ARTICLE 6
DELINQUENCY
15-11-560. Concurrent and original jurisdiction of superior court.
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Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, the court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the superior court over a child who is alleged to have committed a delinquent act which would be considered a crime if tried in a superior court and for which an adult may be punished by loss of life, imprisonment for life without possibility of parole, or confinement for life in a penal institution.
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The superior court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over the trial of any child 13 to 17 years of age who is alleged to have committed any of the following offenses:
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Murder;
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Murder in the second degree;
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Voluntary manslaughter;
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Rape;
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Aggravated sodomy;
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Aggravated child molestation;
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Aggravated sexual battery;
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Armed robbery if committed with a firearm;
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Aggravated assault if committed with a firearm upon a public safety officer as such acts are prohibited under subsection (c) of Code Section 16-5-21; or
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Aggravated battery upon a public safety officer as such acts are prohibited under subsection (c) of Code Section 16-5-24.
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The granting of bail or pretrial release of a child charged with an offense enumerated in subsection (b) of this Code section shall be governed by the provisions of Code Section 17-6-1.
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At any time before indictment, the district attorney may, after investigation and for cause, decline prosecution in the superior court of a child 13 to 17 years of age alleged to have committed an offense specified in subsection (b) of this Code section. Upon declining such prosecution in the superior court, the district attorney shall cause a petition to be filed in the appropriate juvenile court for adjudication within 72 hours if the child is in detention or 30 days if the child is not in detention. Except as provided in paragraph (8) of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-11-602, any case transferred by the district attorney to the juvenile court pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the class A designated felony act provisions of Code Section 15-11-602, and the transfer of the case from superior court to juvenile court shall constitute notice to such child that such case is subject to the class A designated felony act provisions of Code Section 15-11-602.
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After indictment, the superior court may after investigation transfer to the juvenile court any case involving a child 13 to 17 years of age alleged to have committed any act described in paragraph (3), (5), (6), (7), (9), or (10) of subsection (b) of this Code section. In considering the transfer of such case, the court shall consider the criteria set forth in Code Section 15-11-562. Any such transfer shall be appealable by the State of Georgia pursuant to Code Section 5-7-1. Upon such a transfer by the superior court, jurisdiction shall vest in the juvenile court and jurisdiction of the superior court shall terminate.
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Except as provided in paragraph (8) of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-11-602, any case transferred by the superior court to the juvenile court pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the class A designated felony act provisions of Code Section 15-11-602, and the transfer of the case from superior court to juvenile court shall constitute notice to such child that such case is subject to the class A designated felony act provisions of Code Section 15-11-602.
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The superior court may transfer any case involving a child 13 to 17 years of age alleged to have committed any offense enumerated in subsection (b) of this Code section and convicted of a lesser included offense not included in subsection (b) of this Code section to the juvenile court of the county of such child's residence for disposition. Upon such a transfer by the superior court, jurisdiction shall vest in the juvenile court and jurisdiction of the superior court shall terminate.
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Within 30 days of any proceeding in which a child 13 to 17 years of age is convicted of certain offenses over which the superior court has original jurisdiction as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section or adjudicated as a delinquent child on the basis of conduct which if committed by an adult would constitute such offenses, the superior court shall provide written notice to the school superintendent or his or her designee of the school in which such child is enrolled or, if the information is known, of the school in which such child plans to be enrolled at a future date. Such notice shall include the specific criminal offense that such child committed. The local school system to which such child is assigned may request further information from the court's file.
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As used in this Code section, the term "firearm" means a handgun, rifle, shotgun, or other weapon which will or can be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or electrical charge.
(Code 1981, §15-11-560, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242; Ga. L. 2014, p. 444, § 2-4/HB 271; Ga. L. 2015, p. 540, § 1-12/HB 361; Ga. L. 2017, p. 500, § 2-2/SB 160.)
The 2014 amendment,
effective July 1, 2014, in subsection (b), added paragraph (b)(2), and redesignated former paragraphs (b)(2) through (b)(7) as present paragraphs (b)(3) through (b)(8), respectively.
The 2015 amendment,
effective May 5, 2015, designated the existing provisions of subsection (e) as paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(2); and, in paragraph (e)(1), deleted "and for extraordinary cause" following "after investigation" in the first sentence and added the present second sentence.
The 2017 amendment,
effective July 1, 2017, in subsection (b), deleted "or" at the end of paragraph (7); substituted a semicolon for a period at the end of paragraph (8); and added paragraphs (9) and (10); substituted "any act described in paragraph (3), (5), (6), (7), (9), or (10) of subsection (b) of this Code section" for "voluntary manslaughter, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, or aggravated sexual battery" at the end of the first sentence of paragraph (e)(1); and added subsection (h).
Editor's notes.
- Ga. L. 2017, p. 500,
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1-1/SB 160, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Back the Badge Act of 2017.'"
Law reviews.
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For article recommending more consistency in age requirements of laws pertaining to the welfare of minors, see 6 Ga. St. B. J. 189 (1969). For article discussing the uneasy sharing of powers and responsibilities between the superior and juvenile courts in their concurrent jurisdiction over juveniles aged 13 to 18 and suggesting reforms, see 23 Mercer L. Rev. 341 (1972). For article, "An Outline of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction with Focus on Child Custody," see 10 Ga. St. B. J. 275 (1973). For article, "Child Custody - Jurisdiction and Procedure," see 35 Emory L. J. 291 (1986). For article, "The Prosecuting Attorney in Georgia's Juvenile Courts," see 13 Ga. St. B. J. 27 (2008). For article on the 2017 amendment of this Code section, see 34 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 89 (2017). For annual survey on criminal law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 73 (2017).
For comment on Stanton v. Stanton, 213 Ga. 545, 100 S.E.2d 289 (1957), holding that parents cannot by contract restrict the discretion of the court in awarding custody and provision regulating the religious upbringing of the child may be entirely disregarded by the court, see 20 Ga. B. J. 546 (1958). For comment on J.W.A. v. State, 233 Ga. 683, 212 S.E.2d 849 (1975), see 27 Mercer L. Rev. 335 (1975). For comment on Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584 (1979) and Secretary of Pub. Welfare v. Institutionalized Juveniles, 442 U.S. 640 (1979), regarding juvenile commitment to state mental hospitals upon application of parents or guardians, see 29 Emory L. J. 517 (1980).
