Magistrates

Question 1

Who are lay magistrates?

Answer 1

Lay magistrates are volunteers who are not legally qualified. They sit in benches of three in the Magistrates Court and make up 85% of the judicial community.

Question 2

How many lay magistrates are there in England and Wales?

Answer 2

As of 1st April 2016, there are 17,552 lay magistrates in England and Wales. They are sometimes also referred to as Justices of the Peace.

Question 3

Are lay magistrates paid?

Answer 3

They do not get a salary but will receive expenses, for example for travel and subsistence and a loss of earnings allowance.

Question 4

What are the requirement of a lay magistrates - How often are they required to sit?

Answer 4

They are required to do a minimum of 26 half day sittings (13 days) per year.

Question 5

What aids do magistrates use to help them reach decisions?

Answer 5

Magistrates use Sentencing Guidelines and case law to assist them to reach decisions about sentencing.

Question 6

What is meant by the term Local Justice Area?

Answer 6

Once appointed a magistrate is assigned to a Local Justice Area, which is near to their home or work, but they all have national jurisdiction under the Courts Act 2003.

Question 7

What is the ratio of magistrates who are male and female?

Answer 7

There is approximately the same number of male and female magistrates.

Question 8

What percentage of criminal cases do magistrates hear?

Answer 8

Magistrates hear 95% of all criminal cases.

Question 9

What types of cases are heard by magistrates?

Answer 9

Summary offences:
less serious assault and criminal damage, drink driving and football offences.

Traffic cases:
No insurance, failing to stop at an accident, defective tyres etc.

Environmental cases:
pollution, health and safety cases and cruelty to animals .

Question 10

What other cases may come before a lay magistrate?

Answer 10

Lay Magistrates also hear some civil and family cases involving:
unpaid Council Tax
TV licence evasion
child custody and adoption
care orders for children

Question 11

Which cases require lay magistrates to have specialised training?

Answer 11

Only experienced magistrates who have had special training can hear family cases and cases in the Youth Court.

Question 12

What do magistrates decide?

Answer 12

Magistrates have to decide:
1. If someone is guilty or innocent, 2. Whether a defendant should be allowed to have bail
3. Appropriate sentence when defendants either plead or are found guilty.

Question 13

Can magistrates impose a prison sentence?

Answer 13

Magistrates have the power to impose a prison sentence of up to 6 months.

Since s85 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 they can impose an unlimited fine in certain cases.

They can refer the case to the Crown Court if a longer prison sentence is required.

Question 14

All criminal cases start in the Magistrates court TRUE or FALSE?

Answer 14

TRUE
All criminal cases start in the Magistrates’ Court, even if only for them to pass the case to the Crown Court.

Question 15

What 6 qualities should a Lay Magistrates have ?

Answer 15

In 1998, the Lord Chancellor set out six key qualities that a Magistrate should possess:
1. Good character
2. Understanding and communication
3. Social awareness
4. Maturity and sound temperament
5. Sound judgment
6. Commitment and reliability

Question 16

Who is responsible for appointing magistrates?

Answer 16

Until 2013, the Lord Chancellor was responsible for appointing Magistrates, but they are now appointed by the Lord Chief Justice.

Question 17

What must applicants have or not have to become a magistrate?

Answer 17

Applicants must:
- be aged 18‒65
- not have any serious criminal convictions
- not have been banned from driving in the past 5‒10 years
- not been declared bankrupt
- not work in a job where there may be a conflict of interest – e.g. police officer.

Question 18

How do yo apply to become a magistrate?

Answer 18

Candidates usually apply to become magistrates, either in response to advertisements, or directly to the secretary of a local Advisory Committee or to the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Question 19

Where are magistrate positions advertised?

Answer 19

Advertisements may be placed in local papers, community noticeboard, on local radio and in some counties on buses! Recent recruitment initiatives have tried to attract potential magistrates in order to make them as representative of society as possible.

Question 20

Who interviews potential magistrates

Answer 20

There follows at least two interviews before the local Advisory Committee, who will be comprised of a maximum of 12 members and a mixture of current and retired magistrates as well as non-magistrates.

Question 21

What would the 2 interviews assess?

Answer 21

Interview 1: the panel will assess whether the candidate has the six key qualities and their attitudes to various aspects of criminal justice, such as drink driving.

Interview 2: this will test a candidate’s judicial aptitude through the discussion of case studies which would be typical of those heard by Magistrates.

Question 22

Who delivers magistrates training?

Answer 22

Delivered by the justices’ clerk

Guided by a national syllabus produced by the Judicial College

Training is based on competences and is usually assessed through observations.

Question 23

What form does magistrates training take?

Answer 23

1. Initial Training
2. Mentoring
3. Core Training
4. Consolidation Training
5. First appraisal

Question 24

What happens in a magistrates initial training?

Answer 24

1. Initial Training
   This is where the magistrate will learn the basics of the role and will observe other magistrates.

Question 25

How does the magistrates mentoring system work?

Answer 25

2. Mentoring
   Each new magistrate will have a specially trained mentor allocated and they should have 6 formal mentored settings within the first 18 months and also keep a Personal Development Log.

Question 26

What does magistrates core training involve?

Answer 26

3. Core Training
   This involves visits to penal institutions and working through a Core Workbook for self study to equip them with key knowledge

Question 27

How is a magistrates training consolidated?

Answer 27

4. Consolidation Training
   This happens at the end of the first year and builds on sittings to prepare magistrates for their first appraisal

Question 28

What is agreed at a magistrates first appraisal?

Answer 28

5. First appraisal
   The mentor and magistrate will agree after 12-18 months that the new magistrate now demonstrates competence in the role.

Question 29

Magistrates continue training throughout their magisterial career:

Answer 29

Appraisalstake place every three years to ensure the magistrate maintains his/her competency in whichever court they sit

Continuation training takes place once every three years, usually before appraisals

Update training on new legislation and procedures is delivered to magistrates as required

Question 30

What do you understand by the term ‘Threshold training’?

Answer 30

Threshold trainingaccompanies each development in a magistrates’ role, there is a matching training process. For instance magistrates may go through comprehensive training to become a chairman or presiding justice. Alternatively, they may choose to undergo training in the specialist skills needed for family or youth courts

Question 31

What age do magistrates usually retire at?

Answer 31

Magistrates usually retire at the age of 70.

Question 32

Which Act cover the requirement to remove a magistrate from office?

Answer 32

s11 of the Courts Act 2003 provides that the Lord Chief Justice can remove a lay magistrate from office:

Question 33

On what grounds can a lay magistrate be removed from office?

Answer 33

• incapacity or misbehaviour,
• persistent failure to meet such standards of competence as are prescribed by a direction given by the Lord Chief Justice, or
• if he is satisfied that the lay justice is declining or neglecting to take a proper part in the exercise of his functions as a justice of the peace.
  Case Study: “Magistrate removed from office after falling asleep at trial”, The Guardian, 27th September 2010.

Question 34

Who deals with complaints against magistrates?

Answer 34

Complaints about magistrates are made to the same body as the judiciary, that is the Judicial Conduct Investigation Office.

Question 35

Describe the change in number of lay magistrates (with reasons).

Answer 35

As of 1st April 2016, there are 17,552 lay magistrates in England and Wales. In 2012, there were around 25,000 lay magistrates. The steady decline in the overall numbers has been put down to a number of factors:
- magistrates no longer hear cases on licensing and anti social behaviour,
- crime is falling generally
- many crimes are being dealt with using out of court disposals.

Question 36

What do diversity statistics (under the headings below) tell us about magistrates?
Gender
Age
Ethnicity

Answer 36

• Gender: Female: 53% Male: 47%
• Age: Under 30: 1% Over 50: 80% (the average age is 57, due to the minimum time commitment magistrates have to give)
• Ethnicity: White: 89% BAME: 11%

Question 37

What moves to improves diversity have been taken?

Answer 37

There have been some moves to improve the diversity of the magistracy, including recruitment campaigns and increased awareness.

Question 38

What is every bench of magistrates assisted by?

Answer 38

Every Bench of magistrates is assisted by a clerk, or a legal adviser.

Question 39

What qualification/experience is required to be a justice’s clerk?

Answer 39

Every justices’ clerk has to be qualified as a solicitor or barrister for at least five years.

Question 40

What is the roles of Justice’s Clerk?

Answer 40

Their role is to advise the magistrates on issues of law and procedure in the Magistrates’ Courts; this is set out in s28 Courts Act 2003

The clerk is not permitted to assist the magistrates in their decision making.
Case Study: R v Eccles Justices ex parte Farrelly (1992), convictions were quashed on appeal because the clerk had helped in the decision making process.

Question 41

How is the independence of the Justice’s Clerk upheld?

Answer 41

s29 Courts Act 2003 guarantees the independence of the justices’ clerk and confirms that they cannot be subject to the direction of the Lord Chancellor or any other person.

Question 42

Advantages of Lay magistrates.

Answer 42

Magistrates provide a better representation of society than professional judges – 53% of lay magistrates are women.

Magistrates will normally live or work within the area in which they sit, although this is no longer a formal requirement.

The use of lay magistrates is cheap as they only have to be reimbursed for their expenses and subsistence.

The trial itself in a Magistrates’ Court is also cheaper than in a Crown Court.

The availability of a justices’ clerk is also seen as an advantage as there is constant access to advice on points of law and procedure.

There are very few appeals from the Magistrates’ Court suggesting that they are doing a good job.

Question 43

Disadvantages of Lay magistrates.

Answer 43

There are areas of society which are very under represented – for example, lots of magistrates are from the middle classes or hold managerial occupations. This therefore offers the question of whether they do really have a good local knowledge of the poorer areas in their locality.

Over the last few years, Magistrates’ Courts have been closing which can cause problems of access for some people and we are therefore increasingly losing the ‘local knowledge’ aspect.

Although lay magistrates are more representative than professional judges, the magistracy is often criticised for being “middle aged, middle class and middle minded”.
There are measures being put in places to combat this and make the magistracy more representative.

There is a low acquittal rate in the Magistrates Court which does suggest that there may be some prosecution bias. This may also be due to the fact that they will see the same representatives from the police and Crown Prosecution Service time and again.

Although training is undertaken from a national perspective, there is often seen to be inconsistency in sentencing across different areas.

Magistrates are often criticised for relying too heavily on the justices’ clerk.

Question 44

Possible alternatives to lay magistrates.

Answer 44

Mini-panels, comprising district judges and lay magistrates.

District judges in particular questioned the rationale, believing mini-panels would undermine their own speed and cost-effectiveness.

District judges handle cases more quickly than lay magistrates, due to their legal expertise and the fact that they sit alone and do not need to retire to consider a verdict or sentence.

Question 45

2023 Exam question :
Analyse and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of lay magistrates. [18]

Answer 45

Introduction - 4 points
Advantages - 5 points
Disadvantages - 5 points
Conclusion - 3 points

Question 46

2023 Exam question - Explain how lay magistrates are appointed [10]

Answer 46

1. Lay Magistrates are appointed by the Lord Chief Justice
2. Advertisements in local papers, community noticeboard, on local radio and in some counties on buses!
3. Interview 1: the panel will assess whether the candidate has the six key qualities:
   - Good character
   - Understanding and communication
   - Social awareness
   - Maturity and sound temperament
   - Sound judgment
   - Commitment and reliability
   Their attitudes to various aspects of criminal justice, such as drink driving will also be assessed.
4. Interview 2: this will test a candidate’s judicial aptitude through the discussion of case studies which would be typical of those heard by Magistrates.
5. Further training ?