Georgia GOP lawmaker renews effort to divert 17-year-olds to juvenile court system

Going through the juvenile system would grant eligible 17-year-old defendants more privacy than in state superior court – where records are usually available for public inspection – and place them in a more rehabilitation-focused setting. (Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice)

Georgia is one of three states where a 17-year-old who is accused of a crime stands for trial alongside adults in state superior court. 

A bipartisan proposal would instead send many of these older teens to juvenile court, where Rep. Mandi Ballinger argues they should be – and where she says many people likely already assume these 17-year-olds are going. 

“They can’t even sit on the jury that might convict them in that court, but they still are adjudicated in that court,” Ballinger told reporters.