Judges reflect on writing to children involved in court proceedings

One thing both judges were keen to stress is that all children and young people are unique. For this reason, writing a personalised letter is essential. HHJ Entwistle told us how he had spent some time getting to know a teenager through the course of a case and how this had enabled him to write a personal letter relating back to some of her interests. “She was having some real issues, she wasn’t able to play her music because she didn’t have her guitar. So she’d spoken to me at length about K-pop and KPop Demon Hunters. Which is something I happen to know about, but maybe not a lot of people do. When it came to the end of proceedings she didn’t want to come back to court, but I wrote to her and she corresponded back. She felt she’d very much been able to participate in the court process.”

HHJ Burgher agreed, giving the example of an older child who enjoyed writing and had written short novels. “He was so creative. He’d written mini novels, so what I did was I said ‘Can you ask him to send me one of his short novels?’ – with the permission of everyone. And I read it, and that became the thing I was able to engage with him on, in terms of my decisions and I was able to fit that in with what he was good at and what he wanted to do.”

HHJ Burgher pointed out that, for some children, meeting the judge or hearing from the judge through a letter can be very beneficial because it helps to break down intimidating stereotypes they might have in mind about what a judge is like, or what the court process will involve. “In my practice professionals tell me really quite often that young people want to come and see me. And I do that. I’ve never once said ‘No, that’s not appropriate.’ I think for some children and young people that is really quite effective. Particularly from the perspective of them seeing a judge that doesn’t look how they might have imagined their judge to look. For some children that are from the communities I serve in Birmingham, it’s really quite important that they see a judge that does look like them.”

Demystifying the process in this way, she explained, helps the child feel more comfortable participating, which in time can help them to feel they have been heard and were able to understand the process.

Letters don’t have to be long, HHJ Burgher and Entwistle were both keen to point out. In fact, the toolkit advises keeping letters to a paragraph or two – but always trying to include the child’s name and mentioning one of their hobbies or interests, so they feel the judge has understood them as an individual. “I think perhaps people envision us finding the monogrammed letterhead and writing out a letter with a quill and inkpot,” laughed HHJ Entwistle. “It’s not that. You can write an email. As long as it’s personal, send an email via the child’s solicitor.”

“I find it really quite sobering […] when I hear young people saying quite loudly and clearly through the research that they just don’t feel heard. I hear that directly too,” said HHJ Burgher. “What I think is the biggest motivation for me, coming from a background where I’ve worked with children and families for a very long time, is acknowledging that they have a right to participate in the process of what is going to happen to them. Another thing that I think children want, at the end of their case, is the reassurance that it was the judge that made the decision. I use my communications with children to emphasise that ultimately the decision was mine.”

There is sometimes a view that not explaining the decisions made in court protects a child, but Dr Sheena Webb, consultant psychologist who contributed to the toolkit, explained that this is often a misconception: “One of the things that children tend to do, that we all do in fact, is we tend to fill the gaps ourselves, and sometimes the thing we fill the gap with may be worse than the reality. So, in general, reality is better.”

HHJ Entwistle agreed, adding: “You have to be honest with children. Sadly, things can’t be sugar-coated. But you’ve got to remember that the child has been living in those circumstances, the child is well aware of the circumstances.”

“It comes down to not being afraid to say what needs to be said,” said HHJ Burgher. “Because children understand their lived experience better than anyone.”

The toolkit was developed alongside a group of young people on the Family Justice Young People’s Board. In the foreword to the toolkit, those young people wrote: “We have given our time and energy to this project because we want children and young people involved with the family courts to have what we didn’t have but really needed. The decisions the family courts make are a big deal. They can last forever. Even if the decision made seems routine to a judge, our whole life and future is affected by it. These letters give judges a chance to explain the reasoning behind their decisions and show they care.”

HHJ Burgher and HHJ Entwistle are putting the toolkit into practice and believe other judges could do the same. See more of what they had to say about this practice, and their tips for implementing it, in the webinar, which you can watch in full here.

Download the full toolkit here.