Describe the Role and Power of Magistrates
There are some 30,374 lay magistrates in England and Wales, 15,858 men and
14,516 women, appointed by the Lord Chancellor or the Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster, in the name of the Crown. Magistrates are ordinary
members of the community who sit in the Magistrates' Courts and who
dispense justice the lowest level of the English court system. They are
unpaid for what they do and therefore are not servants of the Crown. This
supports their position of impartiality between the Crown and the public
whom they serve. English lay magistrates are not learned in the law - they
do not hold legal qualifications, nor have they formally studied law to
any level other than that which they may have done at school. There may be
some exceptions - there are legal professionals who are also lay
magistrates - but the vast majorities are just ordinary members of the
The Crown Court / Magistrates' Court at Newport, I...
English: Newport Crown Court Adjacent to the Magis...
English: Simple diagram of typical Crown Court lay...public. They do, however, undergo a vast amount of training so that they
can perform their judicial functions correctly and within the law. There
are three Magistrates (also known as justices of peace) who make decisions
in court. Only one magistrate has very limited powers e.g. warrants.
Magistrates take part in summery trials, committal proceedings, and
ancillary matters e.g. issuing warrants, bail applications, and youth
court and family court. Cases heard in the Magistrates' Court are termed
summary cases and are, supposedly, to be dealt with quickly with summary
justice. These tend to be the simple, petty crimes of everyday existence.
The Magistrates' Court used to be known as Petty Sessions. For more
serious crimes the accused is charged on indictment and sent to the Crown
Court to be tried there. In between summary and indictable offences there
are a whole range...