Lay Magistrates In The Criminal Justice System

Lawyers and Laypeople: Magistrates in the Criminal Justice system

No other Criminal Justice System in the world is as dependant on lay magistracy as Great Britain. Lay magistrates administer over 95% of all criminal cases to completion and though they deal with the more peripheral and minor cases, the sum of 30,000 lay magistrates (aka Justices of the Peace) that exist in this country is a considerable amount compared to the 500 full time judges. It is worth noting that lay magistrates are not required to have any formal legal qualifications whatsoever and that in essence, they are just ordinary members of the public that have been deemed ethically sound. Depending on one’s viewpoint, lay magistracy could therefore be described as “a democratic
Summary offenses such as motoring crime and minor assaults along with triable either-way offenses such as petty theft are cases in which they operate to execute justice. A magistrate’s participation in civil proceedings is infrequent compared to criminal cases, but they can issue judgement in unpaid debt and tax cases along with family matters. Preliminary hearings in indictable offenses and cases in the Youth Court relating to persons below the age of 18 are also heard by lay magistrates. With no committal or jury, cases are normally heard as a bench of either two or three magistrates and the Justices’ Clerk who is present to provide legal advice, sentencing options and to help with case management and administration work. Morgan and Russell state “… magistrates decide both matters of facts and sentence” which outlines their role; to make decisions based on the evidence presented to them and consider appropriate sentences (Morgan R and Russell N, 2000, The Judiciary in the Magistrates’ Court). Their sentencing powers are constrained and they can bestow a maximum of six months imprisonment, two hundred and forty hours of community service or impose a fine of up to £5,000 per offense. Magistrates can appeal to the Crown Court if their sentencing powers are insufficient for a particular case. Additionally, they have the independent authority to issue search and arrest
The initial introductory training outlines the basics of their duties and the successful candidates will become familiar with organisation, administration and accountabilities of the bench. Subsequently, core training is conducted to help cultivate key skills that are fundamental for the role and an experienced magistrate acts as a mentor. Court sittings and visits to penal institutions then further enhance the magistrates’ breadth of knowledge. These fragments of training collectively aim to achieve four areas of competence. These are the Magistrates National Training Incentives 2004: self-management, working as a team, making judicial decisions and managing judicial decision making. Jacqueline Martin states ‘training is not meant to make magistrates proficient in the law, but to give them an understanding of their duties’ , however, sentencing is a principal element (Martin J, 2008, Law AS & A2, Essex, Pearson Education Ltd). Many have labelled lay magistrates ‘amateurs’ due to their alleged inadequate legal training. However, Slapper and Kelly argue that the guiding role of the Justices’ Clerk serves to smooth out gaps in the magistrates’ experience or knowledge. Both argue magistrates cannot have a complete grasp of substantive law and legal practise and that unrealistic expectations of such would be to misunderstand the division of responsibility between the Magistrate and Justices’ Clerk