Should I go to court?
If you are not a witness yourself
Before deciding whether or not to listen to your child’s
evidence, try to find out how your child feels about it. Some
children are self-conscious and want to protect you from hearing
the details of the offence. Others might be reassured if you are
there while they give evidence, or if they know that you are
waiting for them. It is a good idea to think about your own
reactions to hearing the case. If you get upset in court, this
could cause additional stress for your child. You might decide to
go to court but to stay in the waiting room. Do not be afraid to
get advice from the police or child witness supporter before making
your decision.
If you do go to court with your child, you can ask a friend to
go with you. Someone who is not too emotionally involved in the
case may be best able to help you support your child. If you
decide to go into the courtroom to watch the trial while your child
is waiting to give evidence, you may not be allowed to rejoin your
child until he or she has finished giving evidence. This is to
avoid any suggestion that you have told your child about what
has already been said in court.
If you are a witness
You cannot watch the trial before you give your evidence, so if
your child is called fi rst, you cannot be in court at the same
time as him or her. If your child would prefer you to be in
court while he or she gives evidence, tell the police or child
witness supporter. They will pass this information on to the
prosecutor, who may be able to change the order of witnesses.
If one of you has given evidence and the other has to wait until
the following day, you will be warned not to discuss the evidence.
One of you may even be asked to stay somewhere else overnight so
that no one can suggest that you discussed the evidence. Talk to
the police about whether this might be necessary in your case, so
that you can make arrangements.
What will happen at the trial?
It can be hard to predict what will happen at the trial, as
things may change at the last minute. But there are some
arrangements for your child that can be made ahead of time.
Waiting
Court staff will do their best to make sure that your child does
not see the defendant outside the courtroom. They can arrange for
the child to wait in a room away from the public area. The
witnesses’ waiting room is usually supervised by the Witness
Service, which will do all it can to help child witnesses. It may
be possible for your child to wait ‘on standby’ near the court.
(You should ask the police or child witness supporter about the
waiting arrangements beforehand.)
It is official policy to keep your child’s waiting time at court
to a minimum. However, on the day of the trial, delays can occur
and some children wait in the court building for quite a while
before being called as a witness. It is a good idea to take
something along for you both to do, as well as snacks and drinks. A
supply of change is useful if there is a drinks machine. Younger
children often like to bring a favourite toy or teddy. Older
children may prefer to carry something special in their pocket –
perhaps something of yours.
Observers
All courts (except Youth Courts) have public seating, so there
may be people sitting at the back of the courtroom listening
quietly to the witnesses. If the victim of a sexual offence is
giving evidence, the prosecution sometimes asks the judge or
magistrates to decide if the members of the public should leave the
courtroom. It is up to the judge or magistrates to decide whether
this will happen.
Taking the oath
If the child is 14 or over, he or she must give evidence on
oath. Children who have no religion will be asked to say that
they will tell the truth.
Videotaped evidence
If the judge or the magistrates decide to show the videotape of
the child’s interview with the police and/or social services as
part of the evidence, your child does not have to repeat what was
on the tape.
However, your child must still answer questions from the
defence. (This is called ‘cross-examination’.) If the video is used
as part of the evidence, the child watches it at the same time as
the rest of the court, before questioning begins. Sometimes the
prosecutor or the court decides that the video should not be
used.
Live TV links
All courts have facilities which let children give evidence
through a live TV link. The TV link means that children do not have
to go into the courtroom or see the defendant. If the prosecution
(or the defence, if the child is a defence witness) thinks that a
young witness should give evidence over a TV link, they apply for
permission to use it well before the trial. It is up to the court
to decide if the TV link should be used. Sometimes the final
decision is not made until the day of the trial. If your child
gives evidence by TV link, he or she goes into another room in the
court building. Your child sits in front of a TV. On top of the TV
there is a tiny camera which is connected to the courtroom. The
child can see and hear the judge or magistrates and the lawyers as
they ask questions, and the judge or magistrates and lawyers can
see and hear the child. In a Crown Court, the jury can see the
child too. The defendant can see and hear the child but the child
cannot see or hear him. The judge or magistrates have an additional
picture from a camera on the wall of the TV link room, so that they
can see the child at all times.
A supporter to accompany your child while giving evidence
If your child gives evidence by TV link, a court usher will
usually accompanyyour child. The judge or the magistrates may allow
an impartial person – not a witness – to accompany your child as
well. Local court practice varies as to whether a supporter is
allowed to accompany the child in the TV link room. You should
discuss this with the police or child witness supporter if you
think someone should sit with your child and, if so, who this
should be. It may be possible for the person acting as child
witness supporter to do this. It is best if the prosecution and
defence can agree about a supporter before the day of the trial,
but the final decision is up to the judge or magistrates.
Screens in the courtroom
Sometimes a young witness might go into the courtroom to give
evidence and use a screen so that the child does not need to see
the defendant. A screen will be placed between the child and
the defendant to block the child’s view. The judge or magistrates
have the final decision on whether a screen can be used.
The result of the case (the verdict)
After the jury has heard all the evidence, they have to decide
what they think happened. (In the Magistrates’ Court or Youth
Court, this is the job of the magistrates.) Before they can fi nd
the defendant guilty they have to be sure ‘beyond reasonable
doubt’.
If they think that the defendant is not guilty, or if they are
not sure, they deliver a verdict of ‘not guilty’. The defendant is
then free to leave the court. In some cases, the jury is unable to
reach a decision. Then the prosecution has to decide whether there
should be another trial with a new jury at a later date.
Some trials last for several days, so the decision may not be
reached on the day that your child gives evidence. Ask the police
officer in charge of your child’s case to let you know what was
decided. If you want to know more quickly, you can call the court.
The decision may be reported in the newspapers, but reporters
cannot mention your child’s name.
The sentence
If the jury reaches a ‘guilty’ verdict, it is up to the judge to
decide the sentence. In a Magistrates’ Court or Youth Court, the
magistrates decide on the verdict and the sentence. Often the judge
puts off this decision for about three weeks, in order to receive a
probation officer’s report about the defendant. If the prosecution
has information about the effect of the offence on the victim, the
probation officer will include this in the report