Criminal law

Youth Court

What is the purpose of a court appearance?

The “appearance” is the first step in legal proceedings. This is when the adolescent tells the judge whether she is pleading guilty or not guilty to the alleged offence. In other words, the appearance allows the youth to let the judge know her answer to the charges. To learn more on this topic, consult the Infosheet entitled Admitting or denying your guilt.

What happens at the appearance?

The appearance generally takes place in a courtroom before a youth court judge. It is rare for a youth to appear alone before the judge. Normally, the youth is accompanied by her lawyer and her parents are present. The appearance doesn’t take very long, usually just a few minutes.

The names of all the adolescents who are scheduled to appear before the court are printed on a list called the “roll”. The clerk, who is a kind of courtroom assistant for the judge, calls each name on the list, one after the other. When her name is called, the adolescent stands in front of the judge and the clerk reads the “information”, which is a document that describes the charges against her.

After reading the charges to the adolescent, the clerk asks her if she would like to respond to them. She can either plead guilty or not guilty. If she pleads guilty, the next step will be sentencing. But if she pleads not guilty, a trial will take place in order to determine if she is guilty or not guilty of the charges against her.

When does the appearance before the court take place?

The time between the alleged offence and the appearance can vary. If the youth is arrested and then released by the police, her appearance will probably happen within a few days of the alleged offence.

If the adolescent is arrested and detained, her first appearance will take place within 24 hours, so that a judge can decide whether to release her or not. The appearance to enter a plea takes place several days later.

If you would like to learn more about the release of the adolescent, read the InfosheetS entitled Find out a little more about arrests and Conditions of release.

When the police release the youth, how do they make sure she will show up for court?

If the police release the adolescent but they still plan to charge her, they give her a document that tells her the exact date and time of her court appearance. Depending on the situation, this document might be an Appearance Notice or a Promise to Appear, which can include an undertaking to respect certain conditions. The adolescent might also receive a summons in the mail, telling her when she must appear.

Even if she receives one of these documents, Sophie might still be tempted not to show up for her appearance. Skipping the appearance is an offence, though. If Sophie doesn’t show up to court, a judge can issue a warrant for her arrest. This means that a police officer can arrest her at any time after the warrant has been issued. She might then be detained until she meets the judge – to make sure she doesn’t disappear again!

Also, if she leaves the jurisdiction, she can be charged with the offence of breaking a condition of her release.

What rights does an adolescent have when she appears before a judge?

• The right to be represented by a lawyer:

When she appears before the court to enter her plea, the adolescent has the right to be represented by a lawyer, free of charge. In fact, this right exists from the moment of her arrest. On the day of her appearance, the judge will remind her of this right and allow her to find a lawyer if she doesn’t have one yet. If the adolescent has no lawyer and the judge is not convinced that she understands the charges, the possible sentence, or the process, he must appoint a lawyer to represent her. This usually happens whenever an adolescent pleads guilty to the charges and the judge feels she doesn’t fully understand the consequences of her decision.

• The right to have the charges read aloud:

After the charges are read, the adolescent can ask for an explanation. This explanation must be adapted to her age and to her capacity to understand. If the adolescent has a lawyer and the lawyer tells the judge that he has explained the charges to her, the adolescent can waive reading the charges.

Is there anything left to do after the appearance?

Absolutely! The appearance is just the beginning of proceedings before the youth court.

• If the adolescent pleads guilty:

In this case, a date will be set for her to return to court so that she can receive her sentence.

• If the adolescent pleads not guilty:

The judge and the lawyers set a date for disclosure of the evidence. The file might be heard several times by the court before a trial date is finally set. When the trial date rolls around, the adolescent’s lawyer returns before the court to argue the case.

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