The Court: Frankston Children’s Court
The Lawyer: Alex Miglietti
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The client was out with friends when another group of youths encountered them. A fight ensued, where one member of the other group was injured and another was assaulted. The fight occurred in the front yard of a house. At the time of the offence, our client was intoxicated and had used cannabis.
The parties separated before the police arrived, and our client was arrested and interviewed at a later date. During the interview, the client made full and frank admissions to the police regarding the offending.
At Court:
The matter was discussed in a summary case conference with the prosecution, and it was determined that only the charges of recklessly causing injury and common assault would proceed.
Due to his lengthy prior criminal history, the client was not eligible for the Ropes Program or a Children’s Court Diversion Program.
Therefore, the matter proceeded as a plea of guilty at court, together with a co-accused who pleaded guilty to identical charges. As the matter was heard in the Children’s Court, several options were available to the Magistrate that do not exist for adult accused persons tried in adult courts.
As such, our solicitor made submissions that the matter should be adjourned for a group conference and the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
What is a Group Conference in the Children’s Court?
Section 415 of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic) allows the Children’s Court to defer sentence to allow a young person to participate in a group conference if the Magistrate considers placing the young person on a supervisory order, such as probation. It is essential to note that a group conference cannot take place without the young person’s consent.
A group conference aims to show young people how their offending affects not only the victims but also the wider community. It also seeks to have the young person attempt to repair the harm that they have caused due to their offending.
Several people often attend a group conference:
- The young person;
- Their family and/or support people (such as a Youth Justice Worker);
- Their legal representative;
- The victim and/or their representatives (such as someone from the Victim Resource Centre);
- The victim’s family and/or support people;
- Police informant or their representative (such as a Youth Resource Officer); and
- The convenor of the group conference.
All participants discuss the offence and its impact. This allows the young person to see the different aspects of their offending, reflect on their behaviour, and consider what they would have done differently.
An outcome plan is formulated by the young person, who highlights the actions they can take to help repair the harm caused by their offending and ways to prevent the behaviour from being repeated. For example, letters of apology to primary and secondary victims for the damage caused, whether physical, emotional or financial.
A report is prepared by the convenor after the group conference and is presented to the court.
Frankston Children’s Court Pre-sentence Report:
Section 571 of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic) enables the court to order a pre-sentence report by Youth Justice concerning any matter.
The young person is required to engage with Youth Justice, which can assist in linking them to various services to support their rehabilitation and address offending behaviours. Youth Justice will then prepare a report for the court and recommend an appropriate sentence.
The Magistrate hesitated to order the group conference, as he was concerned that the victims would be forced to participate. Our solicitor submitted that although the victims would be invited to participate, a victim’s advocate would attend instead if they declined. The client would still benefit from learning about the ongoing effects of his offending. The Magistrate agreed that it would benefit all involved if our client received this insight, as it would likely impact his future decision-making, should he ever be involved in a similar situation.
The matter returned to court, and favourable Youth Justice and the Group Conference reports were tendered. The client had engaged well with Youth Justice, who helped link him with mental health services and treatment for drug and alcohol use. He had also obtained full-time employment during the deferral period.
The Outcome:
The Magistrate decided that, although he was initially considering a more serious penalty, a period of probation would be appropriate in the circumstances. Accordingly, the client was placed on probation for 12 months. He was fortunate that the Magistrate granted the probation order without a criminal conviction.
The client was very grateful for the opportunity to continue working with Youth Justice to address his underlying issues and for the chance to avoid a more serious outcome.
