Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
At a family group conference and afterwards
Before going to court
What happens when the police think a child or young person has broken the law?
If they want to charge someone with breaking the law, the police may either:
- arrest them and make them go to the Youth Court to answer the charge (this only happens in special cases)
or
- refer the case to a youth justice co-ordinator who'll organise a family group conference. People at the conference will talk about the offending and decide if the young person should have to go to the Youth Court. See At a family group conference and afterwards.
Do all young people who break the law go to court?
No. Often the police will deal with young people by something called diversion. This means the young person won't go to court but will have to make up for what they did in some other way.
The Youth Court is for those charged with serious crimes or who keep breaking the law. Special rules say what court a young person charged with a serious crime has to appear in. See Do young people ever go to the adult court?
What happens when a child or young person is arrested?
They'll go to court the same day, if there's time, or next morning. If they're arrested on a Saturday, they'll appear in court on Monday morning.
The Youth Court doesn't sit every day (see the Youth Court contact list) so sometimes young people have to appear in the District Court first. But it will work like a Youth Court hearing, and the public won't be allowed in.
Their case will be adjourned (put off) until the next Youth Court sitting, and the District Court Judge will decide if the person should be allowed bail.
If the person doesn't turn up to court on the right day, the police will ask the Judge for a warrant to arrest the child or young person.
In the Youth Court
What is the Youth Court?
This is the court that a young person, or a child charged with serious offences, will have to appear in if the police think they have broken the law and charge them.
Is the Youth Court the same as an adult court?
No. There are different rules, and different things happen:
- Youth Court hearings are private (see Who can come to Youth Court hearings?). The public isn't allowed in, although newspaper, radio and television reporters can be there
- Victims of offending need to get permission to be there
- The Youth Court has special Judges who understand the problems young people face, and their different cultures and backgrounds
- The child or young person can speak, and the Judge usually talks to them
- Parents and families are encouraged to attend
- Parents, families and victims attend the family group conference and all help decide how the child or young person should make up for their offending
- Youth Court Judges will try to keep the child or young person in their family and community, if possible.
What happens at the Youth Court?
Every case is different so it's impossible to say exactly. But some things are the same in most cases. Children and young people should talk to their youth advocate before they appear in court about what might happen.
If the child or young person says they didn't do what the police say they did, there'll be a defended hearing or a trial, depending on how serious the charge is.
At the defended hearing, the police will call witnesses and so will the child or young person, if they want to. Then the Judge will decide whether the police have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the child or young person did what the police say they did.
There are lots of rules for defended hearings. The child or young person's lawyer/youth advocate will explain them.
If the Judge decides the child or young person did what the police say they did, the case will usually be put off for about two weeks so there can be a family group conference. See What is a family group conference?
If the child or young person agrees they did do what the police say they did, their lawyer or youth advocate will tell the Judge. So, if the police say the child or young person burgled a house, the charge is burglary. If the child or young person agrees they burgled the house, their lawyer/youth advocate will tell the Judge the burglary charge is not denied.
Then the case will usually be put off for about two weeks so a family group conference can be held.
When does the Youth Court sit?
It depends where it is. Look up your nearest Youth Court on the Youth Court contact list
Most courts hear cases from 10am to 1pm, and from 2.15pm to 4pm.The child or young person will be told what time to turn up. They shouldn't leave the waiting area without telling their lawyer/youth advocate, in case they get called into court.
Where does the Youth Court sit?
In the bigger courts, it may be in a separate part of the District Court building. It might have a different entrance to the District Court. Look for a sign when you get there. In smaller courts, it will probably use the same entrance as the main District Court building.
Who can come to Youth Court hearings?
They are private. The only people allowed to come are:
- court staff the child or young person
- the person who says the child or young person broke the law (usually someone from the police)
- the child or young person's family or whānau
- someone from the family group conference (if one has been held)
- a lawyer or youth advocate who speaks for the young person
- a lawyer who speaks for the young person's parents or guardian
- a youth justice co-ordinator
- a social worker
- a lay advocate who supports the child or young person, or their parent, guardian or caregiver
- witnesses
- reporters who have permission to be there
- anyone else the Judge allows to be there, for example the victim of the crime.
Can the child or young person bring people with them?
It's a good idea if one or both parents or caregivers come too. Children and young people may also bring older relatives or an adult friend to court. They can't bring friends their own age.
The Youth Court Judge may say how many support people the child or young person can have. If no adult can come, the case might be put off until they can.
Will the child or young person need a lawyer?
Yes. They can't appear in court without one. If the child or young person or their family wants their own lawyer, they'll have to pay the fee, or the court can appoint a youth advocate.
How does a young person get a lawyer?
If they don't have one, the court will get one for them. This person is called a youth advocate. Youth advocates are specially trained to help young people in court. They don't cost the child or young person or their family any money because they're paid by the government.
What does the lawyer do?
They'll speak for the child or young person in court and answer their questions. They explain what the police have charged them with. They'll ask the child or young person to tell them what happened and tell them what the options are, depending on whether the child or young person agrees they committed a crime or says they didn't.
Will the child or young person have to speak in court?
Yes. Usually the Judge asks them to introduce their parents, family members or anyone else who's come with them. Later on, the Judge might ask the child or young person a question. They can talk to their youth advocate about this before the hearing.
Where will the child or young person live during their case?
The Judge decides this. Some of the options are:
- bail so they can live with their family (or somewhere else, if their family can't have them). The Judge can say a child or young person may be released only if certain things happen, e.g. they mustn't be away from home or do anything without the permission of their parents or guardians or whoever looks after them.
- putting the child or young person in the care of Child, Youth and Family - either in a family/community home or a secure residence
- keeping the child or young person in police custody (as a last resort).
Can Youth Court cases be in the papers and on radio and TV?
Reporters can come to Youth Court hearings but they're not allowed to report everything they see and hear. The Youth Court Judge must agree before the reporters can publish anything. Reporters mustn't publish:
- the child or young person's name, or the names of their parents, guardians or caregivers
- the name of the child or young person's school
- any other name or detail which might give away who the child or young person is or what school they go to
- the name of anyone who makes a complaint against a child or young person.
What the Judge can do
What sentences can a Youth Court Judge give a child or young person?
A Youth Court Judge can make an order. This means the Judge tells the child or young person what they have to do to make up for breaking the law.
If the Judge orders a child or young person's case to be moved to the District Court for sentencing (in special circumstances), they will be sentenced like an adult.
What's an order?
An order is what a Judge tells someone to do. Orders can include paying restitution or forfeiture, reparation, fine, being disqualified from driving, doing a parenting education, drug or alcohol rehabilitation or mentoring programme, supervision, community work, supervision with activity, and supervision with residence, and being supervised with various conditions, including electronic curfew monitoring and judicial monitoring, either in the community or in a residential facility.. The youth advocate can explain what these are.
If a child or young person doesn't do what they're supposed to, the person supervising the order will tell the court. Then the child or young person will be brought back to court and probably a more severe order made.
An order isn't the same as a criminal conviction, unless the order is that the young person is convicted and transferred to the District Court for sentencing. But if the person appears in a District Court when they're older, it might make a difference to how they are dealt with then.
Do young people go to prison?
Sometimes young people can be held in a prison (called being remanded) while they're waiting for a jury trial or to be sentenced.
A young person can only be held in prison if they are:
- at least 15
and
- they've been charged with a very serious offence like aggravated robbery or murder, or the Judge has decided they committed a very serious offence
and
- their case has been moved to the District or High Court for a jury trial or sentence.
A young person can only be sentenced to spend time in prison if they have pleaded guilty or been found guilty of a purely indictable offence.
Do children or young people ever go to the adult court?
Sometimes, if they break the law in serious ways - like committing armed robbery. And if they've been charged with a less serious traffic offence.
If a child or young person breaks the law in a serious way, the first step is to go to the Youth Court so a Judge can decide if there's enough evidence to carry on with the case. This is called a preliminary hearing.
If the Judge (or sometimes Justices of the Peace) decides there's enough evidence, or if the child or young person agrees they broke the law, the Judge might offer to let them stay in the Youth Court. Otherwise, their case will go to an adult court for a trial by jury.
If the Judge gives them a choice, the child or young person can decide whether they want their case heard in the Youth Court or the adult court.
If a child or young person is charged with murder or manslaughter, the preliminary hearing will still be held in the Youth Court, but the Judge can't let them choose where to have a hearing - their case has to be heard in the High Court, the same as adults.
If a child or young person who's been charged with a serious crime agrees they committed it, or if it's proved that they did, their case might be moved to an adult court for sentencing, if the Youth Court Judge believes the offence is serious enough.
Will the child or young person get a criminal record?
Not if their case has been dealt with in the Youth Court.
The Youth Court Judge might convict a young person (which means they'll have a criminal record) if they're 15 or older and they don't disagree that they broke the law, or after they've disagreed and there's been a defended hearing and the Judge has decided they did break the law.
If this happens the young person may be sentenced in the District or High Court, and then they'll have criminal record.
At a family group conference and afterwards
What is a family group conference?
A meeting for the child or young person, their family/whānau and the victim. There are two sorts of family group conference (sometimes called an FGC):
- when the police are deciding whether to charge the child or young person with breaking the law - if the people at the conference think the person shouldn't be charged (or go to court), they'll decide what the child or young person will have to do to make up for their offending. This is often called an "intention to charge" family group conference.
and
- after the child or young person has appeared in the Youth Court - to work out what they did, why they did it, what they can do to make up for their offending and how to make sure they don't get into trouble again. This kind of family group conference is held if the child or young person agrees that they broke the law or it has been proved that the child or young person broke the law.
For more about family group conferences, go to Families and the Youth Court
Who goes to a family group conference?
It's run by a youth justice co-ordinator from Child, Youth and Family. The other people there are usually:
- the child or young person and their family/whānau
- the victim
- a police youth aid officer
- the child or young person's youth advocate or lawyer.
Other people who might be invited are:
- the child or young person's social worker and counsellor (if they have one)
- someone from the school or training course the child or young person attends
- the child or young person’s lay advocate
The child or young person should tell the youth justice co-ordinator who else they want to have at the family group conference.
What happens at a family group conference?
Everyone talks about the offending and suggests how the Youth Court should deal with the child or young person. Later, the Youth Court Judge will decide if he or she agrees. What the Judge says is final.
Sometimes people at family group conferences can't agree. If this happens, the Youth Court will decide what should happen.
What happens after the first kind of family group conference?
If the people at the first kind of family group conference think the young person's case shouldn't go to court, they'll decide how else the child or young person should make up for breaking the law.
The child or young person might have to stick to a plan that says they have to do certain things - like write an apology letter or do community work. The plan may make rules - like what time they have to be home at night or who they mustn't have contact with. If the child or young person sticks to the plan things usually don't go any further. But if they don't agree with the plan or don't stick to it, the police will probably charge them with breaking the law and they'll have to go to Youth Court.
What happens after the second kind of family group conference?
The child or young person has already appeared in the Youth Court so the people at the conference work out what the Youth Court should do next.
They make a plan so that the child or young person can make up for breaking the law. Later, the Youth Court Judge will decide if he or she agrees with the plan. What the Judge says is final.
If the child or young person sticks to the plan, the charge against them is usually withdrawn or discharged. It will be as if they were never charged.
If the child or young person committed a more serious crime and doesn't stick to their plan, the Youth Court Judge will probably make an order.
How do I get answers to more questions?
Talk to a lawyer/youth advocate, especially if it's about a particular case.
Glossary - http://www2.justice.govt.nz/youth/about-youth/glossary.asp
