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Describe the Role of Lay Magistrates in a Magistrates Court Written by Hannah Berryman (Oct 2013). Introduction Lay magistrate, sometimes called Justices of the Peace, are ordinary people, with no legal qualifications that make decisions in magistrates courts. The office of the Justice of the Peace dates back to the twelfth century. Nowadays there are around 29 000 people sitting as part time magistrates in state run magistrates courts around the UK. They usually sit and hear cases as a Bench of two or three; a single lay magistrate only has limited power. Magistrates play many different roles within a magistrates court, these include; dealing with criminal and civil cases, participating in criminal preliminary hearings, hearing appeals from the refusal of a local authority to grant certain licences and some specialised magistrates work even work in youth courts. Criminal Cases A criminal case is where someone is tried for engaging in activity that has been outlawed by legislature or the government because it is deemed antisocial in nature. Ninety seven per cent of cases heard by magistrates in magistrate’s courts are criminal (2). Almost all criminal court cases start in a magistrates’ court, over 90 per cent will be finished there. More serious offences are then handed on to the Crown Court, for either sentencing after the defendant has been found guilty in a magistrates’ court, or for full trial with a judge and jury. Magistrates deal with less serious criminal cases; this includes motoring offences, petty theft, minor criminal damage etc. Most of these cases are brought to court by the Crown Prosecution Service. Where a defendant pleads ‘not guilty’ a trial will be held where the magistrates listen to, and sometimes see, evidence presented by both the prosecution and defence. They then decide on agreed facts and facts in dispute and consider whether the case has been proved beyond reasonable doubt. Having found someone guilty or when someone has pleaded, the magistrates proceed to sentence using a structured decision making process and sentencing guidelines which set out the expected
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http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/you-‐and-‐the-‐judiciary/going-‐to-‐court/magistrates-‐court https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=criminal+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=1exCUtKIBsfU 0QXno4CwAQ&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNE0R2Eg0TepAnH3vAruFYowjIxfSQ (3) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=civil+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=ruxCUu7WG8yS1AX4_ 4CgBg&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNF3CxSuNcc_6oydwocMIzC4CmFctA (4) The English Legal System, Jacqueline Martin (5) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=preliminary+hearing&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preliminary_hearing&rct=j&sa=X&ei=q u1CUvuQHMiU0AWg84CYBA&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNFjB0Xzo2p1wARYlRgFBoEqqw1yuQ (6) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (7) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (8) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐foyle-‐west-‐22921313 (9) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐england-‐london-‐22934278 (10) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐21943555
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penalty for typical criminal offences. They will also take note of case law and any practice directions from the higher courts and are advised in the court by a legally qualified adviser. For a single criminal offence committed by an adult, a magistrate's sentencing powers include the imposition of fines, Community Payback orders, probation orders or a period of not more than six months in custody (a total of 12 months for multiple offences). Magistrates may also sit in the Crown Court with a judge to hear appeals from magistrates' courts against conviction or sentence and proceedings on committal to the Crown Court for sentence. (1) An example of a criminal case heard in a magistrate’s court was in August 2013 a man stood trial accused of moving more than £200,000 in a scheme allegedly linked to Chinese Triads. Wen Zyang, 23, of no fixed address, appeared before Belfast Magistrates' Court; he faced a total of nine charges including possessing, transferring and concealing criminal property, along with having false identity documents (7). Civil Cases Only small percentages, around three per cent, of cases heard in magistrate’s court are civil. A civil court case is a legal case which involves civil or common law which involves disputes between individuals or organizations in which some form of compensation is awarded (3). The types of civil cases held in magistrate’s courts include; the enforcing of debts owed to utilities, non-‐payment of tv licences etc. More than one in 10 criminal prosecutions in 2012 was for non-‐payment of the BBC licence fee. A total of 181,880 people were summoned to appear at magistrates' courts in England for the offence last year. The authority was contracted by the BBC to collect and enforce the fee, which is £145.50 for a colour television. Most people who own a television set, or who stream live broadcasts through their computer, must pay the annual charge. Those who do not face a fine of up to £1,000; anyone who refuses, or is unable, to pay the fine could face prison. The number of people caught watching TV without a licence has remained steady since 2010, at about 400,000. The number of prosecutions for evasion has risen from 164,444 in 2010 to 181,880 in 2012, Ministry of Justice figures show. With magistrates handling 1.48m cases in 2012, licence fee evasion accounts for 12% of their workload. About 15% of the cases, a total of 26,745, were unsuccessful last year (6). Youth Court
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http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/you-‐and-‐the-‐judiciary/going-‐to-‐court/magistrates-‐court https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=criminal+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=1exCUtKIBsfU 0QXno4CwAQ&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNE0R2Eg0TepAnH3vAruFYowjIxfSQ (3) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=civil+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=ruxCUu7WG8yS1AX4_ 4CgBg&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNF3CxSuNcc_6oydwocMIzC4CmFctA (4) The English Legal System, Jacqueline Martin (5) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=preliminary+hearing&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preliminary_hearing&rct=j&sa=X&ei=q u1CUvuQHMiU0AWg84CYBA&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNFjB0Xzo2p1wARYlRgFBoEqqw1yuQ (6) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (7) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (8) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐foyle-‐west-‐22921313 (9) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐england-‐london-‐22934278 (10) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐21943555
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Specially trained and nominated justices form the youth court panel and hear criminal charges against juvenile offenders aged ten to seventeen. The magistrates must be under the age of sixty five and there must also be at least one man and one woman on the Bench (4). In criminal cases the youth court can deal with all offences committed by a juvenile (someone under 18 years old) except homicide, which is dealt with in a higher court. Sentences are different; they specifically address the needs of young offenders, young defendants should always be accompanied by a responsible adult when they appear in court unless they are mature enough to be considered independent of their parents. June 2013 saw an example of a case heard at a youth court by a magistrate; the court was told Teenagers were organising sectarian fights in a County Londonderry town centre. Police said the trouble near Coleraine railway station could result in someone being seriously injured or worse. An incident, captured on CCTV, showed a person fall onto the railway line after being repeatedly punched and kicked. Facts emerged as an 18-‐year-‐old man appeared before Coleraine Magistrates' Court sitting in Belfast charged over two separate incidents. Jonathan Neill, of Westbourne Crescent in the town, faced two accounts of disorderly behaviour and fighting and making an affray. The alleged offences were committed at Bridge Street and Railway Street on 1 and 13 June. Opposing bail, a PSNI officer told the court the case was part of an investigation into the trouble. A defence lawyer said that the accused has not been charged with assault; he also challenged the decision to bring affray charges. The courts heard police searches for other suspects identified on the CCTV footage and were on-‐ going. District Judge Bernadette Kelly raised the possibility of Mr Neill making contacting with them before they were detained. On that basis she adjourned the bail application until the next Monday. Mr Neill was remanded in custody to appear in court again by video-‐link. Criminal Preliminary Hearings A preliminary hearing in a magistrate’s court is where a magistrate must decide whether a (minor) criminal crime was committed before a court case takes place (5). This is where a magistrate will hear evidence put forward and decide whether it is sufficient enough to go forward with the case. An example of a preliminary hearing heard in a magistrate’s court was in March 2013. Charges were brought against suspects following serious street disorder. Twenty police officers were injured in wider clashes surrounding an Orange Order parade and counter-‐demonstration by nationalist residents. Petrol bombs, fireworks and other missiles were thrown as violence flared. Ten gunshots were also fired at police from a semi-‐automatic rifle. (1) (2)
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/you-‐and-‐the-‐judiciary/going-‐to-‐court/magistrates-‐court https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=criminal+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=1exCUtKIBsfU 0QXno4CwAQ&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNE0R2Eg0TepAnH3vAruFYowjIxfSQ (3) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=civil+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=ruxCUu7WG8yS1AX4_ 4CgBg&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNF3CxSuNcc_6oydwocMIzC4CmFctA (4) The English Legal System, Jacqueline Martin (5) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=preliminary+hearing&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preliminary_hearing&rct=j&sa=X&ei=q u1CUvuQHMiU0AWg84CYBA&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNFjB0Xzo2p1wARYlRgFBoEqqw1yuQ (6) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (7) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (8) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐foyle-‐west-‐22921313 (9) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐england-‐london-‐22934278 (10) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐21943555
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Appearing before the city's magistrates' court for a preliminary enquiry hearing were: Martin Faulkner, 41, from the Antrim Road; Paul Faulkner, 31, of Queens Parade; Brian Gavin, 19, of Woodside Park, Dunmurry; Colin Loughlin, 21, from Filbert Drive, Dunmurry; Christopher McDonnell, 23, of Wyndham Street; Daniel Neill, 20, from Newington Street; Christopher Stitt, 23, of Carrick Hill; and Liam Thompson, 25, from Cliftonville Avenue, all in Belfast, and Pearse Toman, 25, of Garland Crescent, Lurgan, County Armagh. Each of them faced a charge of riotous assembly on 12 July last year. Mr Gavin is further accused of causing criminal damage to a BMW car while Mr Neill is also charged with an arson attack on a Citroen vehicle. Mr Stitt faces a second count of taking a motor vehicle without consent, and Mr Toman is alleged to have thrown a petrol bomb. Each of the accused spoke to confirm they understood the charges against them. They all declined to call witnesses or give evidence at this stage in proceedings. District Judge Harry McKibbin granted an application for the men to be returned for trial at Belfast Crown Court on a date to be fixed. They were all released on continuing bail until that hearing got underway. (10) Appeals from the Refusal of a Local Authority to Grant Certain Licences An appeal is to make a serious or urgent request, typically to the magistrate within the magistrate’s court. The local community sometimes appeal to have certain licences disallowed, such as gaming associations, the business then often appeals for their authority to grant their certain licence to be reconsidered. In June 2013 Paddy Power won its appeal over an east London council's refusal to allow it to open a betting shop in the area. The company was in dispute with Newham Council, which had rejected its licence application for a new shop in East Ham. There are about 80 betting shops in Newham, the third highest number in any London borough. Newham argued the branch of Paddy Power planned in East Ham would attract crime and anti-‐social behaviour and so would be in breach of the 2005 Gambling Act. The betting firm had made the application for a licence to operate on Green Street in East Ham in February. Following the ruling at Thames Magistrates' Court, the council said it would review the judgement and consider its next step. Giving his judgement, District Judge Paul Goldspring said: "It has not been proved that the granting of the licence would not be reasonably consistent with [the] objective of preventing crime and disorder and therefore I disagree with the decision of the [council's] sub-‐committee and, in light of the evidence before me, it was wrong. Newham Council, the local authority has said it was "deeply disappointed" and will explore whether there is scope for "judicial review". The betting firm said it was pleased with the ruling. (9) (1) (2)
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/you-‐and-‐the-‐judiciary/going-‐to-‐court/magistrates-‐court https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=criminal+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=1exCUtKIBsfU 0QXno4CwAQ&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNE0R2Eg0TepAnH3vAruFYowjIxfSQ (3) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=civil+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=ruxCUu7WG8yS1AX4_ 4CgBg&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNF3CxSuNcc_6oydwocMIzC4CmFctA (4) The English Legal System, Jacqueline Martin (5) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=preliminary+hearing&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preliminary_hearing&rct=j&sa=X&ei=q u1CUvuQHMiU0AWg84CYBA&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNFjB0Xzo2p1wARYlRgFBoEqqw1yuQ (6) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (7) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (8) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐foyle-‐west-‐22921313 (9) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐england-‐london-‐22934278 (10) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐21943555
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Discuss the Advantages & Disadvantages of Using Lay Magistrates Rather Than District Judges
Introduction Lay magistrates are normal people with no legal qualifications which are hired by the state to make decisions in magistrate’s courts. District judges on the other hand are legally qualified people who are hired by the state to make decisions in magistrate’s court. When comparing the two you can see there are clear advantages and disadvantages to using lay magistrates rather than District Judges, some of these include; an advantage is they are seen to have a better moral judgement, another advantage is they are cheaper than District Judges however a disadvantage is lay magistrates are sometimes seen as being ignorant to the law compared to district judges. Moral Judgement One advantage of using a lay magistrate rather than a district judge is they have a better moral judgement. Unlike district judges lay magistrates are not influenced by the state; they have no legal qualifications and therefore are able to make choices mad on their own moral opinions rather than what the law deems as right. To become a lay magistrate you must live or work fifteen miles from your local court which you are sitting in. This then means, usually, the magistrate has good local knowledge and is able to base their decisions on this knowledge. This differs to using a district judge who may not live or work anywhere near the local area and not have much local knowledge and then cannot use local knowledge effectively; they will base their judgement purely on the conviction rather than on the person or people involved. Therefore overall because the lay magistrate lives in or near the local area they are able to base their decisions on aspects of the local community and consequently have a better moral and open judgement which they do not solely base on facts of the law. Cost (1) (2)
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/you-‐and-‐the-‐judiciary/going-‐to-‐court/magistrates-‐court https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=criminal+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=1exCUtKIBsfU 0QXno4CwAQ&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNE0R2Eg0TepAnH3vAruFYowjIxfSQ (3) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=civil+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=ruxCUu7WG8yS1AX4_ 4CgBg&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNF3CxSuNcc_6oydwocMIzC4CmFctA (4) The English Legal System, Jacqueline Martin (5) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=preliminary+hearing&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preliminary_hearing&rct=j&sa=X&ei=q u1CUvuQHMiU0AWg84CYBA&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNFjB0Xzo2p1wARYlRgFBoEqqw1yuQ (6) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (7) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (8) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐foyle-‐west-‐22921313 (9) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐england-‐london-‐22934278 (10) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐21943555
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Another advantage of using lay magistrates rather than district judges is that lay magistrates are usually much cheaper than district judges; they often cost is fifty two pound per court sitting whereas district judges cost on average around sixty one pounds per court sitting. This is mainly because district judges are legally qualified which makes them stereotypically appear better than lay magistrates. This is an advantage because both lay magistrates and district judges are paid for by the state, which means the people are paying for them. Therefor the government funded magistrates courts clearly want to find the cheapest alternative to district judges and this would be to use lay magistrates. Legal Training On the other hand there are some disadvantages to using lay magistrates rather than district judges. One of these includes that they are not legally qualified; this can sometimes be perceived that they are ignorant to the law and should therefore not be used. District judges, unlike lay magistrates, must have a qualification (within the past five years) as either a barrister or solicitor. Furthermore before becoming district judge potential candidates usually sit part-‐time as deputy district judges in magistrate’s courts to gain experience. Hence district judges can be perceived as being more effective to use in magistrates courts because they have better knowledge of the law and therefore are able to base their decisions on the true, factual law rather than using lay magistrates who are ignorant to the law and are seen to not truly know what the law is and don’t base convictions on facts, but on their own personal judgement. Conclusion Overall there are both advantages and disadvantages to using lay magistrates over district judges. In conclusion different people will have different opinions on which is the better method to use in magistrates court. Generally the majority of people would prefer the use of lay magistrates to district judges because they speak more for the people and local community whereas district judges make decisions based more on the exact law.
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http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/you-‐and-‐the-‐judiciary/going-‐to-‐court/magistrates-‐court https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=criminal+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=1exCUtKIBsfU 0QXno4CwAQ&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNE0R2Eg0TepAnH3vAruFYowjIxfSQ (3) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=civil+case&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_case&rct=j&sa=X&ei=ruxCUu7WG8yS1AX4_ 4CgBg&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNF3CxSuNcc_6oydwocMIzC4CmFctA (4) The English Legal System, Jacqueline Martin (5) https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=preliminary+hearing&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preliminary_hearing&rct=j&sa=X&ei=q u1CUvuQHMiU0AWg84CYBA&ved=0CCwQkA4oAA&usg=AFQjCNFjB0Xzo2p1wARYlRgFBoEqqw1yuQ (6) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (7) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-‐arts-‐23792388 (8) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐foyle-‐west-‐22921313 (9) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐england-‐london-‐22934278 (10) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-‐northern-‐ireland-‐21943555
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