The Judiciary

Question 1

What and who are superior judges?

Answer 1

• Those in the supreme court, court of appeal & high court
• Justices of the supreme court
• Lord Justice of appeal in the CoA
• High court judges
  Head of judiciary is the Lord Chief justice

Question 2

Who do inferior judges include?

Answer 2

• Circuit judges (sit in both the crown & county court)
• Recorders (part-time judges who usually sit in the crown court, some hear cases in county court)
• District judges (hear small claims & other matters in county court)
• District judges (who sit in magistrates courts)
• Tribunal judges)

Question 3

How are judges selected?

Answer 3

• Up to 2005 - selection of judges was done by Lord Chancellor
• Ammended in the Consitutional reform act 2005 - established judicial appointments commission to deal with selection

Question 4

What is the role of justices of the supreme court?

Answer 4

• Hear appeals in supreme court about 100 each year
• Majority of cases are civil but can be criminal
• Must sit as an uneven number panel to hear a case

Question 5

What is the role of Lord Justice of Appeal?

Answer 5

• All their work is concerned with appeals
• They sit on both the civil and criminal divisions of the CoA - deal with both civil and criminal cases
• Criminal - 7,000 applications for leave to appeal against sentence or conviction
• Hear about 3,000 civil appeals
• Usually sit on a panel of 3 to hear cases
• On rare occasions in important cases - panel of 5

Question 6

What is the role of a high court judge?

Answer 6

• Try cases - known as cases of first instance because it is the first time the case has been heard in a court
• They hear evidence from witnesses
• Decide what the law is
• And make a decision as to which side has won the case
• When hearing first instance cases, judges sit on their own
• HC judges also hear some appeals - mainly civil cases tried in the county court

Question 7

What is the role of a circuit judge?

Answer 7

• Sit in county courts to hear civil cases
• Also crown court for criminal cases
• Decide the law and the facts
• They make a decision on who has won the case
• In criminal cases, they sit with a jury. Jury decides the facts, judge decides the law. D guilty, judge decides the sentence

Question 8

What is the role of recorders?

Answer 8

• Part time judges
• Appointed for a period of 5 years
• Mainly in the crown court but some sit in county courts for civil cases

Question 9

What is the role of a district judge?

Answer 9

• Sit in county court and deal with small claims cases (under £10,000)
• District judges in the magistrates court decide facts and law
• When D pleads guilty, they decide on the sentence