Well it depends on your age, if you're over 18 then it will be in the Adult Magistrates' Court, which is nearest to you, however as most of you reading this are under-18, the court you would go to is the youth court.

Well there's no jury deciding whether your guilty or not guilty, members of the public are not allowed to attend unlike other the courts and if you're under-16 then your parents must attend the court with you, even if you're older they can be ordered to attend. If you're on trial for murder or with a co-accused, who's an adult, the trial won't be in the Youth Court. The court does not have a judge or a jury but has three magistrates who are trained to deal with young people; one of them must be either male or female they can't be all the same sex.

Well there is the Magistrates' court and the Crown Court. The Magistrates Court, like the youth court comprises of 3 magistrates who decide the outcome of the case, there is no judge and jury. Magistrates are not trained lawyers but volunteers from the local community. They only decide the outcome/punishment for cases involving less serious offences or decide if there is enough evidence for a more serious case to go to the Crown Court. Although some offences can be heard in the Magistrates' or the Crown Court and this is chosen by the accused.

This is where you get the judge overseeing and sentencing the case and the jury deciding the verdict. The judge makes sure all the evidence that is seen and heard is done so properly and they will decide what the punishment is if you're found guilty. They will do so by taking all the circumstances into account like your character, background and previous record.

The Crown Court is for more serious offences and you will have to sit in the 'dock', which is a stand near the judge, which faces the defence and prosecution and the public gallery. In this court the public can watch and the press can report on it, unless some specific orders have been made not do so. The lawyers don't stroll around the floor and come close to you, like in the movies, they stand behind a table and sit at and present their cases from there.

Like you and me basically, they are normal people aged 18-70 who have been randomly selected from the Electoral Register. There are 12 of them and they must all try to agree on the same verdict, which the lead Juror reads to the Judge when asked.

Well as soon as you're 18 you can if you're chosen by random although some people are excluded because of their jobs, like people who work in the law or because they've been convicted of crime. You get six weeks notice before the trial and you will be educated in exactly what your role is and what you have to do. It is compulsory and you will need a very strong reason to get out of it.

After all the evidence is heard and the defence and prosecution have summed up their cases the Jury are sent out to decide, they come back in when they are asked by the Judge to do so. The Judge will ask if the jury has reached a verdict if they have they have the lead juror will read it out, if not they go back to discuss further. Not guilty means you're free to go, guilty means that the Judge will decide your punishment, if it's detention you're taken away.