Information for Parties

If you have a case pending in Juvenile Court, you should hire a lawyer to represent you. A lawyer has special training in handling the complex nature of most Juvenile Court proceedings.

In certain cases, you may qualify for a court appointed lawyer. Please contact the office of the Public Defender if you believe you may qualify for a court appointed lawyer.

Obtaining Official Case Documents

Official court documents related to your case are kept in the office of the Clerk of Superior Court in each county in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit. No official records are maintained in the Judge's Office in Jefferson. You should contact the Clerk of Court directly at the county courthouse. The following is a list of the locations of the Clerks' offices. Please call the Clerk's office for directions or mailing addresses.

Banks County Courthouse Yonah Homer Road Homer GA 706-677-6240

Barrow County Courthouse 652 Barrow Park Drive Winder GA 770-307-3035

Jackson County Courthouse 5000 Jackson Parkway Jefferson GA 706-387-6255

Records related to your case kept by State agencies such as the Georgia Department of Human Services ("DHS") Division of Family and Children Services or the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice are controlled by that agency. You should contact the agency directly if you have questions about the records in the possession of the agency.

Filing a Private Deprivation Action

If you wish to file a deprivation action in Juvenile Court claiming that a child is being either abused or neglected or both, please download and print this Private Deprivation Packet and complete it completely and legibly. Filing a deprivation action in Juvenile Court is a privledge and not a right in Georgia. You MUST provide sufficient information for the Court to decide whether or not it is in the best interest of the child and the public that the action be allowed to go forward. You are strongly encouraged to hire an attorney experienced in child abuse litigation to help you. Please be aware that any deprivation action filed in Juvenile Court will involve the DHS Division of Family and Children Services.

By law, child custody actions must be filed in Superior Court.

Legitimation Actions in Juvenile Court

Fathers of children born out of wedlock must legitimate their relationship to their children in order to be considered the chilren's legal father.  Normally, legitimation actions are filed in the Superior Court of the county in which the mother resides. However, a legitimation action may be filed in the Juvenile Court of the child's residence when there is pending in that court a deprivation action. If you are the natural father of a child who is subject to a deprivation action pending in the Juvenile Court of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit, you may file a legitimation action in Juvenile Court using these Legitimation Forms to which you should attach a copy of the pending deprivation petition and a Complaint Form. When completed and notarized, you should file these with the Clerk of Juvenile Court in the county in which the deprivation actions is pending.

Useful Brochures and Links

Please click on the links below for information. The information presented provides answers to many of the questions we regularly receive.

These files are in Adobe Acrobat format. You must have Adobe Reader to read these files.  Clicking on the Download Adobe Reader button will take you out of the Jackson County Website.

Basic Rules of Court Conduct

What is CASA

Do I Need A Lawyer

Information for Fathers

Citizen Review Panels

Typical Deprivation Case Timeline

What Does That Word Mean

 Juvenile Court Forms (This link will take you to the Council of Juvenile Court Judges website.)