home > witness service > being a witness at the youth court > frequently asked questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is cross-examination?

A. Cross-examination is the way your evidence is tested in the courtroom.  You may find it a little uncomfortable but remember that it is not personal and try not to get angry.

Q. How will I find out the outcome of the case?

A. You can either stay at the court until the Magistrates make their decision or if you would prefer you can go home and the Witness Service can telephone you with the result.

Q. How is a Youth Court different to a Magistrates Court?

A. The first immediate difference is that all the defendants are under 18 at the time they are charged with an offence.  For this reason the court has less formal proceedings and has a different layout to the adult courts (if you would like to see the courtroom before giving evidence the Witness Service can arrange this for you).

As the defendants are under 18 access to the Youth Courts is restricted.  This means there is no public gallery and very limited press reporting of Youth Court proceedings.  Magistrates who sit in the Youth Court are specially elected to a Youth Court panel and undergo more specialist training than other Magistrates.  Sentencing of young offenders is also different to adult courts and typically rehabilitation periods are set at lower levels than that for adults.  There is also different terminology used in the youth court compared with the adult court.  The term ‘conviction’ is replaced by ‘finding of guilt’ and ‘sentence’ by ‘order’.

Q. Why are there differences between the Magistrates Court and the Youth Court?

A.  These differences exist because the accused is under 18 and the underlying philosophy of the youth court is that the welfare of the young person is paramount.  In the past young offenders received cruel treatment, things have progressed so that it is the job of the court to look after the welfare of the young person and not simply to punish them.  For this reason the proceedings are less formal and all the above mentioned differences are in place, although the proceedings of a trial still follow a similar structure to that of the adult court.

Q. Will someone be able to come into the courtroom with me?

A. Because Balham is a Youth Court there are restrictions on who has access to the courtroom, therefore unfortunately if you are Over 18 your family and friends will be unable to go into the courtroom at any time.  However, the Witness Service can request that one of their volunteers can accompany you into the courtroom if you would like.

If you are under 18 you should be allowed someone to accompany you into the courtroom at your request unless an objection is made.

Q. How do I address the judge or bench of Magistrates?

A. In addressing a district judge or bench of magistrates they are typically called Sir or Madam.

Q. Will I have to stand up when I give evidence?

A. No, at the Youth Court you will be seated when you give your evidence.

Q. Who will be present in the courtroom when I give my evidence and what do they do?

A. As Balham is a Youth Court access to the court is restricted.  Therefore those present in the courtroom typically will be:

Magistrate - can be lay (unpaid) or a district judge (salaried) – it is their role to hear the cases and decide on appropriate actions and sentencing when necessary.

CPS prosecutor – person who is prosecuting the case against the defendant

Defence Lawyer – solicitor or barrister who is representing the defendant

Defendant – the party whom proceedings are being brought against

Appropriate adult – Typically the defendants parent or guardian, but can be anyone over the age of 18 who is there for the defendant.

Court clerk – the legal advisor to the magistrates also makes a record of what is said and what happens in the case.

List caller/ usher –Court official who calls on the cases in the courtroom, ensures everyone is present for the case and also notifies witnesses when they are required to give evidence in court.

Youth Offending team (YOT) member – a representative from the youth offending team that the offender is referred to and supervised by.  Within the courtroom, the YOT member also provides pre-sentence reports (covering past behaviour and compliance with previous orders) as well as sentence recommendations to the magistrates to enable the magistrates to determine an appropriate sentence for the young offender.

Q. What is the Youth Offending team (YOT)?

A. A Youth offending team is made up of representatives from the Probation service, social services, police, education, health, drug and alcohol misuse and housing officers.  At Balham Youth Court there are representatives from two YOTs, the Wandsworth YOT and the Lambeth YOT.  Ultimately their duties are to co-ordinate the provision of Youth Justice services for their area. 

They become involved when a young person is found to be guilty of committing an offence.  Their role becomes one of assessing the young offender’s needs and identifying the specific problems that may make these young people offend.  They then take these needs into account when designing a programme for the young person to follow while they carry out their sentence, in an attempt to prevent the young offender from re-offending.  Typically the young offender will be supervised and have to report to their YOT whilst they are carrying out this programme.

Q.  Will I be able to see my statement before I go into court to give evidence?

A.  Yes, the Witness Service will obtain your statement from the prosecutor or the Police Officer so that you can refresh your memory before you go into court to give your evidence.  This is because you cannot take your statement into the courtroom with you when giving evidence.

Q.  Will I get to meet the prosecutor before I go into court to give my evidence?

A.  The witness service will always request that the prosecutor comes down to meet you before you give your evidence, however because the prosecutor is often very busy before the start of the case sometimes this is not possible.

Copyright ©2003 Victim Support Wandsworth. All rights reserved.
 Web Design by Chameleon Studios