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1 Defendants (the people accused of the crime) under the age of 18 usually go to the Youth Court.
2 You should go to the Youth Court with your parent or carer, and your solicitor.
3 You should tell the court usher that you have arrived.
4 When the court is ready the usher will tell you where to sit.
5 There are usually three magistrates. Sometimes there is just one District Judge instead.
The magistrates or judge are often called the 'bench' or the 'court'. They sit together at the top of the room.
6 The magistrates' legal adviser sits near the magistrates.
The legal adviser will tell you what to do.
7 The legal adviser will ask you to stand up.
You will be asked to tell the court your full name.
The charges against you will be read to the court.
You will be asked if you plead guilty (you admit you did the crime) or not guilty (you say you didn't do the crime).
Occasionally the matters are too serious to be heard in the Youth Court and must go to the Crown Court.
8 If you plead guilty, the Prosecutor will tell the court what happened when you broke the law.
9 The magistrates may ask the Youth Offending Team to produce a report.
The report tells the court what sort of person you are.
If this is your first offence you may get a referral order, and no report will be needed.
10 If you plead 'not guilty', another date will be fixed for the case to be heard.
The case may be delayed for 4 - 10 weeks while the Prosecutor and Defence Lawyer (your solicitor) get ready for the trial.
11 The Prosecutor calls witnesses to tell the court what they know.
The Defence lawyer (your solicitor) then has a chance to ask the witnesses questions to test how good their evidence is. This is called cross-examination.
You may be asked questions about what happened by the Prosecution lawyer, the defence lawyer (your solicitor) or the magistrates.
The Defence lawyer (your solicitor) can call witnesses in your defence.
12 If the court decides that you are not guilty (didn't do the crime), they will let you go.
13 If the court decides you are guilty (did do the crime), the magistrates will ask the Youth Offending Team to produce a report, or sometimes may give you a referral order instead.
The report tells the court what sort of person you are.
14 Before the magistrates decide what punishment (sentence) to give you they:
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