Working with Child Deprivation Cases in Georgia's Juvenile Courts

The situations provided in the code for a petition to modify or vacate an order of the court are very specific. There is no authority provided by the Juvenile Code for a general Motion for Reconsideration based upon the evidence presented at the previous hearings. The Court of Appeals has ruled that the juvenile court has an inherent power to modify its own judgments within the statutory time frame for a notice of appeal to be filed. In re P.S.C., 143 Ga. App. 887 (1977). Such notice must be filed within 30 days after the entry of final judgment. The Court of Appeals has also held that a trial court can grant a rehearing on a decision to terminate parental rights. Since the code provides that the court can modify or vacate its previous ruling in this area, the court may take the less drastic step of ordering a rehearing to see if the original decision was correct. No hearing on a motion to rehear a case needed to be held before granting the relief requested. In re P.S.C., et al..143 Ga. App. 887 (1977). The Court has also held that the petition will be looked at substantively to determine if it meets the criteria for modification or revocation under O.C.G.A. § 15-11-42. The fact that the appellant mislabeled the petition as a motion for a new trial and the court considered it a request for reconsideration is immaterial. The attorney requesting a new trial failed to make such a petition within the 30-day period provided. However, since the petition met the requirements for modification or revocation provided for in the statute, the trial court had authority to review the request regardless of the label.

Historically, a motion for a new trial could not be used to attack an order of the juvenile court. However, the Supreme Court recently held that a juvenile court was authorized to grant new trials. In re T.A.W., a child., 265 Ga. 106 (1995). The state constitution provides that "Each superior court, state court, and other courts of record may grant new trials on legal grounds." Ga. Const. Art. VI, § I, IV. The Juvenile Courts of Georgia are "courts of record" under O.C.G.A. § 15-11-65(b) and therefore have the right to grant new trials as do other courts provided for in the constitution. Id. at 107. The court here overturned several previous decisions of the Georgia Court of Appeals.