Young People and the Youth Court
If the police believe you committed a crime
When the police believe you committed a crime, they can:
either
- warn you, or send you to a family group conference
or
If you're a young person who hasn't been arrested
If the police decide not to arrest you, they can:
either
- if the crime they believe you committed was minor, give you and your family a warning, and do nothing else
or
- if the crime was more serious, refer you to a youth justice co-ordinator who'll organise a family group conference
If you're a young person who has been arrested
The police can only arrest you in certain cases. When they do arrest you, you'll have to appear in the Youth Court.
A lawyer called a youth advocate will be appointed to help you. The youth advocate is free. You can have your own lawyer if you want to, but you'll have to pay for them.
You must have a lawyer if you're facing a charge in the Youth Court. You can't appear in court without one.
If you're a young person appearing in the Youth Court
You can bring your family and some support people with you to the Youth Court. The judge will decide how many people is enough. You'll be asked to introduce your family or support people to the judge.
There's no such thing as "guilty" or "not guilty" in the Youth Court. The judge will ask whether or not you deny the charge. If you disagree with what someone says about what happened, or say you didn't do what the police say you did, you are denying the charge.
Then, the judge will make another day for a defended hearing. Putting off a case till another day is called an adjournment.
If you agree with what the police say, you can say so, which means that you are not denying the charge. Then your case is sent to a youth justice co-ordinator who'll arrange a family group conference.
If you're a young person who has to go to a family group conference
A family group conference is a meeting of everyone involved in your case. It's held:
either
- so people can decide if your case should go to court
or
- after you've been to court, to work out what you did, why you did it and how it can be put right.
Sometimes people at a family group conference have to say which court (Youth or adult) they think you should appear in. This happens when the offence is really serious.
The youth justice co-ordinator organises and runs the family group conference. You'll be there with your family and support people.
There might also be police youth aid officers, staff from the Department of Child Youth and Family Services, and the victim of the offence.
Going to a family group conference to decide if your case should go to court
After they've talked about the offence, the people at the conference will all help make a decision.
They might decide the police should caution you. This means the police will warn you that if you break the law again, they might have to charge you.
The people at the conference might make a diversionary plan. This means you shouldn't have to appear in the Youth Court. The plan says what you have to do and what goals you have to achieve. The plan might need you to apologise to the victim, make a donation to charity, or do community work. The plan might say that you have to obey some rules about when you can go out (called a curfew) and where you can go.
If the people at the conference make a plan that you stick to, the case may not go any further. If you're good at sticking to the plan, it's called a successful diversion.
It you don't stick to the plan, the police will probably charge you and the case will go to the Youth Court.
Sometimes people at family group conferences can't agree what should happen so they can't make a plan. Then the Youth Court will decide what should be done.
Going to a family group conference after you've been to court
People at a family group conference held after you've been to court will all help work out a plan.
The plan might need you to apologise to the victim, make a donation to charity, or do community work. The plan might say that you have to obey some rules about when you can go out (called a curfew) and where you can go.
The plan might last for a while. It will have to be approved by the court, and you might have to talk about it with the judge.
Later, the people at the family group conference will tell the judge how you got on, and whether you stuck to the plan. If you did what the plan said you had to do, the charge will probably be withdrawn.
If people at a family conference can't agree what should happen, the Youth Court judge will decide. Usually the judge asks a social worker to write a report about you, suggesting how you should make up for what you did.
What happens after the family group conference
If the family group conference agrees on a plan, you'll go back to the Youth Court to talk to the judge about it so he or she can decide whether to approve it. Judges usually accept plans. Then, your case will be put off so people can see how well you carry it out.
If you do it well, nothing else will have to happen – the charge against you will probably be withdrawn, or you may be discharged without anything else happening to you.
If the people at the family group conference can't agree on a plan, you'll go back to court and the judge will ask a social worker to write a report about you.(link to If a social worker has to write a report about you below)
If you don't stick to the plan, then depending how serious the crime is, the Youth Court judge might make an order. An order says what tasks you have to carry out to make up for your offending, and you have to do what the judge tells you.
Orders can include restitution or forfeiture, reparation, fine, supervision, community work, supervision with activity, and supervision with residence
If a social worker has to write a report about you
It's best for you and your family if everyone at the family group conference can agree about what you should do to make up for your offending. When they can't agree, you and your family probably won't have any more say in what happens. That's when the judge will ask a social worker to write a report about you.
The social worker will learn about you and your background. He or she also knows about the law. The social worker's report suggests the best way for the judge to deal with you, so you don't commit another offence.
Some of the things the social worker might suggest are:
- you have to pay back the cost of the damage you did or the cost of the property you took – this is called reparation. (link to What does that mean?)
- you should be disqualified from driving
- you should be supervised by the Chief Executive of the Department of Child Youth and Family Services – this means seeing a social worker regularly, and the social worker possibly working out a plan of things for you to do
- you should be placed on supervision with activity – this means you have to go to work and attend special programmes
- you should go to live in a Department of Child Youth and Family Services home for up to three months, away from your family and friends.
What happens if you're a young person who wants to defend their case
If you say you didn't commit the offence, you are defending your case.
When you defend a case in the Youth Court, it works like other courts. A Youth Court judge will decide your case, unless it's very serious or you want to be tried by a jury.
The police have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you broke the law. The police prosecutor will say what the police think you did, and try to prove it. Your youth advocate will speak for you.
The police may call witnesses to show you did commit the offence. Your youth advocate may ask them more questions, which is called cross-examining them.
Your youth advocate may call witnesses too. You might give evidence yourself and tell your side of the story.
At the end of the evidence, the judge will decide whether or not the police have proved you committed the offence.
If the judge thinks the police haven't proved you did it, the case will be dismissed and nothing else will happen.
If the judge thinks the police have proved you did it, he or she will ask for a family group conference to be held. The people there will be asked to make a plan for you.
If you're a young person who's been charged with a serious crime
The most serious crimes are called indictable offences. The law says what should happen when young people are charged with an indictable offence.
If you're charged with one of these crimes, you have a right for your case to be heard by a jury. This is called a jury trial.
Jury trials are held in the District Court or the High Court, depending how serious the crime is.
If you're charged with something very serious, either murder or manslaughter, the law says the judge has to send your case to the High Court, to be heard by a jury.
First, there's a preliminary hearing in the Youth Court. The judge listens to all the evidence that's meant to show you committed the crime.
If the judge thinks the police have proved you could have done it, you'll be committed for trial. This means your case will be moved to the High Court for a jury trial. Here, you'll be dealt with in the same way as an adult charged with murder or manslaughter.
If you're charged with a serious crime that's not murder or manslaughter, the Youth Court judge might give you the choice of staying in the Youth Court.
You should talk to your youth advocate about this. If you stay in the Youth Court, you'll give up your right to have your case heard by a jury.
If you deny the charge by saying you didn't commit the crime, you'll have a defended hearing in the Youth Court. The Youth Court judge will listen to all the evidence and decide what should be done.
If your case is not denied because you agree you committed the crime, the judge still might decide to let it stay in the Youth Court. If he or she does, you'll be told to go to a family group conference.
If the judge doesn't give you the choice of staying in the Youth Court, or you don't want to stay there, your case will be moved to the District Court. Here, your case will be tried by a jury. If you're found guilty, you'll be sentenced in this court too, as if you were an adult.
If you're a young person whose case is going to the District Court
The Youth Court judge might have to move your case to the District Court. This can happen when you're charged with something very serious, or when all the other ways of trying to keep young people out of trouble haven't worked.
Your case can only go to the District Court after a family group conference has been held, a social worker has written a report on you, and the judge is sure everything has been done properly.
In the District Court you'll be dealt with like an adult. If it's decided that you committed the crime, you'll be sentenced as if you were an adult
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