Lay Magistrates

Question 1

How many lay magistrates are there and what are they often called

Answer 1

Justices of the peace and there are about 25,000 lay magistrates

Question 2

What are the qualifications needed to be a lay magistrate

Answer 2

Lay magistrates have no qualifications in law

Question 3

What is the age range for lay magistrates

Answer 3

Must be between 18 and 65 but few appointments made under the age of 30

Question 4

Key qualities needed

Answer 4

Good character 
Understanding and communication 
Social awareness 
Maturity and sound temperament 
Sound judgement 
Commitment and reliability

Question 5

Judicial qualities

Answer 5

Assimilate factual information and make reasoned decisions upon it. Take account of the reason of others

Question 6

Commitment required to be a lay magistrate

Answer 6

At least 26 half days per year

Question 7

Area to serve as a lay magistrate

Answer 7

Live or work near to the local justice area they are allocated to. This means they know what the local area is like

Question 8

Who are disqualified from being a lay magistrate

Answer 8

Relatives of those in the justice system
Those who can’t carry out their duties (blind )
Police officers and traffic wardens
Undischarged bankrupts
Serious criminal conviction only
Members of parliament
Members of the armed forces

Question 9

How many and who appoints lay magistrates

Answer 9

1,500 lay magistrates are appointed each year they are appointed by the Lord chancellor who receives recommendations from local advisory committees

Question 10

Local advisory committees are

Answer 10

They have 12 members most existing magistrates but 1/3 of all members must be non magistrates
Lay people are on the committee to make sure suitable candidates are chosen (characteristics)

Question 11

What is a criticism of the appointment process

Answer 11

The Lord chancellor does not know who he is appointing as the appointments are recommended by the local advisory committee

Question 12

What civil matters do lay magistrates deal in

Answer 12

Enforcing debts owed
Non payment of council tax
Non payment of the licences
Speaks for local authority to grant a license for sale of alcohol

Question 13

Role of magistrates Youth court

Answer 13

Specially nominated and trained justices from the youth court panel to hear criminal charges against young offenders aged 10-17 years old
The panel must include one man and one woman

Question 14

Family court

Answer 14

There is also a special panel for the family court to hear family cases including orders for protection against Vikings, adoption orders and proceedings under the children act 1989

Question 15

What is The magistrates clerk

Answer 15

Every bench is assisted by a clerk. There will be one magistrates clerk for each area. There will also be a legal adviser sitting with each bench in court. The senior clerk in each court has to be qualified as a barrister or solicitor for at least 5!years. The clerks duty is to guide he magistrates on questions of law, practice and procedure.

Question 16

Can the magistrate clerk make decisions

Answer 16

No! The clerk can not assist in the decision making and should not retire with the magistrates when they make their decisions

Question 17

What case did the clerk get involved in the decision

Answer 17

R v Eccles justices, ex parts farrelly 1992
The queens bench divisional court quashed convictions because the clerk had apparently participated in the decision making

Question 18

How are lay magistrates trained

Answer 18

Magistrates are supervised by the magistrates committee of judicial studies board
They have drawn a syllabus of what they should cover
Since 1998 magistrates training has been monitored more closely they were criticism prior to that although magistrates were required to attend a certain number of hours training there was no assessment of how much they had understood

Question 19

In the training what are the 4 areas of competence and the first 3 that apply to all lay magistrates

Answer 19

Managing yourself
Working as a member of a team
Making judicial decisions
Managing judicial decision making

Question 20

Delivering lay magistrates training

Answer 20

Bench training and development committees (BTDC)

S.19 (3) courts act 2003 sets out statutory obligation on the Lord chancellor to provide training materials

Question 21

Training process

Answer 21

Initial training - basics of the role sit with 2 experienced magistrates
Mentoring - each new magistrate will revive 6 formal mentoring sessions in first 12-18 months
Core training - visit prisons and young offenders institutes and observe magistrates
Consolidation - training to develop ore training to prepare for first appraisal
First appraisal - 12 -1& months after appointment