The Tennessee Supreme Court is on record as recognizing that the two most consequential areas of the law in which they deal are death penalty cases and cases, such as those in Juvenile Court, involving the parent-child relationship. delinquent children--which are the equivalent of criminal cases for adults. The advantage of these types of cases proceeding in Juvenile Court is demonstrated by the resources Juvenile Court provides children. In these cases, it is common for the Dept. of Children's Services, the Children's Advocacy Center, CASA, and a Guardian Ad Litem to be involved.
Juvenile Law primarily encompasses two areas--family law and criminal law. If a child is born out of wedlock, Juvenile Court can determine paternity, set child support, and adjudicate custody--just like a divorce court would if parents were married. There are, however, important differences in the law between divorce proceedings and juvenile court custody laws.
Juvenile Court also has exclusive jurisdiction over dependency and neglect cases and cases involving unruly or
Ricky and Teresa have considerable experience in all areas of juvenile law, having both prosecuted and defended juveniles in the criminal field. Further, their experience in juvenile custody and dependency and neglect cases is extensive. Ricky has successfully handled many of these cases both in juvenile courts throughout the State and before the Tennessee Court of Appeals.