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Forsyth County Juvenile Defense Lawyer
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Few things are harder than watching your child sit across from a judge. Juvenile court moves quickly, it uses language no parent has heard before, and the decisions made in the first two weeks often shape everything that follows.
Georgia juvenile court is not a smaller version of adult court. It has its own code, its own vocabulary and its own goals. That difference can work in your child's favor, but only if someone is protecting your child's rights from the beginning rather than after a decision has already been entered.
The Law Office of Vic Wiegand has represented children and parents in the Forsyth County Juvenile Court since 1997, in delinquency cases, school disciplinary tribunals and child protective services matters. In many cases Mr. Wiegand has been able to have charges dismissed and the child's record sealed.
Before you sign anything, before your child gives a statement, and before you attend a hearing without counsel, call (770) 886-4646.
Start Here
For criminal cases, yes. Georgia is one of a small number of states where a 17-year-old is automatically prosecuted as an adult, no matter how minor the offense.
Georgia juvenile courts have jurisdiction over delinquency cases involving children under 17. The day your child turns 17, that changes. A shoplifting charge that would have been handled as a delinquency case at 16 becomes an adult criminal case at 17, in State or Superior Court, with an adult criminal record attached to it.
Lawmakers have tried for years to change this. In 2026 the House took up a bill to move 17-year-olds into the juvenile system, but the version that advanced was narrowed to a committee to study how such a change would work. The law itself was not changed. If your child is 17, they are facing adult court today.
What This Means For Your Family
A 17-Year-Old Needs Adult Criminal Defense
An adult conviction at 17 is public, permanent unless restricted, and follows your child into college applications, job screening, military enlistment and housing. It will not be sealed the way a juvenile record can be. If your 17-year-old has been arrested or cited, treat it as the adult criminal case it legally is and see our criminal defense overview.
Jurisdiction
Juvenile court covers far more than crime. Several different kinds of cases run through the same courthouse, and they follow different rules.
Vic Wiegand represents families in each of the following.
Delinquency cases. Conduct that would be a crime if committed by an adult, from theft and fighting to drug and weapons allegations
Children in need of services. Truancy, running away, ungovernable behavior and similar status offenses that are only offenses because of age
Dependency cases. Allegations of abuse, neglect or an unsafe home, usually brought after a DFCS investigation
Traffic offenses committed by drivers under 17, including juvenile DUI and other charges that put a new license at risk
School disciplinary tribunals. Held by the school system, not the court, on a separate and faster timeline
Serious felony allegations that Georgia law sends to Superior Court even when the child is well under 17
The same incident can trigger more than one of these at once. A fight at school can produce a delinquency petition, a battery allegation, a tribunal that decides whether your child stays enrolled, and in some cases a DFCS referral. They proceed on separate tracks, and what is said in one can affect the others.
The Process
Juvenile cases use different words than adult cases. Your child is not indicted, they are petitioned. There is no trial, there is an adjudication hearing. There is no sentence, there is a disposition.
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Intake. The court reviews the complaint and decides whether to handle the matter informally or file a formal petition. This early stage is often the best opportunity to resolve a case quietly, and it is frequently over before a family has spoken to a lawyer.
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Detention hearing. If your child is being held, the court must decide promptly whether continued detention is warranted or whether your child goes home while the case proceeds.
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Petition and arraignment. The allegations are formally filed and your child responds. Admitting to an allegation at this stage without advice is one of the most common and costly mistakes parents allow.
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Adjudication hearing. The judge, not a jury, decides whether the allegations are proven. Your child has the right to counsel, to confront witnesses and to remain silent. See your child's rights in Georgia juvenile court.
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Disposition. If the allegations are proven, the court decides what happens next. Options can include probation, counseling, community service, restitution, treatment programs or, in serious cases, commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
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Sealing. Once the case ends, the record should be addressed rather than forgotten. See the section below.
Our guide for parents walks through the same process in more detail. Read Your Child in Juvenile Court: A Parent's Guide.
The Serious Cases
Age alone does not guarantee that a case stays in juvenile court. Georgia law routes the most serious allegations elsewhere.
Automatic
Superior Court Jurisdiction
Under O.C.G.A. § 15-11-560, a child aged 13 to 17 accused of certain serious violent felonies is prosecuted in Superior Court, not juvenile court. Lawyers still commonly call these the "seven deadly sins" or SB 440 offenses, after the 1994 bill that created the rule, although the list has since grown. In these cases the child faces adult procedure and adult sentencing exposure from day one, beginning with a first appearance hearing at the jail.
Enhanced
Designated Felony Acts
Some serious offenses stay in juvenile court but are handled under the designated felony provisions of O.C.G.A. § 15-11-602. Class A and Class B designated felonies carry the possibility of restrictive custody, meaning a set period in a secure Department of Juvenile Justice facility. The disposition hearing in these cases is effectively a sentencing hearing and should be prepared like one.
Worth Knowing
Cases Can Move in Both Directions
A case that begins in Superior Court can sometimes be transferred down to juvenile court, and a juvenile case can be transferred up. Those decisions turn on the specific allegation, the child's history and factors the court is required to weigh. They are also among the most consequential rulings in the entire case, which is why they deserve real advocacy rather than a routine appearance.
Separate From Court
A school tribunal is not a court hearing, but it can end your child's enrollment at their school. Many parents walk into one alone because nobody told them they could bring a lawyer.
When a Georgia student faces long-term suspension or expulsion, the school system holds a disciplinary tribunal under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-754. The rules are set by statute.
- The hearing is generally held within ten school days after the suspension begins, unless the family and the school system agree to extend it
- Parents receive written notice of the charges, the hearing and their rights
- All parties have the right to be represented by legal counsel, though no attorney is appointed if a family cannot afford one
- Both sides may present evidence and question witnesses
- The written decision is provided within ten days of the close of the record
- The decision may be appealed to the local board of education by filing written notice within 20 days
Two things make tribunals dangerous. The clock runs fast, often faster than the criminal case arising from the same incident. And testimony your child gives at a tribunal does not stay in the school building. Coordinating the tribunal with any pending juvenile or criminal matter is the entire job, and it has to happen in days, not weeks.
Child Protective Services
When the Division of Family and Children Services opens an investigation, parents are usually asked to sign safety plans, submit to interviews and agree to arrangements before anyone explains what those documents actually do.
If a child is removed from the home and not returned, Georgia law requires a preliminary protective hearing promptly, and generally no later than 72 hours after the child is placed in foster care. If that deadline lands on a weekend or legal holiday, the hearing is held the next business day. If the child is not released at that hearing, a dependency petition must be filed within five days.
Those deadlines mean the most important hearing in a dependency case often happens before a parent has had time to find counsel. Preparation for it can include gathering records, identifying relatives as placement options, documenting the home and responding to the specific allegations rather than the general impression the report creates.
A dependency case is not a criminal case, and the standards are different. But what a parent says during a DFCS investigation can be used in a criminal case, and a criminal case can be built on the same facts. When both exist, they have to be handled together.
After the Case
A juvenile record is more confidential than an adult record, but it is not invisible, and it does not always disappear on its own.
O.C.G.A. § 15-11-701
When Sealing Is Automatic
If a petition is dismissed, or the matter is resolved through informal adjustment, mediation or another nonadjudicatory process, the court is required to order the files and records sealed. This is one of several reasons an informal resolution at intake can be worth pursuing.
O.C.G.A. § 15-11-701
When You Have to Ask
If your child was adjudicated, sealing requires an application and a hearing, and the court must find that at least two years have passed since final discharge, along with the other statutory requirements. Nothing happens automatically. Somebody has to file it.
If your child's case has already ended and no one ever raised sealing, it is worth asking about now. For adult charges, the separate process is record restriction. See how record restriction works in Georgia.
About Your Attorney
Vic Wiegand was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1997 and has practiced in Forsyth County ever since. His office is located near the Forsyth County courthouse, and he has handled hundreds of charges in the juvenile courts.
He has litigated delinquency cases, school tribunals and child protective services matters, and he is a founding member of the Forsyth County Criminal Defense Bar and a member of the Forsyth County Bar Association since 1998. His practice is 100 percent litigation.
Children are not small adults, and the law recognizes it. As the Coalition for Juvenile Justice has observed, adolescents are more vulnerable to impulsive decisions because of ordinary psychosocial immaturity. A young person who made a serious mistake still needs room to grow up. That conviction shapes how these cases are handled here, though no lawyer can promise a particular outcome.
Your Next Steps
What happens in the first week often matters more than anything that follows.
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Tell your child not to discuss the incident with school officials, police or other students. The right to remain silent belongs to your child too.
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Do not sign a safety plan, a consent form, a school agreement or any admission before someone has read it who understands what it commits you to.
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Write down what happened while it is fresh, including dates, who was present and what each person said.
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Keep every notice you receive. Tribunal letters and court notices carry deadlines that are easy to miss and hard to reopen.
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Gather anything that shows the fuller picture of your child. Grades, attendance, coaches, counselors, treatment records and letters of support all matter at disposition.
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Call a lawyer before the intake conference or tribunal, not after a decision has been entered.
Common Questions
Is 17 an adult in Georgia for criminal charges?
Yes. Georgia prosecutes 17-year-olds as adults, and it is one of only a few states that still does. Juvenile court jurisdiction over delinquency cases generally covers children under 17. A 2026 bill to change this was narrowed to a study committee, so the law has not changed.
Does my child need a lawyer in juvenile court?
Your child has the right to counsel, and the decisions made early in a case are difficult to undo. Intake conferences, detention hearings and admissions all happen quickly, and a child who admits to an allegation without advice may give up defenses that were available.
Can I bring a lawyer to a school disciplinary tribunal?
Yes. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-754 gives all parties the right to be represented by legal counsel at the tribunal and on appeal. No attorney is appointed if a family cannot afford one, so representation has to be arranged privately. Because tribunals often occur within ten school days, the decision needs to be made quickly.
Will a juvenile record follow my child into adulthood?
It can. Juvenile records are more protected than adult records, but they are not automatically erased. Sealing is required when a petition is dismissed or the matter is resolved informally. After an adjudication, sealing requires an application and a hearing and generally cannot be granted until two years after final discharge.
Can a child under 17 be tried as an adult in Georgia?
Yes. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-11-560, certain serious violent felonies involving children aged 13 to 17 are prosecuted in Superior Court rather than juvenile court. Other serious cases remain in juvenile court but are handled as designated felony acts, which carry the possibility of restrictive custody.
What happens when DFCS removes a child from the home?
If the child is not returned, a preliminary protective hearing is generally held no later than 72 hours after the child is placed in foster care, moving to the next business day if that deadline falls on a weekend or holiday. If the child is not released at that hearing, a dependency petition must be filed within five days.
Should my child talk to the school resource officer?
Speak with an attorney first. A school resource officer is a law enforcement officer, and statements made during a school investigation can end up in a delinquency petition or a criminal case. That is true even when the conversation feels informal or is framed as helping to sort out what happened.
Reference
The following official resources may help you locate basic court and agency information. They do not provide legal advice or replace representation from an attorney.
Contact a Forsyth County Juvenile Defense Lawyer
Your child's age, the court the case lands in and the deadlines already running are the three things that decide what options are still open. All three can be answered in a single conversation.
Attorney Vic Wiegand can review the allegations, explain which proceedings your family is actually facing and begin protecting your child's record right away. Call the Law Office of Vic Wiegand at (770) 886-4646 or request a free consultation online.
I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imaged by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.
– Thomas Jefferson
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770-886-4646
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