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Metro Atlanta Juvenile Defense Lawyers
If your child is facing a juvenile delinquency charge in the Atlanta area, a Metro Atlanta juvenile defense lawyer can help you understand what comes next and how to protect what matters most. Whether the case stays in juvenile court or moves to adult court, our team is here to help.
The majority of the people we help are in their teens and twenties. Many of the calls we get come from a parent, not the young person. We understand that you may be worried. You may have questions no one has answered yet.
Our law firm has been defending people in their teens and twenties since 2007. We serve families across Metro Atlanta and North Georgia, and we start by giving you clarity about the process and the choices in front of you.
Juvenile court in Georgia is built differently than adult criminal court. The focus leans toward accountability and getting a young person back on track, not just punishment.
When a young person is accused of breaking the law, the case is called a delinquent act rather than a crime. A judge, not a jury, hears the case. Parents or guardians are part of the process and often take part in the plan the court puts in place.
Depending on the charge and the young person’s history, some cases can be handled through options short of a formal finding, such as informal adjustment or an abeyance. Whether any of these fit depends on the facts, so we look at each situation on its own. When a youth is supervised through a court, it is usually done through the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.
A juvenile case does not wait quietly for a court date. Once law enforcement is involved, the next steps are determined by the county the case is in. Â In some counties the case goes to an intake officer, while in others it will go to a prosecutor. Â These individuals decide whether to file a formal petition, or handle the matter informally. That early decision can be one of the most important points in the whole process.
If your child is being held in custody based on the charges, a detention hearing will generally take place within 3 days to decide whether they stay in custody.
Getting a lawyer involved early can shape what happens next. Before a petition is ever filed, the right steps can influence whether the case is handled informally, through options like informal adjustment or diversion, instead of becoming a formal delinquency case. A lawyer can also speak for your child at the detention hearing so their side is heard from the start. The earlier we are involved, the more paths tend to stay open.
Being charged is not the same as being found responsible, and a juvenile case can end in more than one way. A good defense looks at all of them, not just one.
Challenging whether the state can prove it. The first question is always whether the allegation holds up. If the evidence is weak, an element is missing, or it was gathered improperly, the goal may be to get the petition dismissed, to keep certain evidence out at a hearing, or to contest the case at an adjudication hearing, which is the juvenile version of a trial. A charge is not proven simply because it was filed.
Handling the case informally. Many juvenile cases can be resolved without a formal finding, through options like informal adjustment, diversion, or an abeyance, where a young person completes certain steps and the case is closed without an adjudication.
Working toward a fair, forward-looking result. When the facts are not really in dispute, the focus can shift to a resolution built around accountability and getting the young person back on track, rather than a lasting record.
Which path fits depends on the evidence, the charge, and your child’s situation, and we work through those choices with you.
Young people get charged with a wide range of things, and many of them are one-time mistakes. Our team helps families facing charges such as:
Some of these can be handled in juvenile court, while others may move to adult court depending on age and the charge. We also help families dealing with school discipline and tribunal hearings, which can run alongside a court case.
This is the point that surprises many parents. In Georgia, a young person is treated as an adult for criminal purposes at age 17, for every charge. That is different from most other states.
There are a few things worth knowing:
Lawmakers have discussed raising the age to 18, and we follow those developments closely. You can read our take on the proposed Raise the Age legislation, but the current law still sets the line at 17.
Because a birthday can change which court hears the case, the age of the young person is one of the first things our team looks at.
Some firms will tell you they handle each case the same way. We do not work like that.
Our approach starts with your goals. If we decide to work together, we take time to learn about the young person, where they are in life, and what a good outcome looks like for the family. From there, we work with you to develop a plan and recommend a path forward.
When contesting the case is not the right path, the focus for a young person 16 or under, whose case stays in juvenile court, is often less about a permanent record and more about a fair result and setting that young person up to move forward in life successfully. For someone 17 or older in adult court, the analysis shifts, and we look at how different resolutions could affect their record.
We keep you informed at each step, and we prepare the young person for court so no one walks in unsure of what to expect.
A juvenile record is not just paperwork. Depending on the case, it may affect school discipline, college and scholarship applications, eligibility for the military, and how a later case is handled if there ever is one. That is a big part of why keeping a case off the record, where possible, is worth the effort.
Juvenile records are handled with more privacy than adult records, and in some situations a record can be restricted or sealed. Whether that is possible depends on the charge and the outcome.
One point families often miss is that a sealed juvenile record may still appear in some places, such as a person’s driving history for traffic-related matters. We flag these details early so there are no surprises later.
We believe every young person should have the chance to become the best version of themselves, without the judgment that can follow a mistake made in their teens or twenties. Â Sometimes that judgement is how our client views themselves during and after a juvenile court matter. Â We want our clients to understand that, whatever the outcome, this situation does not define their lives.
That belief shapes how we work. When we take a case, we make a set of promises to the family:
Our firm has helped more than a thousand people in their teens and twenties take steps toward protecting their futures.
A consultation with our team is a two-way conversation. You get a chance to learn your options, and we get a chance to learn about the situation and decide together whether we are a good fit. We do not take every case that contacts us, and part of the value of the consultation is finding that out.
Here is how it works:
A quick note. Your case deserves focused attention.  If a firm offers to put an attorney on the phone the moment you call, that is worth questioning. Part of giving your case real attention means not dropping another client’s work to chase a new call.  That is why we set aside time so the person you speak with can give your situation real attention.
Our legal team helps families throughout Metro Atlanta and North Georgia, including these counties:
Bartow County, Carroll County, Cherokee County, Clayton County, Cobb County, DeKalb County, Douglas County, Fayette County, Forsyth County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Hall County, Paulding County, and Pickens County.
A charge does not have to define 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.
At what age is a child tried as an adult in Georgia?
A person is treated as an adult for criminal purposes at 17. Younger teens are usually handled in juvenile court, though a short list of serious violent felonies can send someone as young as 13 to adult court, and some other cases can be transferred.
Will a juvenile charge show up on a background check?
Juvenile records are more private than adult records and can sometimes be restricted or sealed, but not always, and a sealed record can still surface in a few places, such as a driving history. Whether it appears depends on the charge and how the case ends.
What is informal adjustment?
It is a way to resolve a juvenile case that usually avoids an adjudication or finding that the teen committed a delinquent act. Typically, the young person completes certain steps, and the case is dismissed and closed without an adjudication.
Can a juvenile record be sealed in Georgia?
In some situations, yes. Whether a record can be restricted or sealed depends on the charge and the outcome, so it is worth asking about early.
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