role of the judiciary Flashcards
what is the general role of the judiciary
-to decide disputes in a fair, unbiased way, applying the law of England and Wales
-judges are responsible for case management before the trial in civil and criminal cases
-Appeal court judges and supreme court judges do not hear evidence from witnesses
instead they hear arguments on legal points in the case
what is the role of supreme court judges
-Hear appeals on points of law
-it hears appeals from CA and HC
-hears appeal from courts in scotland and northen Ireland
-appeals can be either Civil and Criminal cases
- there are 12 justices in the SC who sit as an uneven number, like 3, 5, 7 panel to hear a case
- generally deals with more civil cases
-SC hears 70 cases each year
-any decision made in the SC as point of law will become precedent for lower courts to follow
-the judges of the SC also sit as the judicial committe of the privy council to hear cases on appeal from some commonwealth countries and other overseas territories
what is the role of court of appeal judges
-hear appeals on points of law
- criminal cases appeals against conviction or sentence
-civil cases appeals against amount awarded and the liability
-usually a panel of three
-there are 38 lord justices of appeal who sit in either divison to decide either civil or criminal cases
-their workload is much heavier than the supreme court
-CA judges are referred to as lord justice or lady justice but when their judgements are being quoted ,they are usually referred by their surnames followed by LJ ex:(SINGH LG)
what is the role of high court judges
-sit in one of the three benches (Queen’s Bench, Chancery Division, Family Division) they will only hear cases relating to their work divison
- Hear first instance cases and decide liability as well as remedy
-Some appeal work from the county court
-in law reports ,HC judges are referred to as M Justice or Mrs justice but when their judgement are being quoted ,they are usually referred to by their surnames following J
What is the role of crown court judges
-Try cases with a jury ( decides the verdict)
-Decide the law
-Pass sentence on guilty defendants
what is the role of county court judges
-Civil cases - decides liability and remedy
-District judges hear small claims only -circuit judges deal with the more complicated cases
- and in the civil court does not require jury , the circuit judge sits in their own
what is the role of recorders ( crown court)
-recorders are part-time judges who are appointed for a fixed period of five years.
-mainly used in crown court to try minor criminal cases
-, but can sit in the county court to decide civil cases, like small claims cases of under 10 000 pounds
what is the role of magistrates court
-Criminal cases - decides law and verdict
-Pass sentence on guilty defendants -Some family work as they sit to hear family cases as part of the family court but this will usually be with two lay magistrates
