Magistrates court
Introduction
In this report I am going to be talking about magistrate courts. I will be looking at the advantages and disadvantages of magistrate courts. I will also be looking at what people are in a magistrate court and what kind of cases magistrate courts hear.
Selection
Lay Magistrates are part time judges. They don’t need any qualifications to be a Lay Magistrate. In order for someone to become a magistrate they must fill in a form. This form could be found on www.direct.gov.uk website. There are about 25,000 Lay Magistrates sitting as part time judges in the magistrate courts. Justices of the peace is another name for Lay Magistrates. Two or 3 magistrates sit on every court. A single magistrate sitting on their own has very limited powers to what they can do/say in court. They can issue search/arrest warrants if necessary. They can also conduct early administrative hearings. Magistrates have to work 26 and a half days a year. Lord chancellor is the one who chooses if someone can be a Magistrate or not.
The 6 qualities that are needed to become a Lay Magistrate are:
1)Good character
2)Understanding and communication
3)Social awareness
4)Maturity and sound temperament
5)Sound judgement – to think logically
6)Commitment and reliability
…show more content…
The court wants a magistrate with a good character because a magistrate has an important role and they don’t want a magistrate who has a bad record. This is because a magistrate can make a wrong decision for the defendant which could affect his life. By a good character it means that the magistrate should have a clean record, minor offences will be ok for magistrates. However if a magistrate commits a criminal offence whilst being a magistrate then he/she will be removed from being a
Magistrates are volunteers who hear cases in courts in their community. Each case is usually heard by 3 magistrates, including a magistrate who is trained to act as a chairperson
Which of the following statements about those who have served as Supreme Court justices is true?
Lay magistrates are people that deal with the vast majority of legal cases in the courts. They sit on a bench of two to three magistrates. They are part-time and unpaid, and also unqualified. They have to be aged between 18- 65 and sit 26 and a half days per year. You are unable to become a lay magistrate if you have a serious criminal conviction, undischarged bankruptcy and a member of the police or a
Judge Dee was considered the “Father and Mother Official.” Magistrates function as a judge, jury, prosecutor, and detective. He was the highest power in his district and was in charge of many things. He was in charge of the town, land administration, the tribunal, the bureau for the collection of taxes, the register office, and the public order in the district. Magistrates had to have great moral strength, intellectual power, and refined literati also trained on Chinese letter and arts. Without any of these skills, the magistrate would have failed his job. He would have barely gained any support since these skills were signs of a good leader. The Magistrates were almost miniature monarchs of their own lands. Even though whatever they say is not law, they are able to convict and torture people until they listen. Judge Dee took everything under his control form the detective work to sentences. He used lieutenants and constables to help out, but most work was done single-handedly. No one else I the district has more power than him. A few magistrates in the book even had their own private army for example; the magistrate in Turnip Pass had a garrison to protect the area from criminals. Magistrates are supposed to be truth-seeking men. Judge Dee is obviously truth seeking because he tries to see why the husband died in “The Strange Corpse” even though no one filed a complaint, he did this for righteousness, which is looked for in
To become a magistrate you must apply however not everyone can apply, you can not apply if you have a criminal record, if
Throughout the United Kingdom Lay Magistrates are used within our courts and legal system in relation to sentencing criminals. They work within the Magistrates court dealing with summary offences, triable-either way offences and they also deal with starting off indictable offences which will then be sentenced in the Crown Court. Lay Magistrates come from local areas and when appearing at a court they would usually gather three Lay Magistrates. This is in order for the Lay Magistrates to come together in relation to making a final decision, towards making their final decision they are able to receive guidance from the court clerk
Magistrates because they are not paid, will have to take time off work to attend their duties. Now, in a business environment, an employer may be rather annoyed if an employee had to continuously take time off work to attend their duties and would thus be difficult for that employee-especially if they are not to be paid whilst they are away. This loss of earning may discourage a person from becoming a magistrate. Whereas, if a magistrate is an employer or a senior employee in the business, they will more easily be able to take time off work to attend court. This relates to how they will be middle-aged and middle-minded. The training process is said to have not been adequate or effective enough. They are not in trained in broader ways and therefore lacking full knowledge. A risk with the magistrates is that although they may be able to empathise with the defendant, they are prosecution minded and more likely to believe the police. They may also be heavily reliant upon the clerk when in reality, the clerk can only advise them on certain aspects and interpret difficult points of law. A major disadvantage is the fact that there are inconsistencies within the sentencing of defendants. A defendant in Leeds charged with the same offence as the defendant in Bristol may receive a more lenient sentence. Additionally, the workload of the magistrates is incredibly heavy and would be
Merit –compare and contrast the role of judges ,lawyers and lay people within the English courts.
The role of a lay magistrate is one that is at the core of the legal system in England & Wales. They help maintain the foundation of the criminal justice system and deal with approximately 98% of all criminal matters. The sheer volume of cases that they deal with has helped earned them the title of the workhorses of the criminal justice system.
There are two kinds of court in this country. The two courts are state and federal. In this essay I️ will be briefing you on the things that they have in common and the things they don’t have in common such as behavior in the court and the way they handle the state court room.
<br>Another common name for the Magistrates' Court is "the police court". This name was given to this particular court due to the fact that a majority of cases brought before this court involve the police having made an investigation of some kind and laying a charge. The prosecutor in these cases is usually a policeman.
On observing the District Court a number of distinctions from the Local Courts were immediately made apparent. Without going in to detail about the actual structure of the courts, they seemed to fit more closely with the traditional schema of a typical courtroom. In particular the larger courtrooms with more facilities combined with the barristers and magistrates wearing their wig and robes seemed to instantly uphold the ideology of justice. It is interesting to note how appearances can automatically provide an impression that justice will be upheld. The
Lay magistrates are very important to the legal system in England and wales. Lay magistrate’s also known as ‘Justices of the peace’ are volunteers in Magistrates courts as judicial officers. There are 21,500 lay magistrates currently in England and wales. Combined with professional magistrates in a magistrate’s court they take up to 95% of cases involving criminal charges . This essay will be investigating the actual importance of them as well as recommendations on diversifying the bench for the Lord Chancellor.
Lay magistrates are otherwise known as Justices of the Peace. Lay magistrates work is mainly connected to criminal cases although they also deal with some civil matters, especially family cases. Firstly, it is to be noted that lay magistrates only perform their duties
At the beginning to the book the magistrate is just an innocent bystander. He works for the Empire and does as he is told with a blind