The Courtroom and How It Works

The courtroom and how it works
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when kids are accused of breaking the
law their cases are handled in juvenile
court juvenile courts are similar to
criminal courts for adults but
specifically for kids under the age of
18 if a young person is accused of
breaking the law juvenile court is where
the case is handled going to a juvenile
court can be scary
it's a place many people aren't familiar
with and it has its own set of rules but
it's designed to protect you and your
rights if you're asked to appear in
juvenile court it's important to
understand how the court works so we
created his video to explain what to
expect I'll describe who works in the
courtroom and the best way to act whe
you're there court rooms can be big or
small they can be really fancy with high
ceilings or very simple rooms with just
a few tables what happens in the
courtroom no matter what it looks like
is similar everywhere and as you'll
learn in this video and the next one
what you need to do in court is the same
as well courtrooms usually have several
people working in them they all have
different jobs to do the judge is the
person in charge of the courtroom he or
she makes sure everyone in court follows
the rules the judge decides if a law was
broken and determines what happens next
sometimes the judge is called a
magistrate the clerk is the judges
assistant and helps manage papers and
other activities for the judge the
bailiff is the person who maintains
order the bailiff will also announce the
beginning and end of a court session the
prosecuting attorney or prosecutor is
the attorney hired by the government to
try to prove that a charge is true the
defense attorney is the lawyer who helps
an accused person defend him or herself
in court
also there might be other people in the
court including other attorneys and
witnesses I'll tell you about them in a
few minutes when you're in court it's
important to be quiet and respectful
towards the judge the attorneys and
anyone else in the room will talk about
the best way to act in our next video if
you've been accused of breaking the law
and are told to appear in juvenile court
several things will happen most of the
time you will receive a summons to
appear in juvenile court a summons is an
official letter telling you to come to
court a summons will describe what
you're accused of doing which is called
a charge and tells you the date and time
you need to appear in court a summons
usually requires you to attend a hearing
there are three types of hearings an
arraignment a trial and a dispositional
hearing here's what each of those mean
the arraignment is your first appearance
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in juvenile court at an arraignment the
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charge against you is announced it's
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good to have an attorney with you at an
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arraignment but if you don't have one or
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if your family can't afford to pay for
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one that's okay you can ask the court to
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provide you with an attorney while many
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people choose to work with a
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court-appointed attorney others prefer
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to have an attorney they already know
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either way if you have an attorney at
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the arraignment make sure he or she is
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aware of any disability you have like
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autism if you don't have an attorney yet
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it's important that you tell any court
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official that you're working with that
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you have a disability if possible try to
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tell the judge as well at an arraignment
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you'll be asked to admit to or deny the
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charge made against you if you don't
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have an attorney yet you may want to
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deny the charge until you have a chance
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to talk to an attorney
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remember it's the prosecutors job to
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prove that you did what you're accused
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of you don't have to admit to anything
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at the arraignment you may though have
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to answer some basic questions such as
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what is your name and address
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and do you understand the charge against
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you if you admit to the charge made
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against you the judge may tell you
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immediately what the consequences are
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for doing what you are cused of or the
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judge may schedule a different time to
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discuss the consequences if you deny the
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charges the judge usually decides on a
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date for trial the second type of
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hearing is a trial during the trial the
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prosecutor presents evidence to try to
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show that you did what you're charged
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with your attorney also has the chance
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to give your side of the story the trial
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may be in the same room where you went
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for your arraignment or it may be in a
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different room or building you're likely
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to see people with the same jobs in this
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courtroom as you did at your arraignment
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it can even be the same people there may
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be some additional people in the
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courtroom as well such as witnesses
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witnesses are people who may know
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something about what happened the
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prosecutor may ask the witness to talk
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about what they saw or know your
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attorney may also ask witnesses
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questions to after listening to the
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prosecutor and your attorney explain
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each side the judge will decide if you
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broke the law if the judge decides that
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the prosecutor didn't prove that you
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broke the law then your case is over
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your attorney or the judge will tell you
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if you need to do anything else but if
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the judge decides that the prosecutor
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did prove that you did purposefully or
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intentionally break the law the judge
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will then give you another date to
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return to court and learn what the
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consequences are this is called a
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disposition sometimes the judge will
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explain the disposition at the end of
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the trial but most of the time you'll
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have to come back to court
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the third part of the court process is
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called the dispositional hearing and yep
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people with the same jobs as those
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you've seen in other courtrooms may be
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at this hearing there may be more
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witnesses such as doctors or counselors
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or a religious person who may talk about
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their thoughts about you or what
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happened then the judge tells you your
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sentence which is the consequence for
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breaking the law and you're told what
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the next steps are if you don't
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understand something in juvenile court
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be sure to quietly tell your attorney
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you always have the right to understand
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what's happening the judge may ask you
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to talk to someone separately to make
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sure you understand the court process in
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the next video we'll talk more about
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this and explain the right ways to
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behave in a courtroom
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there are great tips that can make a big
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difference
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you
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you
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