The Juvenile Justice Process When children thought to be delinquent are arrested, the police notify their parents or caregivers. The police then decide whether to release the delinquents or detain them. To detain means to keep under arrest. Detained delinquents may be put in a Regional Youth Detention Center or in a community shelter or foster home.

4 Steps in the JJS 1-Intake 2-Detention Hearing 3-Adjudicatory Hearing http://www.djj.state.ga.us/ResourceLibrary/_PDFfiles/JuvenileCourtTimeLine.pdf 1-Intake 2-Detention Hearing 3-Adjudicatory Hearing 4-Dispositional Hearing

Intake A juvenile court officer, designated as an intake officer, will arrive to make an intake decision. That is, the intake officer investigates the charges and determines the next step in the process. At this point, the intake officer has four options: 1-officer may recommend to the judge that the case be dismissed; 2- handle the case through an informal adjustment (counseling; 3- move the case to a child services agency; or 4-file a petition for a detention hearing.

Detention Hearing Within 48 hours of CJ being detained at an RYDC, a juvenile court judge review the intake officer’s report The judge decides to continue to detain the suspect or to release him/her on bail. If the action is to file a petition, a court date is set for the adjudicatory hearing.

Adjudicatory Hearing The adjudicatory hearing is something like a trial. A judge, not a jury, decides the fate. The judge reads the charges stated in the petition and asks to suspect to either admit or deny the charges. If your friend denies the charges, the hearing continues. The judge hears the case and decides if the charge(s) are true. (Verdict)

Dispositional Hearing The dispositional hearing is similar to the sentencing phase of a trial. The judge determines the remedy or solution for the offense.

Dispositional Options 1-Release the suspect to the custody of parents or a legal guardian with no court supervision 2-Put the suspect on probation 3-Place suspect in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice 4-Designate suspect a felon who should be confined 5-sentence to YDC or treatment program 6-transfer the case to Superior Court

The 7 Delinquent Behaviors 7 delinquent behaviors are automatically outside the jurisdiction of juvenile court. Children b/w the ages of 13 and 17 who are thought to have committed any of these seven crimes will be tried as adults in a superior court. These seven crimes are:

7 Crimes Aggravated child molestation Murder Rape Aggravated sexual battery Aggravated sodomy Voluntary manslaughter Armed robbery with a firearm Sexting (recently added) e consequences of being found guilty of any of these crimes are harsh punishments. The punishment for murder, for example, may be life in prison or even death.

Students’ Rights Students do not leave their constitutional rights behind them when they enter the schoolhouse door. In particular, challenges have arisen over several areas of basic student freedoms when those freedoms seemed to conflict with a school’s right to manage its environment. Students and schools have disagreed over the nature of school disciplinary procedures, protection of lockers and book bags against searches, freedom of expression in slogans on T-shirts, articles in student newspapers, and even school dress and hairstyle restrictions.

Student Responsibilities According to GA law, students have a legal right to a free public education. But along with rights come responsibilities. Students must attend school b/w ages of six and sixteen. Students must follow reasonable rules and regulations, behavior codes, and even dress codes schools have established to provide an environment that is safe and conducive to learning.

Working together Finally, students have a responsibility to work with school officials to prevent disruptions and violence in their schools. After the school shootings of the late 1990s, all students have a responsibility to work together to avoid weapons and fights on school campuses. And all students must work to prevent violence at school-sponsored activities, dances, ball games, and other events—not just in the school classrooms.