Barton Juvenile Defender Clinic
The Barton Juvenile Defender Clinic is an in-house legal clinic dedicated to providing holistic legal representation for young people in delinquency and status offense proceedings. Student attorneys represent child clients in juvenile court and provide legal advocacy in the areas of school discipline, special education, mental health and public benefits, when such advocacy is derivative of a client’s juvenile court case.
Pursuant to Georgia’s third-year practice rule, under the supervision of the clinic’s managing attorney the students are responsible for handling all aspects of client representation. As such, students establish an attorney-client relationship with their client, direct case strategy determinations, investigate allegations, interview witnesses, negotiate dispositions, prepare and litigate motions, and try cases. Students may also engage in research and participate in the development of public policy related to juvenile justice issues.