Lay Magistrates

Question 1

What are lay magistrates?

Answer 1

• Not legally qualified
• A.K.A Justices of the peace
• Sit as part of a bench of two or three (single magistrates power is limited)
• They are volunteers (so are unpaid apart from expenses)

Question 2

What are the requirements to be a lay magistrate?

Answer 2

• Must be aged between 18-65 on appointment, but can serve until 70.
• Must live and work within their allocated local justice area.
• Must commit to sitting at least 26 half days a year.

Question 3

What are the requirements in order to be barred from being a lay magistrate?

Answer 3

• people with serious criminal convictions.
• police officers.
• traffic wardens.
• relatives of the above two.
• are hearing impaired.
• undischarged bankrupts.
• members of the armed forces.
• close relatives cannot serve on the same bench.

Question 4

What are the 6 key qualities of lay magistrates?

Answer 4

1. Good character.
2. Understanding and communication.
3. Social awareness.
4. Maturity and sound temperament.
5. Sound judgement.
6. Commitment and reliability.

Question 5

Describe the selection and appointment of lay magistrates.

Answer 5

1. Positions are widely advertised and anyone can become a magistrate.
2. Recommendations are made by a local advisory committee.
3. 2 stage interview process. 1st focuses on candidates personal attributes, 2nd tests judicial aptitude by looking at individual studies.
4. Successful candidates have their name submitted by the panel to the Lord Chief Justice who then makes the appointments.
5. Magistrates can be appointed by a judge who has been given permission by the Lord Chief Justice (delegates power).

Aim is to recruit a wide variety of people from society.

Question 6

Where do all criminal cases start?

Answer 6

In the magistrates

Question 7

What do magistrates do if they receive a very serious cases?

Answer 7

They pass it onto the Crown Court and decide if the defendant should be granted bail (kept in custody or let out on strict conditions).

Question 8

What types of crimes do magistrates deal with?

Answer 8

• minor assault.
• motoring offences.
• theft.
• handling stolen goods.

Question 9

What punishments can magistrates give?

Answer 9

• fines.
• unpaid work in the community.
• prison for up to 6 months (or 12 for more than 1 crime).

Question 10

Briefly explain the diversity of the bench.

Answer 10

53% women compared to 22% of high court judges and above being female.
11% from ethnic minority backgrounds. Less than 5% in the judiciary.
4% have a disability.

Question 11

What types of cases can magistrates hear?

Answer 11

Summary or triable either way if the defendant has chosen to be tried in the mags court.

Question 12

What do magistrates mostly deal with?

Answer 12

The preliminary work - early administrative hearings, remand hearings, bail applications.

Question 13

What can magistrates do if the defendant has pleaded guilty?

Answer 13

Sentence the defendant.

Question 14

What can magistrates do if the defendant has pleaded not guilty?

Answer 14

Hold a trial.

Question 15

What is the maximum prison sentence a magistrate can give?

Answer 15

6 months for one offence, 12 for two.

Question 16

What sorts of sentences can magistrates impose?

Answer 16

They can make community orders, fine defendants, disqualify them from driving, and issue discharges, etc.

Question 17

What are the requirements for magistrates to hear some youth cases?

Answer 17

• youth court panels must usually include one man and one woman.
• mags must be specially nominated and trained for theses cases.

Question 18

When can magistrates hear appeals?

Answer 18

They can hear appeals at the Crown Court from the mags court, where two lay mags/justices will hear the appeal with a qualified judge.

Question 19

Who supervises the training of lay magistrates?

Answer 19

The Magisterial Committee of the Judicial College.

Question 20

How long is magistrates training?

Answer 20

3 and a half days. It can take place over a long weekend, weekdays, or short evening sessions over 7 weeks.

Question 21

Describe the three stages of the syllabus.

Answer 21

1. Initial intro training - the role, responsibility, duty, administration, etc.
2. Core training - acquiring and developing magistrate skills.
3. Activities - observation of court sittings, visits to a prison, probation office, etc.

Question 22

Who is the magistrates clerk?

Answer 22

The legal adviser to the bench. A senior clerk must be qualified as either a barrister or solicitor for at least 5 years.

Question 23

What is the magistrate’s clerk job?

Answer 23

He guides the mags on questions of law, practice and procedure. He is not meant to influence or assist in the mags decision making.

Question 24

What does the magistrate’s clerk also deal with?

Answer 24

Routine admin, issuing warrants for arrest, extending police bail, adjourning criminal proceedings and dealing with Early Administrative Hearings.

Question 25

What are the advantages of lay magistrates?

Answer 25

1) They contain a cross section of society - different members of the community are present.
2) Have local knowledge - should know of particular problems in the area.
3) Cost - mags are unpaid so cheap.
4) Training - not complete ‘amateurs’, majority of decision require common sense.
5) Legal adviser (clerk) - legally qualified and can give mags advise.
6) Few appeals - if appeals are made it’s usually against the sentence not the decision.

Question 26

What are the disadvantages of magistrates?

Answer 26

1) Middle aged, middle class - may be out of touch with younger generation and people from poorer backgrounds.
2) Inconsistency in sentencing - in some areas mags are 4x as likely to send a defendant to prison than others.
3) Reliance on the clerk - if they rely on him too much he will end up influencing their decision.
4) Prosecution bias - mags sometimes believe the police too readily. 20% acquittal rates in mags court compared to 60% in Crown court.