avoir été à la cour de 9 jusqu'à 16 ans was in and out of court between the ages of 9 and 16
Explanation: I've expressed my suggestion in an extended section of the phrase. No mention is being made of any arrest. It is about her having been in and out of court, or at least of having had that impression, during the span of years referred to. It is in a section of the report where the patient describes her parents as being/having been in constant disagreement. I think it important to say no more than that. I think it may even be an overtranslation to say she was called to court or called to appear. That is not what is said. The information is simply that from 9 to 16 she was in and out of court. No more, no less.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 8 hrs (2016-08-31 08:20:14 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
The only slightly unusual thing about the phrase is the choice of the term "cour" rather than "tribunal" which one might normally expect. Another familiar way of expressing it would have been to say "devant les juges". That would be an expression used by older individuals and in situations where they are called to appear for one reason or another. No, here, this is a younger individual, or an adult using very straightforward vocabulary describing the fact that she spent a lot of time in court from 9-16 y.o.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 9 hrs (2016-08-31 08:43:55 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Ah, can't make a reference post so here's an extract from a recently purchased book, on an extra point, the notion of "état limite", in reference to my note is the Discussion section. Extract from the intro of Troubles de la personnalité borderline à l'adolescence by mutliple authors, under the aegis of Maurice CORCOS, Alexandra PHAM-SCOTTEZ and Mario SPERANZA. Ed. DUNOD, 2014. Extract Introduction, p.1.: "A l'heure où le terme "borderline" intègre l'édition 2013 di dictionnaire Le Robert, les recherches menées au sein deu Réseau Européen sur les troubles de la personnalité borderline (EURNET-BPD) que nous présentons dans ce livre ont été l'occasion de questionner la pertinence des termes "limite" et "borderline", et surtout de leur inter-interchangeabilité clinique et théorique. ces deux termes, dont la co-existence est une spécificité française, reflètent la double origine du concept, les psychanalystes utilisant initialement le terme "limite" et les autres cliniciens celui de "borderline". Cependant, ces deux termes sont devenus de plus en plus interchangeables en France, et sont aujourd'hui le plus souvent utilisés indifféremment ("limite" venant souvent représenter la traduction française de "borderline"). La clinique du Réseau Borderline nous invite à remettre en question cette interchangeabilité, et peut être à justifier l'arrivée officielle du terme anglo-saxon nouveau venu dans la laangue française."
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 9 hrs (2016-08-31 08:48:57 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
The titel of the 1st chapter "Adolescents limites : Être ou ne pas être hors de soi..." is loaded with meaning for anyone with a French psychology degree, not least for the fact that it is written by Corcos. This is extra info above and beyond what you have asked for in this questio here. I'm simply raising the point as it is extemely important for your translation. If you havenot studied French psychology then it is easy to overlook its fundamental significance in the context of what you are translating. In that, I refer to the notions of "traits de personnalité" , essential when referring to adolescents ; and also to the notion of "personnalité limite", again significant of itslef and all the more so within the context of young people.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 11 hrs (2016-08-31 11:20:13 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
This really is a matter of context again. the child may have been called in on occasion as a witness; but we don't know that for sure. Nothing in the source text suggests she was called as a party (i.e. defendant) in any way. This suggestion, and other possible ones too of course, should leave interpretation open, as in the French source text : called in as a witness and/or simply being there accompanying her parents. Being with the Juge aux affaires familiales, children can be asked for their opinion in a number of situations but care needs to be taken here. it would be a serious translation mistake to make if one were to suggest that this person had been in/out of court as an offender. Even if it were the case, but it is not at all suggested by the original.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 20 hrs (2016-08-31 20:12:44 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Final word on this one : looking back at the French source text, the person simply reports "having been in court". She does not say why. We cannot assume anything about why she was there, except that there was some legal reason. We do know however that she did not remain in court for the 7 years between the age of 9 and 16 (!), which means she reports having been in and out of court during that period.
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