Lay People: Lay Magistrates

Question 1

Lay Magistrates

Answer 1

There are about 17,500 lay magistrates sitting as unpaid, part time judges in the Magistrates’ Court.

Question 2

Powers of a magistrate

Answer 2

They sit to hear cases as a bench of 2 or 3 magistrates. A single lay magistrate sitting on their own has very limited powers, however they can issue search warrents and warrents for arrest and conduct Early Administrative Hearings.

Question 3

Qualifications based on character

Answer 3

Do not have to have any qualifications in law, but requirements needed to be met based on their character:
- good characterJ
- understanding and communication
- social awareness
- maturity and sound temperment
- sound judgement
- commitment and reliability

Question 4

Judical Qualities

Answer 4

To be able to assimilate factual information and make a reasoned decision upon it. They must also be able to take account of the reasoning of others and work as a team.

Question 5

Formal qualifications

Answer 5

Age and residence.

Question 6

Formal qualifications - age

Answer 6

Lay magistrates must be aged between 18-65 years old on appointment and can sit as magistrates until they are 70. Not many young people are appointed, but due to the age of appointment being reduced to 18 in 2003, a few young magistrates have been appointed - statistics from 2006 show this is a rarity, 3% of magistrates are under 40 y/o.

Question 7

Formal qualifications - residency

Answer 7

Up to 2003, it was necessary for lay magistrates to live within 15 miles of the commission area for the court they sat in. 2003 - The Courts Act abolished commission areas for the whole of England and Wales. However the country is divided into local justice areas; the areas are specified by the Lord Chancellor and lay magistrates are expected to live or work within/near to the local justice area they are allocated.

Question 8

Formal qualifications - commitment

Answer 8

Lay magistrates are expected to be prepared to commit themselves to sitting at least 26 half days each year. It is thought this level of commitment deters many from becoming lay magistrates. Lay magistrates are only paid in expenses.

Question 9

Formal qualifications - restrictions

Answer 9

Some are not eligeble to be appointed, including people with:
- serious criminal convictions
- undischarged bankrupts
- members of the force whose work is incompatible with sitting as a magistrate
- relatives of those working in the Criminal Justice System
- impaired hearing
- by reason of infirmity cannot carry out all the duties of a Justice of the Peace.

Question 10

Formal qualifications - minor criminal convictions

Answer 10

A conviction for minor motoring offence would not automatically disqualify as a candidate.

Question 11

Formal qualifications - members of the force

Answer 11

Examples:
- police officers
- traffic wardens

Question 12

Formal qualifications - relatives of those in the force

Answer 12

Unlikely to be appointed as it not appear ‘just’, for example: the spouse of a police officer being allowed to sit and decide cases is a conflict of interest.

Question 13

Appointments - quality

Answer 13

About 700 new magistrates are appointed each year.

Question 14

Appointments - powers

Answer 14

Since 2013 appointments are made by the Lord Chief Justice who can delegate these powers. The current Lord Chief Justice has delegated these powers to the Senior Presiding Judge. In order to decide who to appoint, the judge relies on reccomendations made by local advisory committees.

Question 15

Appointments - Local Advisory Committees

Answer 15

The membership of committees must be published. The members tend to be current or ex Justices of the Peace. Half the members have to retire in roatation every 3 year. The committees should have a max of 12 members and these should include a mix of of magistrates and non magistrates.

Question 16

Appointments - the recruitment process

Answer 16

• Advertisements are used to try and encourage as wide a range of potential candidates as possible.
• People are also encouraged to go to open evenings at their local Magistrates’ Court.

Question 17

Appointments - the recruitment process - advertisements

Answer 17

Have been placed in local papers or newspapers aimed at particular ethnic groups and even on buses.

Question 18

Appointments - the recruitment process - aims

Answer 18

All this is aimed in getting as wide a spectrum of potential candidates as possible, to create a panel that is representative of all society.

Question 19

Appointments - the recruitment process - categories

Answer 19

Membership must reflect a balance of occupations. The Lord Chancellor set down 11 broad categories of occupations and advisory committees are recommended that they should not have more than 15% of the bench coming from any one category.

Question 20

Appointments - the recruitment process - interview panels

Answer 20

Usually a 2 stage interview process. After, the advisory committees will then submit names of those they believe to be suitable to the Lord Chief Justice or a delegate, who will then appoint new magistrates from this list.

Question 21

Appointments - the recruitment process - interview panels 1

Answer 21

The panel tries to find out more about the candidate’s personal attributes,personal specifically the 6 key qualities required. They will also explore the candidate’s personal attributes on various Criminal Justice issues, like youth crime or drunk driving.

Question 22

Appointments - the recruitment process - interview panels 2

Answer 22

Aimed at testing the candidates potential judical aptitude by discussion of at least 2 case studies which are typically heard in the Magistrates’ Courts. The dicussion may focus on the type of sentance which should be imposed on specific case facts.

Question 23

Composition of the bench today

Answer 23

The traditional image of lay justices is that they are ‘middle class, middle aged, middle minded’. The bench well balanced however.

Question 24

Composition of the bench today - gender

Answer 24

About 53% of magistrates are women. This is a higher % than anywhere else in the judiciary; 22% of all judges in the High Court and above are women, though there are more at lower levels. About 32% of District Judges are women.

Question 25

Composition of the bench today - ethnicity

Answer 25

Ethnic minorites are reasonable well presented in the magistrary. This compares very favourably to the professional judicracy where less than 5% are from ethnic minority backgrounds. The higher level of ethnic minority magistrates is largely a result of campaigning to attract a wider range of candidates. Adverts placed in publications such as Carribean Times, the Asian Times and Muslim News led to an increase in numbers of ethnic minority appointments.

Question 26

Composition of the bench today - disability

Answer 26

Disabled people are encouraged to become magistrates, including appointing blind people as lay magistrates. About 4% of magistrates have a disability.

Question 27

The Role and Powers of Magistrates

Answer 27

They have a very wide workload connected to criminal cases. They deal with: - all summary cases - triable-either-way offences where d chooses to be tried at the Magistrates' Court - the first hearings of indictable offences before being transferred to the Crown Court for trial. These 2 categories account for about 94% of all criminal cases. They deal with all the prelimiary work in these cases, including Early Administrative Hearings, remand hearings and bail applications.

Question 28

The Role and Powers of Magistrates - not guilty

Answer 28

Where d pleads not guilty, the magistrates will hold a trial and deide whether d is guilty or not.

Question 29

The Role and Powers of Magistrates - guilty

Answer 29

Where d pleads guilty or is found guilty, the magistrates also decide the sentance. They have the power to imprisionan offender for 6 months for 1 offence and 12 months for 2 offences. They also have other wide sentancing powers including: - making community orders - fining a d - ordering a conditional or absolue discharge - disqualifing a d from driving.

Question 30

The Role and Powers of Magistrates - the Youth Court

Answer 30

Specifically nominated and trained justices from the Youth Court panel hear criminal charges against offenders aged 10-17 y/o. The panel must include at least one man and one woman.

Question 31

The Role and Powers of Magistrates - Family Court

Answer 31

Specifically trained lay magistrates sit in the Family Court to hear cases on family issues such as maintenance and custody.

Question 32

The Role and Powers of Magistrates - Appeals

Answer 32

Lay magistrates sit in the Crown Court to hear appeals from the Magistrates' Court. In these cases, 2 lay justices form a panel with the qualified judge.

Question 33

Training of lay magistrates

Answer 33

The training is supervised by the Magisteral Committee of the Judical College. This committee has drawn up a syllabus of the topics which lay magistrates should cover in training. Because of the large number of lay magistrates, actual training is carried out in local areas, sometimes through the clerk of the court, sometimes through weekend courses organised by universities with magistrates from the reigion attending.

Question 34

Training of lay magistrates - new magistrates

Answer 34

The syllabus is divided in 3 parts: 1) Initial introductory training 2) Core training 3) Activities

Question 35

Training of lay magistrates - new magistrates 1

Answer 35

This covers matters as understanding the organisation of the bench and the administration of the court and the roles and responsabilities of those involved in the Magistrates' Court.

Question 36

Training of lay magistrates - new magistrates 2

Answer 36

This provides new magistrates with the opportunity to acquire and develop the key skills, knowledge and understanding required for a competent magistrate.

Question 37

Training of lay magistrates - new magistrates 3

Answer 37

These will involve observations of court sittings and visits to establishments such as a prision or probation office.

Question 38

Training of lay magistrates - training sessions

Answer 38

Organised and carried out at local level within the 42 court areas. Much of the training is delivered locally by the Justices' Clerks. Some training of the Youth Panel and Family Court Chairmen is delivered nationally. After doing core training and observing cases, a new magistrate will sit as a 'winger' to hear cases - they will be one in a panel of 3, sitting on either side of the chairman (a very experienced magistrate).

Question 39

Training of lay magistrates - appraisal

Answer 39

During first 2 years of the new magistrate sitting in court, some sessions will be mentored. In the same period, the magistrates is also expected to attend more training sessions. After 2 years, an appraisal will take place to check whether they have acquired the competencies. Those who show they haven't achieved the competencies will be given extra training, and if they still hadn't achieved them, then the matter is passed to the local advisory committee who may reccomend the Lord Chancellor that the magistrate is removed from sitting.

Question 40

The Magistrates' Clerk

Answer 40

Every bench is assisted by a clerk, also known as a legal advisor. The senior clerk in each court has to be qualified as a barristor or solicitor for at least 5 years. The clerk's duty is to guide the magistrates on questions of law, practice and procedure. This is set out in s.28(3) of the Justice and Peace Act 1979.

Question 41

The Magistrates' Clerk - nonresponsability

Answer 41

They are not meant to assist in decision-making and should not normally retire with the magistrates when they go make their decision.

Question 42

The Magistrates' Clerk - extra powers

Answer 42

Deal with routine administrative matters. They can also: - issue warrents for arrests - extend police bail - adjourn criminal proceedings - deal with Early Administrative Hearings