Navigate Cherokee County Courts with Proven
Criminal Defense Lawyers
If you or your child are facing charges in Cherokee County, a Cherokee County criminal defense lawyer can help you understand the case and protect your goals. Many of the people we help are in their teens and twenties, and many of the calls come from a parent looking out for them.
You may be worried about what this means going forward, and you may have questions that no one has answered yet. That is a normal place to start.
Our law firm has represented people in their teens and twenties since 2007, and it is the focus of our practice. Our firm was initially located in downtown Canton and has maintained an office in Cherokee County since its founding. We currently have an office in Woodstock, and we help families across Cherokee County and the rest of Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
Cherokee County criminal cases run through the Cherokee County Justice Center at 90 North Street in Canton, the county seat. Cherokee County is its own judicial circuit, the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, so its Superior Court judges and District Attorney handle Cherokee cases and no others.
Which court hears a case depends on the charge and the person’s age:
Several cities in Cherokee County also have their own municipal courts, including Canton, Woodstock, Holly Springs, and Ball Ground. These courts handle city ordinance violations and many traffic citations, as well as charges like DUI, underage possession of alcohol, and misdemeanor shoplifting charges initiated by city police. They send other charges to State or Superior Court.
In Georgia, a person is treated as an adult for criminal purposes at 17, for every charge. That is different from many other states, and it catches a lot of families off guard.
In short:
For a young person whose case stays in juvenile court, the focus often leans toward a fair result and a path forward. For someone 17 or older, the record can carry more weight, so the approach shifts.
Young people tend to face a certain set of charges, and many are one time mistakes rather than a pattern. In Cherokee County, we often help families dealing with:
Whether these charges go to adult court or juvenile court depends on the age of the person at the time of allegation and the type of charge.
After an adult arrest in Cherokee County, booking usually happens at the county detention center in Canton, and the first court event is a hearing before a magistrate where bond and release conditions are set. This is typically conducted within 72 hours via video conference at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center. These hearings are typically held daily at 4:30 p.m. Having a lawyer involved at this stage of the process can assist with early bond related issues.
For a juvenile who is detained in Cherokee County, they are usually held at a Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC). Which RYDC a youth is detained at is typically determined based on bed space, but it is usually either the Marietta or the Rome RYDC for Cherokee County. The detention hearings for a juvenile are typically conducted in the Cherokee County Juvenile Court on Monday and Thursday mornings. A lawyer can present evidence as to why a youth should not be detained pending trial or seek to negotiate release conditions with the prosecutor.
Regardless of whether it is a juvenile or adult case, the case does not sit still after that. The state is already gathering and testing evidence, and the earliest decisions, about a search, a statement, or whether to talk to investigators, can shape everything that follows.
Getting a lawyer involved early, sometimes before formal charges are filed, can affect whether charges are brought, what evidence can be used, and the conditions a young person lives under while the case is pending.
Being charged is not the same as being convicted, and a Cherokee County case can end in more than one way. The right path depends on the charge, the evidence, the person’s history, and their goals.
The first question is often whether the state can actually prove its case. That means looking hard at the legal issues: whether the stop or search was lawful, whether the evidence is reliable, and whether the state can prove every element of the charge. Where there are problems, a motion to suppress evidence, other pretrial motions, or taking the case to trial can lead to reduced charges, a dismissal, or an acquittal. We start by finding the weaknesses in the state’s case.
When a negotiated resolution makes sense, several paths can end a case without a conviction. The most common is a pretrial diversion program, which both State Court and Superior Court offer. It is negotiated with the prosecutor, the Solicitor-General for misdemeanors or the District Attorney for felonies, and the charge is generally dismissed once the terms are met. For some charges there are other paths, such as conditional discharge for a first drug offense or the First Offender Act. A dismissal does not erase a record, but certain types of dismissals can make the record eligible to be restricted and sealed, which limits who can see it.
For Adults, Cherokee County also runs several accountability courts, a misdemeanor DUI/Drug Court, a felony Drug Accountability Court, a Veteran’s Court and a Treatment Accountability Court for charges tied to mental illness. For juveniles, there is a Juvenile Drug Court Program. These programs focus on treatment and reducing repeat offenses, and several are entered after a plea or conviction. DUI Court, for example, does not remove the conviction, though it can change what the sentence otherwise requires. Whether a program fits, and whether it can lead to a better outcome, is decided case by case.
Some firms tell you they handle each case the same way. We do not work like that. We focus on your goals.
Our clients usually look for one of two approaches. Some want to work toward the best negotiated outcome. Others want to look closely for ways to challenge the case, sometimes to fight it and sometimes to gain leverage for a better result.
In either approach, our team takes time to learn:
With that in mind, we work with you to develop a plan and recommend how to move forward, whether the charge is a misdemeanor or a felony.
We believe every young person should have the chance to become their best self. A young person is more than the toughest moment they are going through. A charge can make someone start to see themselves as the mistake, and a parent can fear it will set the course for everything after. It should not, and keeping this from defining how a young person sees themselves, or the years ahead, is a big part of why we do this work.
When we take a case, we make a set of promises to the family:
Our founder, Paul Ghanouni, built this firm around a simple mission, which grew out of his own experience as a young person who had run ins with authority and was fortunate to keep his future intact. Our firm has helped more than a thousand people in their teens and twenties take steps toward protecting their futures.
Our team brings a lot of Cherokee County specific experience. We have two former Cherokee County prosecutors and a former Cherokee County judge, so we have a solid understanding of what will generally be persuasive and what will not, when handling cases here. We use this insight in preparing your defense.
1. Contact us to schedule a time to discuss your situation.
2. Get clarity on your options by meeting with us.
3. Pick which option you want.
4. Execute the plan together.
A consultation is a two-way conversation. You learn your options, and we learn about the situation so we can decide together whether we are a good fit. We do not take every case that reaches out, and that is by design.
It also helps to know what a healthy start looks like. If a firm puts an attorney on the phone the second you call, that is worth questioning. It can mean the lawyer is stepping away from other clients’ work, or that the office has little else going on. We schedule time so the person you speak with can give your situation real attention.
Unless a DUI is initiated by a city police department, a DUI and other misdemeanors are handled in Cherokee County State Court and prosecuted by the Solicitor-General. Felony cases go to Superior Court under the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit. Most cases involving someone under 17 start in Juvenile Court.
Criminal cases are heard at the Cherokee County Justice Center at 90 North Street in Canton, the county seat.
It is the Superior Court circuit for Cherokee County. Cherokee is a single-county circuit, so its Superior Court judges and District Attorney handle only Cherokee County cases.
Sometimes. Depending on the charge and the person’s history, options can include challenging the state’s case, a negotiated resolution, one of the county’s accountability courts such as a drug court, or a diversion program. Nothing is guaranteed, and which path fits depends on the person’s goals and the specifics of their situation.
A charge does not have to set the course for your child’s future. The sooner our team learns the details, the sooner we can help you understand your options and build a plan around your goals.
Schedule your consultation today.
Not ready to talk yet? Download our free guide, “5 Things Not to Do After You’ve Been Charged with a Crime,” for the early missteps to avoid.
Ghanouni Teen & Young Adult Defense Firm 691 John Wesley Dobbs Ave NE unit 225, Atlanta, GA 30312
Ghanouni Teen & Young Adult Defense Firm 2765 S Main St Suite C-2, Kennesaw, GA 30144
Ghanouni Teen & Young Adult Defense Firm 3227 S. Cherokee Lane, Suite 1360, Woodstock, GA 30188