This document provides information to help children understand what to expect if they have to attend court as a witness. It explains that court is where people determine if laws have been broken. A judge or magistrate oversees proceedings to ensure they are fair. Children may be called as witnesses to share what they have seen or experienced. The summary focuses on reassuring children that their role is important but that they only need to tell the truth of what they know or remember.

1. Going to
Ge they
Court

2. Published: August 2004
National Committee for Families and Children
in cooperation with UNICEF
Text by: Judith Alpuche, MSW
Ava Pennill, M.A.
Illustrated by: Ernesto Alpuche Jr.
Design by: Starla Bradley-Acosta, MSW
Acknowledgments: Thank you to the following persons for reviewing the booklet: Ms.
Margaret Nicholas, Mr. Herbert Lord, and Mr. Earl Jones.
Based on the booklet “Going to Court” by Glasgow School of Art

3. Going to Court
You have been asked to attend court as a witness. If you
have not been to court before you might be wondering
about who will be there and what will happen. This little
book will help you understand.
1. What is a Court?
A court is a special place where
people go to find out if a
person, usually an adult, has
broken the law (done
something bad or wrong).
Everybody that is called or
summons to court tells the A court can look like this….
person in charge the truth
about something that
happened. This is called a trial.
The person in charge of the
court is called a magistrate or
judge.
or this….
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4. 2. Who is a Judge or
Magistrate?
A magistrate or judge is a person
whose job is to listen to what people
have to say about something they
have seen or heard, or something that
has happened to them.
The magistrate is the person in
charge of the first court that you
will attend called the Magistrate The magistrate will make sure that everything
is fair.
Court.
The judge is the person in charge of the
second court that you might have to
attend called the Supreme Court.
Sometimes judges wear special clothing
and headdress
The judge or magistrate can be a
woman or a man. Their job is to make
sure that everything is fair
and so will listen very carefully to
what you have to say.
The judge will also make sure everything is fair.
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5. 3. What is a witness?
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A witness is a person who goes to court to tell the judge or
magistrate about something that has happened. Lots of children
go to court to be a witness because of something they have seen or
because something has happened to them.
Being a witness is an important job.
When you go to court as a witness you might be asked questions
about something that is bad or unpleasant but you should not be
frightened to tell the judge or magistrate about this. They
understand about these things. They will not think that it is your
fault because you have seen something bad or because something
bad has happened to you.
Being a witness is an important job.
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6. 4. What will I have to do?
You will be asked questions about what has happened. All
you have to do is try to answer them. You must always tell
the truth.
Just tell the truth.
5. What will happen when I go
to Court?
You will have an adult to keep your
company when you come to court.
This adult may be your social worker.
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7. Social Worker
You will be asked to sit and wait until it is your turn.
You might have to wait for a long time. You can bring a
colouring book or a book to read so that you can have
something to do while you are waiting.
Bring a book to read while you wait.
Sometimes you may have to come back another day to see the
magistrate or judge.
When they are ready to listen to you, some people will be asked
to leave so that you can have some privacy. You might be
asked to sit in a special place to tell the magistrate or judge
what happened.
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8. 6. Who will be in the courtroom?
At the Magistrate’s Court you will see the magistrate who may be
sitting high up at a big desk.
The magistrate’s courtroom may look like this.
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The Magistrate’s ourtroom may look like this.
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9. There will be people called
prosecutors who will ask you
questions. Sometimes the
prosecutors are also police
officers and will be dressed in
police uniform.
There might also be people
called lawyers who will ask you
questions.
Police officer
The Judge’s courtroom may look like this.
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10. At the Supreme Court you will see a judge sitting high up at a big
desk. The judge might be wearing special clothes and a headdress.
There will also be lawyers who will ask you questions. They
might also be wearing special clothing. There will be several other
people in the courtroom. A person will be sitting and taking notes.
A group of people will be sitting together and listening to what is
happening. They are called a jury. The person who might have
broken the law or done something bad may be sitting in the
courtroom as well.
The lawyer will ask you questions.
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11. 7. What will happen in Court?
When you go into the courtroom,
you will be shown where to sit until
you are called. When it is your turn,
you will be asked to sit in a special
place.
The magistrate or judge will then
speak to you and ask questions such
as: your name, how old you are and
where you go to school. They will
also ask if you know what it means
to tell the truth.
It is very important to tell the
truth. People must always tell
the truth in court. It is all right
to tell the judge or magistrate The judge may speak to you.
something that is a secret, as long
it is true.
After the magistrate or judge has spoken to you, you will be asked
some questions by one of the lawyers or a prosecutor. This person
has asked you to come to court and will ask you questions which
will help you tell what happened to you. After that you will be
asked some more questions by another lawyer.
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12. These people only want you to tell the truth about what you
can remember. If you really can’t remember what happened,
just say that you can’t remember. People sometimes forget
things and the judge or magistrate understands that.
Listen to each question carefully before you give your answer. If
you don’t understand a question, you should say so and
someone will help you. You should always speak in a loud voice
because it is important that the people listening can hear what
you have to say.
You might be asked to look around
the court to see if you can point to
somebody. You can take as much
time as you want to. You do not
have to point to the person right
away and you might have to look at
a lot people before you see the
person. If you see the person you
should point to him or her. If you
don’t think the person is in the room,
you should tell the judge or
magistrate.
You might be asked to point to somebody.
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13. If you have had to wait for a long time or if you are asked a lot
of questions you might find that you want to go to the
bathroom. Don’t worry about this. If it happens ask the judge
or magistrate if you can go to the bathroom. It would be a
good idea to go to the bathroom before you go to the
courtroom.
Go to the bathroom before you go to the courtroom.
After all the questions have been asked, you will be able to
leave the court. You will have done an important job and the
judge or magistrate will be pleased.
Then you can go home.
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14. For more information, you can
contact:
The Department of Human Services
2nd. Floor
Commercial Center
Belize City, Belize
Tel: 227-7451 or 227-2057
Fax: 227-1276
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