Section 24 of the Youth Court Act 1993 (SA) provides that proceedings in the Youth Court are held in closed court and no person may be present at any sitting of the Court except for:
The Court may exclude any of the persons listed above where the Court considers it necessary to do so in the interests of the proper administration of justice [see s 24(2)].
Section 63C of the Young Offenders Act 1993 (SA) prohibits the publication of court proceedings by radio, television, newspaper or in any way where a child or youth is alleged to have committed an offence where:
The Court may permit the publication of particulars, pictures or films that would otherwise be suppressed from publication in accordance with section 63C(1)(b) on such conditions as it thinks fit [see s 63C(2) Young Offenders Act 1993 (SA)].
It is an offence to contravene section 63C(1), or a condition imposed under section 63C(2). The maximum penalty is a fine of $10,000 [see s 63C(3)].
Section 63C of the Young Offenders Act 1993 (SA) invests the Court with power to make suppression orders, and in so doing the Court must have regard to the object of section 3(1) of the Young Offenders Act 1993 (SA) which is:
‘ to secure for youths who offend against the criminal law the care, correction and guidance necessary for their development into responsible and useful members of the community and the proper realisation of their potential’ [see R v Jones [2008] SASC 150] .
Different considerations apply for a suppression order in accordance with section 63C, which focuses on the youth, compared to a suppression order in accordance with section 69A of the Evidence Act 1929 (SA), which focuses on the proper administration of justice and undue hardship to a victim, witness or child.
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Suppression orders can be sought to prohibit the reporting of any material which could prejudice a fair trial at a later stage, but it is advisable for duty solicitors to arrange to brief such applications to a senior practitioner immediately. A duty solicitor may need to apply to the Court for an order suppressing the publication of material which may not directly tend to identify the youth, but may nonetheless be prejudicial to the objects of the Young Offenders Act 1993 (SA), or to the proper administration of justice in accordance with section 69A of the Evidence Act 1929 (SA). Some examples are:
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It is an offence to publish, by radio, television, newspaper or in any other way, a report of any action or proceeding taken against a youth by a police officer or family conference where the report identifies the youth or contains information tending to identify the youth, or reveals the name, address or school, or contains particulars, or picture or film that may lead to the identification of any youth concerned in the action or proceeding [see Young Offenders Act 1993 (SA) ss 13(1)(a) and 13(1)(b)].
In similar fashion, it is an offence to publish information which would identify the victim or any other person involved in an action or proceeding (other than a person involved in an official capacity) without the consent of the person [see Young Offenders Act 1993 (SA) s 13(1)(c)]. A person employed or engaged in the administration of the Act must not divulge information about a youth against whom any action or proceeding is taken, except in the course of his or her official function, or where the information is given to a person in accordance with a court order [see ss 13(2) and 13(1f)(a)]. The maximum penalty for these offences is a fine of $10,000 [see s 13(3)].
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