CC200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Reverse Onus, Young Offenders Act, Criminal Record
Document Summary
Youth 14 years and older can be transferred to adult court for presumptive offences": murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, and aggravated sexual assault. This is a new policy since 1996; before, transfers to adult court were by application from the crown. When a transfer is being considered, a reverse onus is in place the youth must convince the judge that they should not be transferred, rather than the onus being on the crown. Youth transferred to adult court are much more likely to be hispanic, Transfers to adult court are a central tenet of the crime control model because they promote denunciation. Cases completed in youth court have been declining steadily since the early 1990s. Most cases heard in youth court are property, violent, and drug-related offences. More cases in adult court are administrative and traffic-related. Females have been appearing in court much more since 1980.
