lay magistrate

Question 1

define lay people

Answer 1

used to describe the use of ordinary, non-qualified people in the legal system.

Question 2

state all the roles of magistrates within the criminal justice system

Answer 2

1)deal with 95% of criminal cases
2) they only deal with summary and same triable either way offences
3)issue warrants for arrest and search
4)decide bail applications
5)limited sentencing powers
6)refers cases to crown of more serious sentences
7)undertake extra training to sit in youth court

Question 3

explain all the 4 facts of justices Clerk

Answer 3

1) every bench of magistrate is assisted by a clerk, or legal advisor
2)clerks have to be qualified as a solicitor or barrister for at least 5 years.
3)their role is to advise the magistrates on issue of law and produce in the magistrates court; this is set out in s28 courts Act 2003
4)the clerk is not permitted to assist the magistrates in their decision making

Question 4

explain the case study: R v Eccles justices ex parte Farrell 1992

Answer 4

1)clerk was improperly involved by giving advice on facts and law of the case. however, he was only meant to give guidance on procedural matter.
2)this resulted in a violation of fairness and the conviction was squashed by the court.

Question 5

what are the Magistrates role in civil courts and the conditions for dealing with Youth cases- civil jurisdictions

Answer 5

1)unpaid council tax
2)Tv licence evasion
3)child custody and adoption
4)care order for children
-only magistrates with special training can hear family or youth cases

Question 6

explain the 7 facts about the structure of the Lay magistrates and what it deals with

Answer 6

1)cases in the magistrate court can be hear by the panel of three = bench
2)supported by legally qualified Justice clerks and legal advisors
3)they aren’t legally qualified they sit in benches of three in the magistrates court and make up 85% of judicial community.
4)they don’t get salaries but receive expenses
5)required to do a minimum of 13 days sittings per year.
6)once appointed. they all have jurisdiction under the justices of peace act 1997 and courts act 2003
7)they can also sit in the crown court to hear appeals from the magistrates court alongside a qualified judge.

Question 7

explain the 6 key qualities for a lay magistrate to get qualified.

Answer 7

1)good character
2)understanding and communication
3)social awareness
4)maturity and sound temperament
5)sound judgement
6)commitment and reliability

Question 8

who appoints the lay magistrates

Answer 8

until 2013, the lord chancellor was responsible, but they are now appointed by the lord chief justice

Question 9

what are the requirements for applicants of the lay magitrates

Answer 9

1)be aged 18-65
2)not have any serious criminal convictions
3)not have been banned from driving in the past 5-10years
4)not be declared bankrupt
5)not work in a job where there may be a conflict of interest e.g. police officer

Question 10

explain the application process of the lay magistrates

Answer 10

1)candidates can apply through, advertisements, or directly through local advisory committee or to the department for constitutional affairs.
2)this follows 2 interviews before local advisory committee, who will be compromised of 12 members and a mixture of current and retired magistrate as well as non-magistrates.

Question 11

explain the 5 step training process of lay magistrates

Answer 11

1)initial training- where magistrates learn basic of the rules and observe magistrate
2)mentoring- new magistrate will have a specially trained mentor allocated and should have 6 formed mentored settings for the first 18 months and also keep personal development.
3)core training- involved visits to penal institution and working through a core work block for self study to equip with knowledge
4)consolidation training - happens at the end of the first years and builds on setting to prepare them for first appraisal
5)first appraisal - mentor and magistrate will argue after 12-18months that the new magistrate now demon rates a good role.

Question 12

explain the magistrates continuation of training throughout their career

Answer 12

1)appraisals take place every 3 years to ensure magistrate maintains his/her competency in whichever court they sit in.
2)continuation training takes place once every 3 years usually before appraisals
3)update training is required on new legislation
4)threshold training accompanies each development in a magistrates role, there is a matching training process. they may choose to undergo training in the specialist skills needed for family or youths courts.

Question 13

explain the retirement and dismissal of the lay magistrates

Answer 13

1)usually retire around 70
2)can be removed from office if:
-incapacity or misbehaviour
-failing to a standard competence set out by lord chief of justice
-complains made about magistrate by judiciary.

Question 14

explain the social, racial and gender composition of the magistracy

Answer 14

since April 2020
1)56% of magistrate in England and Wales were female
2)13%were from black, Asian and minority ethnic background (up 12%from last year)
3)49% aged over 60. just over 1% were aged under 30.

Question 15

explain closure of courts and the impact it may have

Answer 15

1)93 magistrates courts had been close under the court estate reform programme of 2010-2014, and a further 43 were expected to close
2)this may reduce amount of magistrate handling cases resulting in reduction in annual outcome

Question 16

what are 3 advantages for magistrate and explain them

Answer 16

1)cross section of society involvement- magistrates are ore representative of the UK society regarding ethnicity ,gender etc…
2)local knowledge - they take into account local problems and they can be saved by not having to explain location in cases
3)cost- are relatively inexpensive as volunteers are not paid

Question 17

explain 3 disadvantages for the magistrate and explain them

Answer 17

1)middle aged and middle class- 55% are over 6 and only 1% 18-24, 2/3 come from middle class background compared to only 1/3 of general population, –> very unrepresentative
2)inconsistent sentencing - not improved despite training
3)prosecution bias by police- their sometimes considered “case hardened” meaning they hear similar cases and evidence from the same police and solicitors on meaning they are more likely to believe it

Question 18

explain the qualifications for juries

Answer 18

1)18-75 years old
2)registered on the electoral register
3)resident of the UK for 5 years from age 13

Question 19

what is considered “not qualified” juries

Answer 19

not eligible if:
-have a mental disorder
disqualified if:
-on bail
-served 5 or more years in prison
-put in prison for public protection
cannot serve for 10 years after serving:
-suspended sentence
-community order
-any time in prison

Question 20

explain deferral

Answer 20

anyone can apply to defer(delay) their jury service. they will them carry out their jury service in the next 12 months - it needs a good reason e.g exams, operation etc..

Question 21

explain excusal

Answer 21

a person can be excused from jury service for 12months. this means a person requires a further random selection before he is summoned again

Question 22

explain the selection process

Answer 22

1)summons
2)identity confirmed
3)15 chosen at random
4)12 randomly selected
5)sworn in

Question 23

explain vetting

Answer 23

-a DBS check is automatically carried out to check no-one is disqualified
-an authorised jury check may also be carried out with approval of attorney general
-only when case concerns national security

Question 24

explain challenging

Answer 24

there can be challenge that can be made by prosecution and the defence to makeup of jury

Question 25

explain the role of and process jury

Answer 25

1)D is tired by his equal
2)jury listens to the evidence and submissions from barristers
3)listens to the judges summing up
4)decide the facts of the case
5)apply the law, as explained to them by the judge, to the facts
6)after the judge sums up the case, they refine to he jury room
7)they will then have a secret discussion in order to come to their verdict
8)the verdict will be one of guilty or not guilty based on the facts.
9)their decision should be unanimous
10)a majority verdict can become acceptable if at best 10 agree
11)the foreman of the jury will then make a public announcement of the verdict in open court

Question 26

give one example where the process of the jury wasn’t correctly applied

Answer 26

1)R v F 2009
-only evidence presented at trial can be taken into account
-D’s conviction was quashed after 2 jurors were seen talking to a law student who was watching the trial

Question 27

explain juries in civil cases

Answer 27

1)juries are also used in civil cases, although this is rare, under senior courts act 1981, jury can occur if false imprisonment and fraud.

Question 28

advantages of a jury

Answer 28

• allows public participation in the justice system
  -increases public confidence in the system
  -jurors can decide cases according to their own consciences rather than the letter of law.
  -allows the jury to reject prosecution they see as unjustified or politically motivated.

Question 29

give a case example of the advantage of a jury

Answer 29

1) R v Kron 1996- found three women who caused $1.5million worth of damage to a hawk fighter plane however were not found guilty of criminal damage as the aircraft was to be sold to the oppressive regime in Indonesia–> showing balance against power of government

Question 30

disadvantages of the jury

Answer 30

• don’t have to give reasons for their decisions meaning it could give verdict a whim rather then a decision according to the law + no way of finding out about this unless jurors complains.
  -juries can arrive at perverse verdicts:
  research by Baldwin and McConnell in 1974 found that 25% of acquittals were questionable–> concerns that jurors may lack the ability to do and effective job,

Question 31

give a case example of the disadvantage of a jury

Answer 31

R v young 1995- came into light that a jury had consulted a Ouija board in a attempt to contact the deceased victim

Question 32

what are 3 alternatives to the jury trials and their pros and cons

Answer 32

1)a single judge or panel of judges
pro-quicker, perverse verdicts less likely to eliminate jury nobbling
con-remove public participation
2)professional jurors
pro-quicker, perverse verdicts less likely to eliminate jury nobbling
con -remove public participation
3)single judge with no expert law assessors
pro- perverse lay participation leads to legally correct verdicts
con- remove public participation