What does that mean?
Special words and phrases used in the Youth Court
[a] [b] [c] [d] [e] [f] [g] [h] [i] [j] [k] [l] [m] [n] [o] [p] [q] [r] [s] [t] [u] [v] [w] [x] [y] [z]
| accused | someone charged with committing a criminal offence; also called a defendant |
| adjourn / adjournment | put off a hearing for another day or time |
| admit | agree to having broken the law. When someone says they did the crime they're charged with, they're admitting the charge. This usually happens at a family group conference and is confirmed in the Youth Court. |
| admonish | formally warn a young person A Youth Court judge can do this when it's been proved that the young person committed a criminal offence or they agree that they did. |
| affirmation | a promise that something is right or true made by someone without any religious beliefs. A young person can affirm instead of taking an oath. An affirmation is just as serious as an oath. |
| application | a request for the Court to make an order, direction or decision |
| applicant | someone who asks the Court to do something by making an application |
| bail | letting someone out of custody. Usually this is so long as they promise to
do certain things. The law says how long young people can be kept in custody. A Youth
Court judge can let a child or young person out on bail. There are two sorts: police bail
and court bail. Police bail is when the police take a young person into custody then
decide to release them before they go to court for the first time. They might do this if
the person has been arrested without a warrant, or if it's a summary offence and they
can't take the person to court straight away. |
| beyond reasonable doubt | This is to do with proving things in criminal trials. The prosecution must prove important facts about the criminal offence in a way that doesn't leave a jury in much doubt that they are true. An accused young person can't be found guilty unless the jury believes beyond reasonable doubt that the prosecution is right about what happened. |
| bench warrant | the permission of a High Court or District Court judge to arrest someone for a criminal offence (see also warrant) |
| care and protection co-ordinator | someone employed by the Department of Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS), who organises care and protection family group conferences for young people |
| charge sheet | an official document prepared by the District Court. It lists the criminal offence(s) a person has been charged with and is produced when someone is arrested. |
| charge | an accusation that a person has committed a criminal offence (broken the law) |
| child | a girl or boy under 14 (aged 10, 11, 12 or 13) on the day they are said to
have committed the criminal offence. Children can only be charged with murder or
manslaughter. However, the law says a care and protection order can be made for children who have committed a lot of crimes, or crimes serious enough to make people concerned for the child's well-being. |
| closed court | court sessions the general public isn't allowed to attend, when the court is closed and only certain people are allowed in |
| community work | work a young person can be ordered to do to make up for offending. It has to be good for the community and supervised by a social worker. The young person has to do between 20 and 200 hours work in the 12 months after the order is made. |
| complainant | the person who tells the police someone has committed a crime. Sometimes this is the same person the offence was committed against, so the complainant is also the victim. |
| counsel for the child/young person | a legal professional who speaks for the child or young person in court. It's usually a barrister or solicitor whom the court appoints and who represents the child or young person in Family Court meetings. |
| criminal offence | something someone does or doesn't do that the law says can be punished; a crime |
| cross-examination/cross examine | a legal professional (or counsel) questioning a witness in court who isn't a witness that they have asked to give evidence. |
| curfew | the time someone must stay indoors at a particular address. This may be something a young person has to do as part of their bail conditions. |
| case to answer | when the Judge decides that the prosecution has provided enough evidence to prove that the accused could have committed the crime. This means that the Judge has decided that there is enough evidence to raise the question "did you commit the crime?" The defendant will then need to appear in court to "answer" the prosecution's "case" with his or her own evidence. The prosecution is still required to prove the case "beyond reasonable doubt" |
| defendant | someone charged with committing criminal offence; also called the accused |
| defended hearing | what happens in court when a defendant says they didn't commit the criminal offence they've been charged with. It's held before a judge. The prosecution must give evidence that proves the person committed the offence. The defendant gets a chance to put their side of the story and hear the prosecution's evidence. When the judge has heard all the evidence, he or she decides if the prosecution has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did commit the offence. |
| deny/denying/denied | A young person is denying an offence when they say they didn't break the law or commit the crime they've been charged with. |
| deposition | evidence written down at a preliminary hearing in the Youth Court about the purely indictable offences a young person has been charged with, or for which they've chosen to be tried by a jury. At the preliminary hearing, the charge is read to the defendant. Then the informant calls their witnesses and asks them questions (examines them). The defendant can ask them more questions (cross-examine them), and the informant can re-examine them. Each witness's evidence is written down and read back to the witness while the defendant is there. The witness and the Youth Court judge sign the copy of the evidence. This is called depositions of witnesses. |
| direction / application for direction | When someone who's going to take part in a trial asks the court to make an order for directions about a case, it's called making an application for direction. |
| electable offence | a criminal charge for which the defendant can choose to be tried by a judge, or by a judge and jury. This is usually for offences that are punishable by more than three months in prison. |
| family group conference | a private meeting for a young person the police believe has committed a
crime, and their family and support people, the police, and others. If it's arranged by a care and protection co-ordinator people will talk about the child or young person's situation and suggest what should happen. If it's arranged by a youth justice co-ordinator people will talk about whether the young person admits the charge. If the young person does admit the charge, they'll discuss how he or she can make up for what they did, and be helped to avoid breaking the law again. |
| fine | an amount of money a person has to pay. A Youth Court judge can order a young person to pay a fine when they admit the charge against them, or if the charge has been proven. This is called a court fine. A judge can fine someone for drink-driving, disorderly behaviour, or theft. The fine can be the whole sentence or just part of it. |
| forfeiture | taking property away from someone. A Youth Court judge can order a young person to give up something if they break the law. |
| hearing | a meeting for a judge to hear a case and decide what to do about it. It usually means only a judge is there. When there is a jury as well it's called a trial |
| indictable offence | a case that has to be heard before a judge and a jury either in the High Court or the District Court. Indictable offences are very serious eg. rape, murder, arson, supply of Class "A" drugs, and likely to be punished more severely. (Contrast with summary offence) |
| indictment | a written statement of a charge(s) that's presented when the defendant appears in the High or District Court. There are only indictments for trials by jury, never in the Youth Court. |
| information | a document the prosecution uses in court that describes the crime the accused is said to have committed. |
| informant | a person who gives the court an information and who affirms or swears it's true under oath |
| jury | a group of people who promise to sit through a trial, listen to the evidence, and decide on the evidence whether someone committed a crime |
| lay advocate | someone (not a lawyer) appointed by the court to support a young person. The lay advocate makes sure the judge knows about the young person's culture and background, and looks after their interests and those of their family, whanau, hapu, and iwi. |
| not denied | a case where a young person doesn't say they didn't commit the offence they've been charged with. When a case is not denied, it's usually followed by a family group conference, where they have a chance to admit the charge. |
| not proven | A case is not proven when a judge decides the prosecution has not shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the young person committed the criminal offence they were charged with. |
| oath | a promise made in front of an official that something is true or right. An oath is based on the religious beliefs of the person making it. A Christian would swear an oath on the Bible, and a Muslim on the Koran. (See affirmation) |
| order | what a judge tells someone what they have to do. If a charge against an accused young person has been proven or if the accused young person has admitted a charge then, depending how serious the criminal offence is, the Youth Court judge may make an order. This will say what tasks the person has to carry out to make up for their offending. Orders can include restitution or forfeiture, reparation, fine, supervision, community work, supervision with activity, and supervision with residence. The judge may order a young person's case be moved to the District Court for sentencing. The Youth Court judge may also order a young person to be disqualified from driving, for a traffic offence. |
| preliminary hearing | When a defendant has been charged with a purely indictable offence or elects trial by jury a preliminary hearing will be held. This hearing is when the judge decides whether the prosecution has enough evidence to take the case to trial. The charge is read, then the informant calls witnesses and asks them questions. The defendant can ask them more questions (cross-examine them), and the informant can re-examine them. Each witness's evidence is written down and read back to the witness while the defendant is there. The witness and the Youth Court judge sign the copy of the evidence. (See deposition) |
| prosecution | a court action that a prosecutor takes. |
| prosecutor | a person taking a court action. In the Youth Court, the prosecutor is nearly always the police. |
| proven | when the Youth Court judge decides the prosecution has shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the young person has committed the offence they've been charged with. (In an adult court, this is called being found guilty.) |
| remand | put someone in custody, or let them go on bail during an adjournment of a court case. This only happens for serious offences that mean the person might go to prison. The law says the Youth Court judge must be sure of certain things before he or she orders a child or young person into custody. |
| reparation | a Youth Court order that the defendant pay some money as compensation. The money is to help put right what the victim suffered because of the offence. |
| restitution | returning someone's property to them. A Youth Court judge can make an order for restitution if a young person admits the charge against them, or if the charge has been proven, and the criminal offence is serious. |
| social worker | someone employed by the Department of Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS) who watches how a young person gets on with a plan drawn up in a family group conference or who might write a report about what should happen with them |
| summary offence | cases heard by a judge (but no jury) in the District Court. Purely summary offences mean the offender doesn't have a right to be tried by a jury. But some summary offences are "triable indictably" (see indictable offence) which means the defendant can choose trial by jury (see electable offence) Summary offences are usually less serious and get less serious punishments eg. dangerous driving, breach of periodic detention, cannabis possession. |
| summons | a document telling someone they must appear in court on a particular day. If they don't appear after getting a summons, the court can punish them or issue a bench warrant to arrest them, so they have to appear. A witness who ignores a summons to appear in court for a case where a crime has been committed might be sent to prison. |
| supervision | being put in the charge of the chief executive of the Department of Child
Youth and Family Services (CYFS) or someone else. The Youth Court judge can order this if
a young person has admitted the charge against them or if the charge has been proven and
the criminal offence is serious. It can mean:
|
| supervision with activity | having to go to weekday, evening, or weekend activities, or a programme set by a supervisor, for up to three months. A Youth Court judge can then order supervision if a young person has admitted the charge against them, or if the charge has been proven, and the criminal offence is serious. The judge can make a supervision order that lasts up to three months, and begins after the young person has finished the activities or programme of supervision with activity |
| supervision with residence | having to live in a Department of Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS) home for three months. A Youth Court judge makes this order if a young person has admitted the charge against them or if the charge has been proven and the criminal offence is serious. If the young person behaves well, and doesn't run off or commit any more offences, they might be allowed to leave after two months. The judge can also order supervision for up to three months, beginning when the young person stops being in the CYFS home, or in the custody of the chief executive. |
| trial | usually means cases heard in court by a judge and jury. (Contrast with hearing) |
| warrant | a document giving someone a legal right to do something. A warrant usually means a document giving the police the right to arrest someone. A judge or (deputy) registrar may issue a warrant. (See also bench warrant) |
| witness | someone who gives evidence about something in court, on oath or solemn affirmation |
| young person | a boy or girl of 14 or over, but under 17 (that is, someone who is 14, 15 or 16, but not anyone who is married, or has been). What counts is how old someone was at the time they committed an offence. So if they were 16 when they're said to have committed the offence, but are 17 now, they'll still be treated as a young person, not an adult. Once someone is 18, they can't be a young person, however old they were when they were said to have committed the offence. They'll be treated as an adult and dealt with in the District Court, not the Youth Court. |
| youth advocate | a lawyer the court appoints to help a child or young person charged with a criminal offence who is appearing in the Youth Court. The youth advocate is provided free. |
| youth justice co-ordinator | someone employed by the Department of Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS) who organises and manages youth justice family group conferences |
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