The First Appearance

After the Usher has shown you and your parents/carers into Court you will be asked to stand in front of the magistrates - your parents can sit down - whilst the Legal Advisor reads out the offence(s) with which you are charged. You will then be asked whether you wish to admit the offence or deny it.

Then one of three things may happen

  • The case can be 'put off' (called an adjournment) if you are not ready to plead.
  • You can plead 'not guilty' to an offence. The case will most likely be adjourned for a trial date to be fixed. The Crown Prosecution Service will arrange for the witnesses to attend Court. Your solicitor will prepare your case and see any witnesses you may have.
  • If after discussing with your solicitor you plead guilty to the offence, you could be dealt with there and then. Alternatively the magistrates will adjourn for 2-3 weeks for a Youth Offending Team work to prepare a report about you before they decide how you should be dealt with.

A number of solicitors' firms operate the Legal Aid Scheme. If you are on bail you should go straight to your solicitor or the Duty Solicitor (ask at the Court Usher) and get Legal Aid forms. The solicitor will answer any queries you or your parents/carers have about Legal Aid, which may be free of charge.

Most offences will be dealt with in the Youth Court, but for more serious offences you may be dealt with in the Crown Court.

Adjournment

If your case cannot be dealt with the first time you appear, the Court will adjourn it to another date. The Court is then left with the decision about whether you can be trusted:

  • Not to re-offend
  • Not to interfere with the prosecution witnesses
  • To turn up at the next Court date

Magistrates can do one of four things:

1. Place you on Unconditional Bail: which means that you are on trust from the Court not to re-offend, nor interfere with the witnesses and that you will attend Court on the day the magistrates state. Failing to turn up is an offence in itself and the magistrates have powers to issue a warrant for your arrest.

2. Place you on Conditional Bail: if the magistrates feel there may be a problem with you re-offending, interfering with witnesses or being unco-operative when the YOT prepares a report for the Court, then they may:

  • Impose a condition of residence (i.e. that you live in a certain place)
  • Require that you stay at home between certain hours (a curfew)
  • Require you to stay away from certain person or persons, or a certain area
  • Direct you to comply with a Bail Supervision and Support Scheme, which might also include ISSP (Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes)
  • Report to a Police Station or the YOT at specific times on specific days

It is important that you understand and comply with bail conditions, as they are Court Orders. Other conditions may be added depending on the circumstances of your offending.

3. Remand you in Local Authority Accommodation (Social Services): for those who are 16 and under: If you are refused bail you may be remanded to Local Authority Accommodation. In this case it is likely that if you were an adult the Court would have remanded you to prison and it’s important to remember this. The Youth Offending Team - and in some cases Social Services - will decide where you live. This is likely to be in a residential remand unit but in some cases you may be returned home under strict supervision. The magistrates may impose conditions on you whilst you are remanded in Local Authority Accommodation and these may be similar to conditions of bail, for example, a curfew.

You will have to return to court within 8 days (or 28 days if you have entered a guilty plea or have been found guilty) for a new remand in Local Authority Accommodation to be made. If circumstances change while you are remanded, then your solicitor can ask the magistrates to reconsider bail.

In some circumstances where the offence is very serious, the court may make a security requirement, which means that you would go to secure accommodation, not run by the prison service, but 'secure' meaning you cannot run away or get out.

4. Remand you to a Prison Remand Centre: If you are over 15 and charged with a serious offence, for example burglary of a house, robbery or serious violent offences, the Crown Prosecution Service may not agree to you being released from Court to go home and the magistrates will remand you in custody to a Prison Remand Centre. As with remands to local authority accommodation, you must be brought back before the Court within 8 days on the first occasion.