Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 15. COURTS · Chapter 11. JUVENILE CODE · Article 9. ACCESS TO HEARINGS AND RECORDS

15-11-708. Separation of juvenile and adult records for law enforcement; inspection; limited fingerprint access.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

(a)
Law enforcement records and files concerning a child shall be kept separate from the records and files of arrests of adults.#
(b)
Unless a charge of delinquency is transferred for criminal prosecution, the interest of national security requires, the case is one in which the general public may not be excluded from the hearings, or the court otherwise orders in the best interests of the child, the records and files shall not be open to public inspection nor shall their contents be disclosed to the public.#
(c)
Inspection of the records and files shall be permitted by:#
1. (1)
  A juvenile court having a child before it in any proceeding;#
2. (2)
  The attorney for a party to the proceedings, with the consent of the court;#
3. (3)
  The officers of public institutions or agencies to whom a child is committed;#
4. (4)
  Law enforcement officers and prosecuting attorneys of this state, the United States, or any other jurisdiction when necessary for the discharge of their official duties;#
5. (5)
  A court in which a child is convicted of a criminal offense, for the purpose of a presentence report or other disposition proceeding;#
6. (6)
  Officials of penal institutions and other penal facilities to which a child is committed; or#
7. (7)
  A parole board in considering a child’s parole or discharge or in exercising supervision over such child.#
(d)
The court shall allow authorized representatives of DJJ, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Council of Juvenile Court Judges to inspect and copy law enforcement records for the purpose of obtaining statistics on children. Such data shall be used by the inspecting agency for official purposes and shall not be subject to release by such agency pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, nor subject to subpoena.#
(e)
Access to fingerprint records submitted to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation shall be limited to the administration of criminal justice purposes.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Code 1981, § 15-11-708, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242; Ga. L. 2015, p. 890, § 5/HB 263; Ga. L. 2025, p. 332, § 5-4/SB 96, effective July 1, 2025.

Amendments

The 2025 amendment, effective July 1, 2025, deleted “the Governor’s Office for Children and Families,” following “of DJJ,” in subsection (d).

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Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t15-ch1-11a-(v13)-pdf.pdf, Volume V13, 2020 edition, 2025 supplement, pages 228 to 229; merge action: replaced; file SHA-256 d86fd6e4449f.

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