legal personnel Flashcards
general facts of solicitors
- they are general practitioners of law
- governed by the law society
- regulated by the solicitors regulation authority
- may be employed by the CPS
- present cases in the magistrates court
- they can practice in any court ( access to justice act 1999)
how many possible roots are there to become a solicitor
3
what is root 1 to be a solicitor
get a law degree
complete a legal practice course
get a training contract
what is root 2 to become a solicitor
get a other degree
get a diploma in law
go to legal practice court
get a training contract
what is root 3 to become a solicitor
get 4 GCSES
get an ILEX professional diploma
ILEX higher professional diploma
legal practice course
training contract
what are general facts of barristers
- they advocate cases
- governed by the general council of the bar
- must be a member of at least 1 of the inns of court
- regulated y the bar standards board
how many roots are there to become a barrister
3
what is root 1 to become a barrister
get a law degree
get a membership of an inn at court and attend 12 times
complete a bar professional training course
get called to bar
Pupillage (a period of practical training required to become a fully fledged barrister.)
what is root 2 to become a barrister
get a degree in a different subject
diploma in law
get a membership of an inn at court and attend 12 times
complete a bar professional training course
get called to bar
Pupillage (a period of practical training required to become a fully fledged barrister.)
what is root 3 to become a barrister
non graduate
get a diploma in law
get a membership of an inn at court and attend 12 times
complete a bar professional training course
get called to bar
Pupillage (a period of practical training required to become a fully fledged barrister.)
what is the act which reformed barristers and solicitors
access to justice act 1999
what is the role of a judge
- can vary depending on the court
- apply and interpret the law
swear in the jury - summarise the case t the end
- head the court
- ensure people are behaving correctly in court
- decide the sentence
how are judges appointed
there selected by the judicial appointments commission which was set up by the constitutional reform act 2005.
how do you become eligible to be a judge
- be a qualified solicitor, barrister or chartered legal executive.
- have worked as a legal professional for between 5 and 7 years, depending on the type of judge you want to be.
- to be a citizen of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland or a Commonwealth country
- to be below the age of 70, which is the statutory retirement age for all judges
- have intellectual ability
- the ability to be fair and even-handed
- an air of authority
- good communication skills
what 2 act are important for judges
- constitutional reform act 2005
- crime and courts act 2013 - changed selection process + the flexibility of judges
what is the role of a magistrate
- they deal with 95% of cases
- decide the innocence or guilt of the defendant as well as the sentence
-they cannot give a sentence over 6 months or a fine of £5000
what is the criteria to become a magistrate
- over 18 younger than 70
- appointed y the lord chief of justice
- can apply or be approached to become a magistrate
- have to live within 15 miles of the area
- some individuals are excluded such as police officers or people with long serious convictions
what 2 acts govern magistrates
justices of the peace act 1997
courts act 2003
what training must magistrates have
no training required to qualify to be a magistrate
- must complete training when a magistrate
what are the advantages to magistrates
- they volunteer to be there. This means that it is a cheaper alternative, cost of a magistrate [per year is £500, cost of a district judge is £90,000
- the person will listen more closely as they would want to be there rather than a juror who is forced to be there. avoids things like r v Payne happening
- magistrates apply, they come from all distinct levels of society which brings more representation to the system.
- magistrates sit in the court in their local area, they would have first-hand knowledge about the area and the issues that have occurred in the case.
what are the disadvantages to magistrates
- as they sit on the court in their area it could allow them to have some bias towards specific people which could make the results unfair.
- in the magistrate’s courts there is an inconsistency of sentencing as different magistrates could produce different results. For example, in the book of the English Legal System 2016, in 2010 Bristol; magistrates produced custodial sentences on 11.1% of case whereas Dinefwr magistrates only imposed them on 0.1%. Like this, Bristol magistrates-imposed community sentences on 32.2% of cases but Dinefwr imposed them on 6.6%.
- although the position of a magistrate is open for anyone to apply to, you do get a significantly larger amount of middle aged, middle class retired men applying which does not allow the position to be well represented.
