CJS working together for the public

A child or young person is tried in the youth court unless charged with murder or manslaughter, or is over the age of 14, charged with a grave crime (e.g. indecent assault) and the magistrates decide that if convicted the appropriate sentence will be more than they have the power to give. In these circumstances, the young person will be sent to the Crown Court. A young person can also be sent to the Crown Court if he or she is jointly charged with another person who is over 18 years.

The youth courts tend to have a more informal setting than the other courts, which are aimed at engaging young people and making sure that they understand the process. In the youth court, no person is allowed to be present unless authorised by the court except court officials, people involved in the case (normally including parents and guardians), their legal advisors and witnesses. Authorised journalists are also allowed to be present so that they can report on the proceedings, but the defendant is not normally identified in their reports. Witnesses are normally only allowed to be present when they give their evidence. If you want to stay longer you will need to get special permission from the court.

Before the trial is fixed the prosecutor will:

• Ask the police to contact you and find out when you would be unable to come to court to give evidence; and
• Serve all the evidence including copies of the statements to the defence lawyer. Where possible the prosecutors will try to 'agree' your evidence with the defence lawyer. This means that defence do not want to question your evidence and agree that your statement can be read out in court instead of you attending.

If the defendant pleads not guilty the defence will serve a statement outlining their defence to the prosecution. The defence will also start to build the defence case by evaluating all the prosecution evidence against the defendant and investigating to see if there are any witnesses that could help their case in court.

There may be a number of hearings to deal with legal issues before the trial begins. As a general rule the more complicated cases will take longer to get to trial and have more hearings before the trial because the prosecution and defence have more preparation to do. You do not have to attend these hearings.

At a special hearing known as a pre-trial review in the magistrates' court and a plea and directions hearing in the Crown Court, the prosecutor and the defence lawyer will tell the court how long they think the trial will take and how many witnesses will have to come to court to give evidence. If the case is long and complicated, it may not be possible to list it for trial at that hearing, because more work has to be done. If this is the case it will be listed for trial at another court hearing after everyone has done the work and is ready.

The court will then fix a date for the trial. The Court will do its best to find a date that is convenient for all the witnesses (for instance, courts will try to avoid fixing trials when you are on holiday).This may not be always possible especially if it will result in a long delay until the trial date.

In the Crown Court it is not always possible to fix a specific date for the trial. This is partly because Crown Courts are very busy and some serious cases can go on for a longer time then expected. Therefore, cases will be put in a list of cases to be tried during a certain period in time (usually two weeks). This means that the case can begin at any time during that period. If this happens, you will be told about it and you should keep the time available.

No. Sometimes the opposing side can agree your evidence and the statement can be read out to the court but if you are asked to go to court you will have to go.

After the trial date has been fixed or put in the warned list the prosecutor will tell the police of the trial date or if it is in the warned list, the period of time in which the case will start. The police or a caseworker who works for the police, will then let you know, usually in writing, which court you need to attend and the date of the trial or period of time in which the case will start. If you are a defence witness the defence lawyer will let you know.

You should also receive a copy of the Home Office leaflet 'Witness in Court', and Victim Support's leaflet 'Going to Court' and information about how to get to the court and the facilities available there. Each Crown Court will also have a customer service officer who you can ask about facilities. If you have not been given the number you can find the number of the court in the phone book under Crown Court.

You should receive enough notice of the date of the trial but it is possible that you will receive little notice. Although this may be inconvenient it is very difficult to change court dates. Going to court to give evidence should take priority so you may have to rearrange things to make sure that you can attend.

No. If a case is in the warned list for a period of time, you should make sure that you are available to attend court during that period but you do not need to go to court every day during that period. If there is a slot at some time during that period when the case can be heard, you will receive a call from the police, the police caseworker or defence lawyer (if you are a defence witness) telling you that you should attend court. Quite often you will only receive call the night before you are needed to attend court.

No. If you are required to go to court you must do so. If you do not turn up, the court can issue you with a witness summons. This means that you will receive an official document requiring you to attend court at a certain date and time. If you ignore the summons, a warrant can be issued for your arrest. If you are worried about giving evidence, tell the police (or the defence solicitor if you are a defence witness) or the Witness Service so that they can offer you support and help.

Sometimes the defendant admits the offence but does not admit doing everything that the prosecution say that they did. If this is likely to affect the sentence that the defendant will receive, the prosecution may ask the court to hold a hearing to decide the issue. This will often mean calling the victim and occasionally other witnesses to give evidence.

Prosecution witnesses should tell the police or police caseworker and defence witness should tell the defence lawyer if:

• you think you will need an interpreter;
• you have a disability or other special needs;
• you are worried about giving evidence in court;
• someone is intimidating you or those close to you; or
• you would like to know more about what will happen in court.

Yes. The Witness Service can offer you a visit to the court and where possible a look round a court room, before you are called as a witness. This service is free and independent of the police or courts.

If you would like to speak to a member of the Witness Service at any point before the trial, or if you would like to visit the court, call the Witness Service at the court where the case is going to be heard. Even if you do not want help before the day of the trial you can use the Witness Service on the day you come to court.

If you have to arrange childcare because you have to attend court to be a witness you can claim a financial loss allowance to meet the cost of this. If you cannot arrange any childcare and you need to bring your children or dependants with you, you should contact the court to find out what facilities they have to help you. Although you can bring your children into the court, you will not be able to take your children into the courtroom to sit with you whilst you give evidence.

If you have a disability that may make it difficult for you to travel to court or move freely around the court building or make use of the court facilities you should check with the court in advance about what facilities the court has for disabled people.

If the facilities are inadequate you should tell the person who called you and see what alternative arrangements can be made. Courts are subject to the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and must provide a reasonable alternative method of making services available to disabled people, where a physical feature makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of them.

You should take the letter asking you to go to court (if you received one) and any other information you have been given about the court hearing. You will need the address of the court and public transport details. Some courts don't have parking spaces. So, if you are taking a car, allow time to find a place to park and remember you may be staying several hours. You may also need money to cover car parking.

You might also like to take something to keep you occupied in case you have to wait until it's your turn to give evidence, for example something to read. You may need to bring money to buy refreshments. Not all courts sell refreshments so you may need to bring your own.

If you like, you can take a friend or relative to keep you company. They won't be able to get expenses (such as travel costs) unless the court agrees that they have to be there. For example, you may need someone to look after your child while you give evidence, or to assist you if you are disabled or if you are aged under seventeen years. You should check this with the person who asked you to come to court. The Witness Service is also available to your family and friends.

Where possible, seating in the courtroom can be arranged for anyone going with you. If you are going to a magistrates' court, you can ask the police or the person who asked you to come to court to put you in touch with the court or the Witness Service who will try to arrange the seating for you. Or you can contact the court directly yourself. Crown Courts have Customer Service Officers who may be able to help. If you are going to the Youth Court, you can take a friend but they will not be able to go into the courtroom with you.

You are entitled to travel expenses. If you cannot afford to get to court and need the money in advance you should let the person who asked you to come to court know and they will try to sort something out.

As it is not your choice whether to go to court and you are fulfilling a public duty your employer should normally give you time off work to go to court. You should let your employer know in advance that are going to be called as a witness. If you are a prosecution witness you can show your employer the letter that you received from the police informing you that you are required to attend court, as proof that you have to attend court. If you are a defence witness you can show your employer the letter that you received from the defence solicitor informing you that you are required to attend court, as proof that you have to attend court.

If you can't persuade your employer to give you time off you should let the police (if you are a prosecution witness) or the defence solicitor (if you are a defence witness) know as soon as possible. The CPS, the police or the defence solicitor will try to contact your employer and sort things out. As a last resort, the court may issue a witness summons, which means that you are legally required to attend court. You can then show this summons to your employer as proof of your duty to go.

Although an employer is generally entitled to deduct pay from an employee who takes time off work, if you lose pay you can claim a witness allowance for loss of earnings.

If you are ill on the day of the hearing or trial you should contact the court and/or the person who has asked you to appear explaining that your illness is serious enough to prevent your attending. You should also obtain a medical certificate. If the illness is likely to be prolonged you should tell the solicitor and ask them to make alternative arrangements for your evidence to be made available to the court.

You should be asked if you have any holiday plans when give your statement.

If you arrange a holiday after you have given a statement, you should let the police or the police caseworker (or the defence solicitor if you are a witness for the defence) know straight away, so that this can be taken into account when a trial date is set.

If you do not let the appropriate person know, a trial day could be set which clashes with your holiday plans. In these circumstances, you will be expected to go to court. You could try to re-arrange your holiday. A travel insurance policy may cover any loss for late cancellation of a booking.

You should contact the person who asked you to attend court immediately so that the they can decide what needs to be done.

If there is a problem that you really cannot sort out and you are unable to attend, you need to contact the person who asked you to appear as soon as possible in advance of the court case. You should allow them enough time to make the necessary alternative arrangements.

In this situation if your evidence is not crucial to the case you may be excused from attending. If your evidence is essential to the case, the lawyer may ask the court for an adjournment. This means that the case will be heard at later date. This is difficult to do especially if the accused person is in custody.

You should remember that your attendance in court could make all the difference to the outcome of the case.