Children's Court of Queensland

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The Childrens Court of Queensland is a specialized court in Queensland, a state of Australia which deals with serious crimes committed by children under the age of eighteen years in the state. The court should not be confused with the Childrens Court which is a magistrates court in the state.

1 Establishment
2 President
3 Other members of the Court
4 Constitution of the court
5 Jurisdiction
6 Who may attend
7 Caseload
8 References
9 Sources

[edit] Establishment

The court is established under the Childrens Court Act 1992 (Qld) ^[1]. The court is a court of record ^[2] and is an inferior court. The court came into existence in 1992.

[edit] President

The Governor of Queensland may appoint a president of the court. The president must be a childrens court judge ^[3]. The major functions of the president are to oversee the court and ensure that it’s work is carried out quickly and effectively.

There is no deputy president of the court. However, the governor may appoint an acting president to act in the president’s absence.

The current president is Kerry John O’Brien. The first president was Judge Fred McGuire.

[edit] Other members of the Court

The governor may appoint a judge of the District Court of Queensland as a childrens court judge. Judges are appointed based on their experience and interest in dealing with the childrens court jurisdiction ^[4]..

The governor may also appoint other district court judges to act as childrens court judges ^[5].

The governor may appoint a stipendiary magistrate as a Childrens Court magistrate ^[6]. The governor may also appoint other stipendiary magistrates as acting childrens court magistrates ^[7].

The following are appointed as Childrens Court judges:

His Honour Senior Judge Gilbert Trafford-Walker
His Honour Judge Anthony Joesph Healy Q.C
His Honour Judge John Elwell Newton
His Honour Judge Peter James White
His Honour Judge Philip Grahame Nase
His Honour Judge John Mervyn Robertson
His Honour Judge Clive Frederick Wall R.F.D.,E.D.
His Honour Judge Robert Douglas Pack
His Honour Judge Nicholas Samios
His Honour Judge Grant Thomas Britton S.C
Her Honour Judge Deborah Richards
Her Honour Judge Sarah Bradley
His Honour Judge Michael John Shanahan
Her Honour Judge Julie Maree Dick SC
His Honour Judge Alan Muir Wilson SC
His Honour Judge Walter Henry Tutt
His Honour Judge Milton Griffin SC

[edit] Constitution of the court

The court is constituted by either a single judge or a single magistrate depending on the nature of the crime allegedly committed. In most cases, the matters will be dealt with by either a childrens court judge or childrens court magistrate. However, if one is not available, then a district court judge or a stipendiary magistrate may deal with the case even though they have not been appointed by the governor.

[edit] Jurisdiction

A Childrens Court magistrate has jurisdiction:

to hear and determine all simple offences.
to hear and determine most indictable offences if the child consents to it; and
to conduct committal proceedings in relation to indictable offences.

[edit] Who may attend

Generally childrens court cases are held in a closed court, although criminal offences dealt with by indictment are held in open court. This is against the usual principle that all common law courts are open to public, and reflects that children are being dealt with the court. Cases are held at different times to any other case being heard by the court on the day.

At a hearing, the following people may attend:

the child;
their parent or other adult member of the child's family;
a witness giving evidence;
a person whose presence will provide emotional support to a witness;
certain welfare services; and
any other person who the court believes should be present.

[edit] Caseload

The Children’s Court of Queensland dealt with 2,020 charges in 2004–05 compared with 1,097 in 2003-2004 representing an 84% increase in workload. According to its Annual Review, unlawful entry with intent accounted for 33.5% of all charges. Theft and related offences accounted for 25.1% of the charges, with motor vehicle theft and other theft each representing around 45%. In 2004–05, 6,807 juvenile defendants were finalised in Magistrates Courts in Queensland, a decrease of 6.6% from 7,291 in the previous year.