3/10/2023 0 Comments 18 year old not guilty![]() Media reports cannot identify the young person, although if they are convicted of a very serious offence, the court can allow their name to be published. To attend, you have to be directly involved, a family member of someone who died as a result of the crime, or a member of the media. Unlike other courts, Children’s Court proceedings are not open to the general public. If there is no designated Children’s Court in the area, the Children’s Court will usually sit in a Local Court courthouse. (Traffic offences by a person old enough to have a licence are an exception and are dealt with in the Local Court.) Most matters involving a young accused person start off in the Children’s Court, where they are asked to plead. The Children's Court – first step in most matters This can include taking you on a tour of a court so you know who the people are and what they do. If you have a Witness Assistance Service (WAS) officer, they will also help you feel ready to give your evidence. We will also usually want to meet you before the matter goes to court to discuss your witness statement, help you feel prepared to give your evidence, and explain what is likely to happen in court on the day you appear (see Going to court and being a witness). The ODPP will contact you if you are a victim or another key witness in a matter we take over. The ODPP will also take over the prosecution of all sexual offences where the victim is a child. However where the offences involved are more serious crimes, the ODPP will take over the prosecution from police. Generally police prosecutors are responsible for prosecuting matters in the Children’s Court. ![]() If they were under the age of 18 years when the alleged offence occurred and were charged prior to turning 21 years old, they are considered a ‘child’ under the law. If they are between 10 and 14 years old, the prosecution has to show that they knew what they were doing was seriously wrong for a case to continue. In Australia, children under the age of 10 years cannot be charged with a criminal offence. In this section of the website, and in the courts, a ‘child’ charged with a criminal offence is referred to as a ‘young person’. Many will be finalised there, but more serious matters will usually be transferred to the District or Supreme Court, where the young person will be dealt with under the same laws that apply to adults. Most criminal cases will start in the Children’s Court if the accused is a young person.
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