Lay People

Question 1

What are lay magistrates?

Answer 1

• They are unpaid part time judges in magistrates court, they are known as justices of the peace and sit in benches of 2 or 3
• There are 17,500 people sitting as lay magistrates
• A single magistrate has very limited power

Question 2

What are qualifications of lay magistrates?

Answer 2

• There are no legal qualifications
• There are six key qualities which include good character, understanding and communication, social awareness, maturity, sound judgement, committment and reliability
• There are formal requirements which means they must be 18-65 on appointment but can sit until they are 70
• Not many young people are appointed

Question 3

What are restrictions of lay magistrates?

Answer 3

• Serious criminal convictions
• Undischarged bankruptcy
• Member of the forces
• Police officers
• Relatives of people working in the justice system
• Hearing impairment

Question 4

What is an appointment?

Answer 4

• The Lord Chief Justice appoints magistrates
• This power is delegated to the senior presiding judge
• Local advisory committees recommend appointees which are usually made up of ex-justices of the peace

Question 5

How are lay magistrates recruited?

Answer 5

• Adverts are placed on local buses and papers to gain a wide range of applications
• Open evenings are held at the local court

Question 6

What is the composition of the bench?

Answer 6

• Middle class, middle aged and middle minded
• 53% are women
• 11% are from ethnic minorities
• 4% have a disabillity

Question 7

What is the magistrates clerk?

Answer 7

• Every bench is assisted by a clerk who is a legal advisor
• The senior clerk in each court must be qualified as a solicitor or bassiter
• Their job is to guide the magistrates on questions relating to the law, practice and procedure
• The clerk cannot assist in the decision making but deal with routine adminstrative matters

Question 8

What is the training of a magistrate clerk?

Answer 8

• Training is supervised by the Committee of the Judicial College
• Takes place through the clerk of the court or at local universities
• New magistrates must cover initial introductory training, core training and activities
• They will initially be wingers in a panel of 3 where one is expierenced and the others are new
• They will have an appraisal after two years