In criminal cases, magistrates have four main functions:
- Hearing applications for bail.
- Set guidelines for people they release
- Hear committal proceedings
- Try criminal cases
There are many advantages of using lay magistrates for example, The system involves members of the community and provides a wider
cross-section on the bench than would be possible with the use of professional judges.
Because Lay magistrates are just average, but professional people such as teachers, doctors etc. it is an advantage because they can see what goes on in their community and so are more in touch with realistic issues, this also pleases public opinion of magistrates.
Improved training means that lay magistrates are not complete ‘amateurs’. New magistrates are given about 40 hours of training spread over the first three years. This consists of:
- Observing court proceedings and learning ‘on the job’
- Attending lectures and workshops
- Visiting penal institutions
The training is not meant to make magistrates proficient in the law, but to give them an understanding of their duties. A major part of the training is aimed at sentencing. Magistrates on the Youth panel and the Family panel receive extra training for this.
A legally qualified clerk is available to give advice. Every bench is assisted by a clerk. The main duty is to guide the magistrates on questions of law, practice and procedure. The clerk should not assist in the decision-making. Clerks have been given increased power to deal with routine matters at early administrative hearings.
It is cheap both for the government and for the defendant. The only money paid to lay magistrates is that of expenses. In 1989 the system cost 200 million pounds a year to run but brought in an income of 270 million pounds from fees, fines and penalties. If professional judges were being payed to deal with these cases it is estimated that in salaries alone, per year, would cost in excess of 100 million. It would also take a long time to become qualified and there would be a massive backlog of cases because there are no where near as many professional judges as there are lay magistrates.
Cases are dealt with relatively quick which helps prevent backlog.
There are few appeals from magistrate’s decisions.
There are also many disadvantages of using lay magistrates. Lay magistrates tend to be middle-class, middle-aged and middle minded and will have little in common with the young working class defendants who make up the majority of defendants.
Both working-class and ethnic minorities are under-represented.
The training that magistrates receive is also inadequate for the workload.
A major criticism of lay magistrates is that they tend to be prosecution biased, believing the police too readily. They only acquit about 25% of cases and some magistrates may rely too heavily on their clerk.
There is inconsistency in sentencing and in the granting of bail and the workload is becoming too great and complicated especially in the family court.
