youth court procedure

• Areas of youth court work

  • What the youth court is required to do when dealing with youths charged with a grave crime
  • The different approach taken in the youth court from an adult magistrates' court to the allocation procedure where a youth is charged with an either-way offence
  • Which court youths are dealt with where they are jointly charged with an adult
  • The powers given to the youth court when dealing with the question of bail
  • The range of sentences available in the youth court and the approach taken when sentencing youths, particularly: the role of the Sentencing Children and Young People – definitive guidelines, referral orders, youth rehabilitation orders, detention and training orders
  • How the appeal jurisdiction operates when appealing a case from the youth court
• The principal aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by children and young persons (CDA 1998, s 37(1)). All those involved in the youth justice system (including solicitors representing juveniles) must have regard to this aim.
• Youth Offending Team (YOT)

  Responsible for coordinating the provision of youth justice services in their particular local area. A member of the YOT will attend each sitting of the youth court.
• Matters the YOT will assist the youth court with

  • investigating and confirming the personal circumstances and previous convictions of juveniles
  • providing support for juveniles who are granted bail
  • preparing pre-sentence reports
  • administering any non-custodial sentence imposed by the youth court
• Role of parents/guardians


  A juvenile appearing before the youth court who is aged under 16 must be accompanied by their parents or guardian during each stage of the proceedings, unless the court is satisfied that it would be unreasonable to require such attendance. For juveniles aged 16 or 17, the court has a discretion as to whether to make an order requiring the attendance of the juvenile's parents or guardian.
• People usually allowed to attend a hearing in the youth court


  • the district judge/youth justices
  • court staff (such as the court clerk and usher)
  • the juvenile and his parents or guardian
  • the CPS representative
  • the juvenile's solicitor
  • a representative from the YOT
  • members of the press
• Reporting restrictions


  The press is restricted in what they are allowed to report about a hearing before the youth court. They cannot report the name, address or school, or any other details which are likely to lead to the identification of the juvenile or any other child or young person (such as a witness) involved in the case.
• These reporting restrictions that apply specifically to children or young persons end automatically when they reach the age of 18.
• Section 78 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 allows for a lifelong reporting restriction in respect of a victim or witness who is under the age of 18 during the proceedings.
• Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 allows the court to lift these restrictions either to avoid injustice, or, following conviction, if the court is satisfied that it is in the public interest to reveal the juvenile's identity.
• Legal representation


  The solicitor representing a juvenile in the youth court plays the same role as they would were they representing an adult in the magistrates' court. Representation orders are applied for in the same manner as in the adult court and will be determined by the Legal Aid Agency applying the same interests of justice test. The Legal Aid Agency must, however, take into account the age of the juvenile when deciding whether a representation order should be granted.
• In respect of the means test, all juveniles under the age of 18 will be automatically eligible, regardless of their actual means.
• Youth court


  The youth court is part of the magistrates' court system. A hearing in the youth court will therefore take place before either a district judge or a bench of youth justices. The youth court deals with cases involving defendants aged between 10 and 17 inclusive.
• Children


  Juveniles aged between 10 and 13 inclusive
• Young people


  Juveniles aged between 14 and 17 inclusive
• Persistent young offenders (PYOs)

  The Home Office categorises a PYO as a juvenile who has been sentenced on three separate occasions for one or more recordable offences (a recordable offence is any offence for which a juvenile may receive a custodial sentence). A juvenile who is a PYO will have their case expedited so the youth court may deal with them as quickly as possible.
• Procedures in the youth court are modified to take account of the age of the juvenile. The layout of the court room is less formal than the magistrates' court, with all participants in the case sitting at the same level rather than there being a raised dock or bench. The juvenile will usually sit on a chair in front of the CPS representative and his own solicitor, and in full view of the magistrates.
• Magistrates receive special training in youth justice matters before being allowed to sit in the youth court.
• Terminology in the youth court

  There will be a 'finding of guilt' rather than a conviction, and the court will make an 'order upon a finding of guilt' rather than give a sentence.
• If a juvenile is charged with an offence when aged 17, but turns 18 prior to their first appearance in the youth court, the court does not have jurisdiction to deal with them and the case must be dealt with in the adult magistrates' court.
• If a juvenile makes his first appearance in the youth court before their 18th birthday, but becomes 18 whilst the case is ongoing, the youth court may either remit the case to the adult magistrates' court or retain the case.
• Circumstances where a juvenile's case either must or may be sent to an adult court

  • Homicide offences
  • Firearms offences
  • Grave crimes
  • Specified offences
  • Jointly charged with an adult
• Plea before venue and allocation

  1. If the juvenile indicates a guilty plea, the youth court will either sentence the juvenile or send them to the Crown Court for sentence where they believe their sentencing powers would be inadequate (ie the juvenile will receive a detention and training order in excess of 24 months)

  2. If the juvenile indicates a not guilty plea, a similar allocation procedure will then be followed to that in the magistrates' court for
• Plea before venue and allocation

  1. Juvenile indicates guilty plea

  2. Youth court sentences juvenile or sends them to Crown Court for sentence

  3. Juvenile indicates not guilty plea

  4. Allocation procedure followed similar to magistrates' court for either-way offence

  5. Youth court only declines jurisdiction and sends case to Crown Court for trial if they believe their sentencing powers would be inadequate
• Bail


  Youth court can remand juvenile on bail (with or without conditions), into local authority accommodation, or in the case of 17-year-olds, into custody
• Consequences of refusal of bail

  1. Juvenile remanded to local authority accommodation or youth detention accommodation

  2. 10-11 year olds can only be remanded on bail or to local authority accommodation

  3. 12-17 year olds may be remanded to youth detention accommodation if certain conditions met
• Conditions for remand to youth detention accommodation

  • Juvenile aged 12-17
  • Juvenile usually has legal representation
  • Offence is violent/sexual or adult could be punished with 14+ years imprisonment and very likely to receive custodial sentence, or juvenile has recent/significant history of absconding or committing imprisonable offences
  • Court believes remand necessary to protect public or prevent further offences and risk cannot be managed in community
• Sentencing in youth court

  Must balance seriousness of offence and juvenile's previous record with welfare requirements, with aim of preventing offending
• Sentencing procedure


  CPS gives facts, juvenile's solicitor gives plea in mitigation, court hears from parents/guardian, pre-sentence report from YOT considered
• Sentencing Children and Young People - definitive guidelines

  • Focus on rehabilitation, custodial sentence as last resort, avoid criminalising unnecessarily, consider factors diminishing culpability, opportunity to address behaviour and learn from mistakes
• Determining the sentence


  1. Consider principal aim of youth justice system, welfare of child/young person, age, seriousness of offence, likelihood and extent of further offences

  2. Seriousness of offence is starting point, but approach should be individualistic and focused on child/young person

  3. Assess culpability and harm caused/intended/foreseeable
• Referral orders


  Must be made for juvenile who pleads guilty to offence carrying possible custodial sentence and has no previous convictions/bindings over, unless court proposes custodial sentence or absolute discharge
• Factors that may increase or reduce the overall seriousness of the offence should not be taken into account when considering the relative seriousness of the offence before the court if they are included in the definition of the committed offence
• Referral orders


  1. Referral order must be made for a juvenile who pleads guilty to an offence (which carries a possible custodial sentence) and who has never previously been convicted or bound over by a court, unless the court is proposing either to impose a custodial sentence or to make an absolute discharge

  2. Referral orders cannot be made unless the juvenile pleads guilty to the offence with which they have been charged, although if the juvenile has entered a mixed plea (ie guilty to one or more offences but not guilty to others), the court has the power to make a referral order but is not obliged to do so

  3. The court may also make a second referral order in exceptional circumstances

  4. The juvenile will be referred to a 'youth offender panel' which will speak to the juvenile and their family with a view to stopping any further offending, helping the juvenile right the wrong they did to their victim, and helping the juvenile with any problems they may have

  5. The panel will agree with the juvenile a 'youth offender contract' which is a programme of behaviour designed to prevent the juvenile re-offending and will last between three and 12 months
• Youth rehabilitation orders (YRO)

  1. Allows the court to include one or more requirements to achieve punishment for the offence, protection of the public, reduction in re-offending and reparation (for a period of up to three years)

  2. The requirements are similar but not identical to the requirements that can be attached to an adult community order
• Detention and training orders

  1. The only type of custodial sentence that the youth court has the power to impose

  2. The youth court should not impose a detention and training order unless it is of the opinion that the offence (or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it) is so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence can be justified for the offence, and the court must also consider whether a YRO with intensive supervision and surveillance is appropriate

  3. Detention and training orders cannot be imposed on juveniles aged 10 or 11

  4. If a juvenile is aged between 12 and 14 inclusive, an order may only be made if the court considers that the juvenile is a 'persistent young offender'

  5. For juveniles aged 15 or over, there is no restriction on the making of such an order

  6. The juvenile will be held in detention in a young offender institution for one half of the period of the order, then released into the community under the supervision of the YOT for the second half

  7. The degree of supervision is decided upon by the YOT (not the court) but is likely to include electronic monitoring and intensive supervision

  8. A juvenile offender who breaches the supervision element of their sentence can be further punished for such a breach
• As the youth court is a type of magistrates' court, a juvenile convicted or sentenced by the youth court has the same rights of appeal as a defendant who is convicted or sentenced by the adult magistrates' court
• The principal aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by children and young persons
• Those aged between 10 and 17 (inclusive) will generally be dealt with in the youth court
• A juvenile never has a right to elect trial in the Crown Court