Georgia Senate - 1995/1996 Sessions

SB 30 - Juvenile Proceedings - cert. adjudicatory hearings open

Page Numbers - 1/ 2/ 3/ 4

Code Sections - 15-11-58/ 15-11-58.1

1. Oliver  42nd           2. Farrow  54th            3. Ray  19th


Senate Comm: Judy       /         House Comm: Judy       /                                          
Senate Vote: Yeas 49    Nays 5                                                                      
           ---------------------------------------------                                            
              Senate          Action          House                                                 
           ---------------------------------------------                                            
             1/10/95   Read 1st time          2/2/95                                                
             1/25/95   Favorably Reported                                                           
             Sub       Committee Amend/Sub                                                          
             1/26/95   Read 2nd Time          2/3/95                                                
             1/30/95   Read 3rd Time                                                                
             1/30/95*  Postponed                                                                    
             2/1/95    Passed/Adopted                                                               
             CS        Comm/Floor Amend/Sub                                                         
           ---------------------------------------------                                            
*1/30/95   Postponed until 2/1/95.                                                                  
                                                                                                    
Code Sections amended: 15-11-28, 15-11-58.1, 15-11-65, 15-11-58                                     


SB 30 95                                         LC 22 1485S
                                                       (SCS)
      SENATE BILL 30

      By:  Senators Oliver of the 42nd, Farrow of the 54th,
           Ray of the 19th and others

                        A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                               AN ACT


  1- 1  To amend Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official
  1- 2  Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to juvenile proceedings,
  1- 3  so as to provide for the admission of the general public to
  1- 4  adjudicatory hearings involving an allegation of a
  1- 5  designated felony, an allegation of delinquency of a child
  1- 6  who has previously been adjudicated delinquent, and, at the
  1- 7  court's discretion, other juvenile court proceedings; to
  1- 8  provide for inspection of complaints, petitions, and orders
  1- 9  from such cases which were open to the public; to provide
  1-10  exceptions; to provide for prompt written notice to the
  1-11  school superintendent when a child is adjudicated delinquent
  1-12  for a second or subsequent time or of an adjudicatory
  1-13  proceeding involving a designated felony; to authorize the
  1-14  storage for computer retrieval of records, dockets, indices,
  1-15  or files of the juvenile court; to provide for related
  1-16  matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

  1-17       BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

                         SECTION 1.

  1-18  Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of
  1-19  Georgia Annotated, relating to juvenile proceedings, is
  1-20  amended by striking in its entirety subsection (c) of Code
  1-21  Section 15-11-28, relating to the conduct of hearings, and
  1-22  inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (c) and an
  1-23  additional subsection to be designated subsection (c.1) to
  1-24  read as follows:

  1-25    "(c) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (c.1) of
  1-26    this Code section, the The general public shall be
  1-27    excluded from hearings involving delinquency, deprivation,
  1-28    or unruliness.  Only the parties, their counsel,
  1-29    witnesses, persons accompanying a party for his or her
  1-30    assistance, and any other persons as the court finds have
  1-31    a proper interest in the proceeding or in the work of the
  1-32    court may be admitted by the court.  The court may
  1-33    temporarily exclude the child from the hearing except


                              S. B. 30
                                 -1- (Index)

                                                 LC 22 1485S

  2- 1    while allegations of his or her delinquency or unruly
  2- 2    conduct are being heard.

  2- 3    (c.1) The general public shall be admitted to:

  2- 4      (1) An adjudicatory hearing involving an allegation of a
  2- 5      designated felony pursuant to Code Section 15-11-37;

  2- 6      (2) An adjudicatory hearing involving an allegation of
  2- 7      delinquency brought in the interest of any child who has
  2- 8      previously been adjudicated delinquent; provided,
  2- 9      however, the court shall close any delinquency hearing
  2-10      on an allegation of sexual assault or any delinquency
  2-11      hearing at which any party expects to introduce
  2-12      substantial evidence related to matters of deprivation;
  2-13      or

  2-14      (3) At the court's discretion, any dispositional hearing
  2-15      involving any proceeding under this article."

                         SECTION 2.

  2-16  Said article is further amended by striking in its entirety
  2-17  Code Section 15-11-58, relating to inspection of court files
  2-18  and records, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code
  2-19  section to read as follows:

  2-20    "15-11-58. (Index)

  2-21    Except in cases arising under Code Section 15-11-49, and
  2-22    subject to the requirements of subsection (d) of Code
  2-23    Section 15-11-33 and Code Section 15-11-61, and with the
  2-24    exception of any complaint, petition, and order from any
  2-25    case that was open to the public pursuant to subsection
  2-26    (c.1) of Code Section 15-11-28, all files and records of
  2-27    the court in a proceeding under this article are open to
  2-28    inspection only upon order of the court.  The judge may
  2-29    permit authorized representatives of recognized
  2-30    organizations compiling statistics for proper purposes to
  2-31    inspect and make abstracts from official records under
  2-32    whatever conditions upon their use and distribution the
  2-33    judge may deem proper and may punish by contempt any
  2-34    violation of those conditions.  The judge may permit any
  2-35    school principal or any school guidance counselor, school
  2-36    social worker, or school psychologist who is certified
  2-37    under Chapter 2 of Title 20 and who is counseling a
  2-38    student as a part of such counseling person's school
  2-39    employment duties, to review official records of the court
  2-40    in any proceeding under this chapter concerning that
  2-41    student, including but not limited to records of that

                              S. B. 30
                                 -2- (Index)

                                                 LC 22 1485S

  3- 1    child's controlled substance or marijuana abuse, which
  3- 2    records are protected by Code Section 49-5-41.1, under
  3- 3    whatever conditions that the judge may deem proper and may
  3- 4    punish by contempt any violation of those conditions.  The
  3- 5    judge shall permit authorized representatives of the
  3- 6    Department of Children and Youth Services, the Department
  3- 7    of Corrections, the Children and Youth Coordinating
  3- 8    Council, and the Council of Juvenile Court Judges to
  3- 9    inspect and extract data from any court files and records
  3-10    for the purpose of obtaining statistics on juveniles and
  3-11    to make copies pursuant to the order of the court."

                         SECTION 3.

  3-12  Said article is further amended by inserting a new Code
  3-13  section to be designated Code Section 15-11-58.1 to read as
  3-14  follows:

  3-15    "15-11-58.1. (Index)

  3-16    Within 14 days of any proceeding in which a child is
  3-17    adjudicated delinquent for a second or subsequent time or
  3-18    any adjudicatory proceeding involving a designated felony,
  3-19    the court shall provide written notice to the school
  3-20    superintendent or his or her designee of the school in
  3-21    which such child is enrolled or, if the information is
  3-22    known, of the school in which such child plans to be
  3-23    enrolled at a future date.  Such notice shall include the
  3-24    specific delinquent act or designated felony act that such
  3-25    child committed."

                         SECTION 4.

  3-26  Said article is further amended by inserting in Code Section
  3-27  15-11-65, relating to juvenile court powers as a court of
  3-28  inquiry, court of record, and in issuing warrants and the
  3-29  preservation and destruction of records of the court, a new
  3-30  subsection to be designated subsection (c.1) to read as
  3-31  follows:

  3-32    "(c.1) Nothing in this chapter shall restrict or otherwise
  3-33    prohibit a juvenile court clerk from electing to store for
  3-34    computer retrieval any or all records, dockets, indices,
  3-35    or files; nor shall a juvenile court clerk be prohibited
  3-36    from combining or consolidating any books, dockets, files,
  3-37    or indices in connection with the filing for record of
  3-38    papers of the kind specified in this chapter or any other
  3-39    law, provided that any automated or computerized
  3-40    record-keeping method or system shall provide for the


                              S. B. 30
                                 -3- (Index)

                                                 LC 22 1485S

  4- 1    systematic and safe preservation and retrieval of all
  4- 2    books, dockets, records, or indices. When the clerk of a
  4- 3    juvenile court elects to store for computer retrieval any
  4- 4    or all records, the same data elements used in a manual
  4- 5    system shall be used, and the same integrity and security
  4- 6    maintained."

                         SECTION 5.

  4- 7  All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are
  4- 8  repealed.





































                              S. B. 30
                                 -4- (Index)