Lay Magistrates Flashcards
How many lay magistrates are there and what are they often called
Justices of the peace and there are about 25,000 lay magistrates
What are the qualifications needed to be a lay magistrate
Lay magistrates have no qualifications in law
What is the age range for lay magistrates
Must be between 18 and 65 but few appointments made under the age of 30
Key qualities needed
Good character Understanding and communication Social awareness Maturity and sound temperament Sound judgement Commitment and reliability
Judicial qualities
Assimilate factual information and make reasoned decisions upon it. Take account of the reason of others
Commitment required to be a lay magistrate
At least 26 half days per year
Area to serve as a lay magistrate
Live or work near to the local justice area they are allocated to. This means they know what the local area is like
Who are disqualified from being a lay magistrate
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
How many and who appoints lay magistrates
1,500 lay magistrates are appointed each year they are appointed by the Lord chancellor who receives recommendations from local advisory committees
Local advisory committees are
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)
What is a criticism of the appointment process
The Lord chancellor does not know who he is appointing as the appointments are recommended by the local advisory committee
What civil matters do lay magistrates deal in
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
Role of magistrates Youth court
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
Family court
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
What is The magistrates clerk
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.
Can the magistrate clerk make decisions
No! The clerk can not assist in the decision making and should not retire with the magistrates when they make their decisions
What case did the clerk get involved in the decision
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
How are lay magistrates trained
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
In the training what are the 4 areas of competence and the first 3 that apply to all lay magistrates
Managing yourself
Working as a member of a team
Making judicial decisions
Managing judicial decision making
Delivering lay magistrates training
Bench training and development committees (BTDC)
S.19 (3) courts act 2003 sets out statutory obligation on the Lord chancellor to provide training materials
Training process
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
