Describe The Work of The Magistrates Court, The Problems and The Proposals for Reform

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Law (MS)                                                                        31/01/03

Describe The Work of The Magistrates Court, The Problems and The Proposals for Reform

Plan

English Legal System → 2 primary courts

↓                                               ↓

Crown Court                                Magistrates

↓                                        ↓

Professional judge and a jury        3 lay magistrates and the clerk of the court

Functions:

  • Granting of licences for premises
  • Issues warrants for premises/detention/bail
  • A filter in terms of offences-initially all cases (clearing house)

* Summary offences - minor offences – trial court

* Each way – minor or serious depending on the consequences (e.g. driving without due care and attention could lead to death by dangerous driving)

* Indictable offences – serious offences (magistrates look for sufficient evidence and then refer the case to the crown court)

 Composition:

  • 3 magistrates (lay people → none professionals) → local people who know about local circumstances.
  • Recruitment → 27-60
  • Retirement → 70 (or can be retired earlier for misconduct)
  • Who cannot be a magistrate?
  • How much training before becoming a magistrate? How much a year?
  • Clerk of the court who is usually referred to (this is a legal advisor with at least 5yrs standing (usually a solicitor or barrister))
  • In complex cases stipendiary magistrates are also present.  They are district judges who have a lot more training than lay magistrates.

Problems:

  • Inconsistent – punishments vary from one part of the country to another
  • Prosecution bias – the police are favoured more than the defendant instead of initially being equal
  • The magistrates are lay people who have no legal background and only limited legal knowledge → inadequate training?
  • The magistrates are overworked (lots of cases-lack of time)
  • Class/age/ethnic and social bias magistrates not really representative of society
  • The clerk is relied on too much

Dealing with the problems:

  • Modernising justice → The Auld Report, 2001

3 recommendations:

  1. Some cases to be transferred from the Crown Court to the Magistrates. This restricts the right of the defendant to choose where the case is heard (more pressure on magistrates and more complex cases)
  2. Proposal for a new court to look at middle ranking offences (1 judge, 2 lay magistrates → magistrates become rubber stands/judge takes over)
  3. Minor offences to be processed via post (e.g. failure to pay TV licence)
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  • The system needs to be revised (follow the U.S. using night courts)
  • The selection process for the magistrates needs to be widened
  • The clerks role needs to be revised
  • Improvements in consistency of punishments
  • Possibly put a judge on the bench with 2 magistrates to deal with more serious cases as well (although the judge may be too dominant or too much pressure may be put on them)

Appeals

Describe The Work of The Magistrates Court, The Problems and The Proposals for Reform

The English legal system has two main courts, the Crown Court and ...

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