• Georgia's juvenile justice mental health laws are important for attorneys and defendents to be aware of.jail in calico ghost town, arizona image by Albo from Fotolia.com
  
  Criminal law can vary greatly from state-to-state. There are many factors considered when an alleged crime is examined. Two of these are the age and mental state of the perpetrator. Juveniles with mental problems fill a smaller niche in the criminal justice system and Georgia has its own set of laws regarding such situations. While its statutes may not differ tremendously from other states, Georgia's statutes concerning mentally troubled juveniles are significant to offenders in the state.
  
  

Delinquency

• A juvenile is anyone under 17 at the time when his criminal offense was committed. Juveniles do not have a right to a trial by jury so their hearings are normally held in front of a judge who then decides guilt or innocence of the defendant and also the validity of any mental health claims made by the defense attorney. Taking those mental health claims into account, the judge can then decide to send the juvenile to a correctional facility, a mental hospital or dismiss the charges outright. According to Georgia attorney Paul Ghanouni, the focus on juvenile justice is rehabilitation as opposed to the punishment of adult offenders. A juvenile offender, even with a mental illness, can potentially be tried as an adult if the judge deems the charges severe enough to merit it.
  
  

Recognizing Psychiatric Illness in Offenders

• Any juvenile offender who is deemed as a possible danger to himself or others is required to be evaluated by a licensed mental health professional. The professional can then determine if the current facility is capable of adequately treating the juvenile. If not, the juvenile is to be transferred to a licensed psychiatric receiving facility licensed by the state. Georgia law authorizes social workers, physicians, psychologists and clinical nurse specialists in psychiatric/mental health to certify emergency admissions of juvenile offenders into care facilities.
  
  

Transfer to Correctional Facility

• Upon release from a psychiatric facility into a traditional correctional facility, the juvenile is required to be placed on "Level 3" observation for a minimum of two days, which means close observation. Upon transfer, officials want to make sure there are no attempts by the offender to harm himself or any of the other inmates or staff and that the offender can function in the correctional environment. The level of observation can only be decreased after an in-person evaluation and recommendation by a licensed health care professional.