lay people: magistrates & juries

what did the justices of the peace act 1361 do?

established the role of a magistrate or justice of the peace

what do lay people do?

volunteer to hear cases in the magistrates court
unpaid apart from expenses
must be able to commit 26 half days per year
also professional judges who sit alone in magistrate courts known as district judges

how much work do the lay magistrates do?

deal with approx 98% of criminal cases and make up 75% of judicial community
2016 - 17,552 serving lay magistrates (compared to 25,00 in 2012)
cases heard by panel of 3 magistrates called a bench and supported by a legally qualified justices’ clerk and legal advisor

what is the role of the criminal jurisdiction of the lay magistrates?

approx. 1 million cases in MC per year
sits as bench of 3
early administrative hearings
98% of criminal cases
try all summary offences
try most TEW offences
conduct sending for trial proceedings for indictable offences
dual role: act as judge and jury decide guilt + sentence

what is the role of the criminal jurisdiction of the lay magistrates (2)?

sentencing powers: 6 months imprisonment or 12 months for consecutive sentences/fines up to £50,000
can send to CC for sentencing if a more severe sentence is required
try most offences committed by young offenders in youth court
bail applications
issue search and arrest warrants
deal with some civil matters
sit with circuit judge in appeals to the CC

what is the role of the civil jurisdiction of the lay magistrates?

magistrates have a limited role
deal with non-payment of council tax/tv licences
responsible for issuing licences to betting shops and casinos
hear appeals from local authority decisions regarding the issuing of pub/restaurant licences

what is the justices’ clerk?

assist magistrates with law
qualified lawyers with a minimum of 5 year magistrates’ court experience
role is to advise/guide magistrates on questions of law, procedure and practice - set out in justices of the peace act 1979
give their advice in open court and cannot influence magistrates’ decision
important role and some have recommended increasing the role of the clerk to aid efficiency of magistrates

what are the required qualifications of magistrates?

be aged 18-65
commit to at least 26 half days per year

what qualities must magistrates not have?

not have any serious criminal convictions
not have been banned from driving in past 5-10 years
not been declared bankrupt

what 6 key qualities did the lord chancellor set out for magistrates to have?

good character
understanding and communication
social awareness
maturity and sound temperament
sound judgement
commitment and reliability

who appoints magistrates?

until 2013, lord chancellor was responsible but now appointed by lord chief justice

how does the selection of magistrates work?

approx. 700 new lay magistrates appointed per year
appointments made by lord chief justice who can delegate powers
relies on recommendations made by local authority committees

what is the selection process of magistrates?

advertisement
check eligibility
application form
references
interviews
recommendations
lord chief justice

how does advertisement help appoint magistrates?

used to encourage as wide a range of potential candidates as possible
placed in local newspapers
encourages people to go to open evening at local magistrates’ court

how does checking eligibility help appoint magistrates?

must check candidates meet requirements and 6 key qualities

how does an application form appoint magistrates?

must fill out standard application form available from ministry of justice which can be online/by post
apply to the local advisory committee

how do references help appoint magistrates?

local advisory committee will access applications and contact the applicant’s references

how do interviews help appoint magistrates?

at least 2 interviews before local advisory committee who will be comprised of maximum of 12 members and mixture of current/retired magistrates as well as non-magistrates
interview 1: panel will assess whether candidate has 5 key qualities and attitudes to aspects of criminal justice like drink driving
interview 2: tests candidates’ judicial aptitude through discussion of case studies which would be typical of those heard by magistrates

how do recommendations help appoint magistrates?

advisory committees will submit names of those they think suitable to lord chief justice
local advisory committees consider suitability of candidates and number of vacancies

how does the lord chief justice help appoint magistrates?

appointments are made by the lord chief justice for england/wales
once appointed magistrates may continue to sit until 70

how are magistrates trained?

lay magistrates rarely from a legal background so they receive mandatory training
assisted by justices’ clerk and legal advisor
training delivered by justices’ clerk who is guided by national syllabus produced by judicial college
training based on competences and usually asses through observations

what are the 5 stages of training of magistrates?

initial training
mentoring
core training
consolidation training
first appraisal

what is the initial training of magistrates?

basic introduction to role and responsibilities of magistrates
magistrates make court observations and visit prisons and young offender’s institutions

what is the mentoring part of training of magistrates?

6 formal mentored settings in the first 12-18 months
mentored settings used to discuss day’s events in court with mentor and reflect on how knowledge and skills have been applied during the day
identify further training/developmental needs

what is the core training of magistrates?

allows new magistrates to acquire/develop legal skills and knowledge/understanding
over first year - visits to penal institutions/observations take place to equip magistrates with key knowledge they need
every magistrate given core workbook for optional self-study

what is the consolidation training of magistrates?

after approx a year, new magistrate receives consolidation training
normally for equivalent of 2 days and includes training on law/procedure and skills development

what is the first appraisal of magistrates?

after first year, new magistrate will have first appraisal
another specially trained magistrate will sit as part of bench observing new magistrate and if they are demonstrating competence in the role
when successful, magistrate is deemed fully competent

how do magistrates continue their training throughout their careers?

appraisals take place every 3 years to ensure magistrate maintains competency
continuation training takes place once every 3 years before appraisals
update training on new legislation/procedures delivered to magistrates
threshold training accompanies each development and there is matching training process
may choose to undergo specialist skills needed for family/youth courts

how does the retirement and dismissal of magistrates work?

usually retire at 70
s.11 of courts act 2003 provides that lord chief justice can remove lay magistrate from office:
on grounds of incapacity/misbehaviour
persistent failure to meet standard of competence
neglecting duties
complaints about magistrates are made to the same body as judiciary - judicial conduct investigation office

what is the diversity of lay magistrates?

argument that magistrates don’t represent people they serve
similar criticisms to judiciary that they are ‘middle class, middle aged, middle minded’
reasons they tend to come from professional/middle class professions - availability to sit as magistrate, tend to be older

what are suspected factors for decline of magistrates?

april 2016 - 17,552 lay magistrates in england/wales but in2012 - 25,000 lay magistrates
factors:
magistrates no longer hear cases on licensing/anti social behaviour
crime is falling generally
many crimes being dealt with using out of court disposals

what are the gender statistics for lay magistrates?

female: 57%
male: 43%

what are the age statistics for lay magistrates?

under 50: 21%
50+: 79%
60+: 44%

what are the ethnicity statistics for lay magistrates?

white: 86%
asian/asian british: 7%
black/black british: 4%
mixed ethnicity: 1%
other: 1%

what are the advantages of lay magistrates?

active citizenship
more representative than professional judges - 57% women
better placed than judges in some instances
local knowledge - paul v DPP (1989) impacted kerb crawling
availability of judges - would need 1000 more judges
cheaper than professional judges - saves £100 million
justices’ clerk - constant access to advice
few appeals
public confidence

what are the disadvantages of lay magistrates?

under representation - made up of middle classes/managerial occupations
‘middle aged, middle class and middle minded’
21% under age of 50 - average age of 58.8
MCs are closing - access problems, losing ‘local’ knowledge
low acquittal rate
inconsistent in sentencing across different areas
case hardened and biased
over reliance on clerk

what are juries?

trial by jury has been a feature of english law for hundreds for years
1215 - magna carta included recognition of a person’s right to trial by ‘lawful judgement of his peers’
juries became usual method of trying criminal cases
way in which jury operates has developed over the years and now seen as central to administration of justice for serious criminal offences:
‘juries are the lamp that shows that freedom lives’

what is the role of juries in criminal cases?

one of most important civic duties
unpaid duty when called to do so
sit as bench of 12 and decide issue of guilt/innocence of D
independent and decisions cannot be challenged
act as ‘master of the facts’ while judge is ‘master of the law’
judge sums up evidence and directs juries

what is the role of juries in criminal cases (2)?

judge considers verdict in private
foreman leads discussions
should come to unanimous decision (or can be majority verdict of 11:1 or 10:2)
foreman delivers verdict to judge
have no role in sentencing

what is the role of juries in civil cases?

limited role used in exceptional cases
1998 - less than 1% of civil cases had jury
mainly sits in high court and county court - courts of first instance
HOL don’t sit with jury
only used in cases of false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and civil fraud
parties to the litigation or judge allocated to case may agree to dispense use of a jury
decide upon liability on a balance of probabilities
usual order for compensation in an award of damages, when used, the jury also decides on amount of damages to be awarded with guidance from judge

what is the role of juries in coroner’s court?

sits in court to decide a COD where death has occurred in suspicious circumstances:
deaths in police custody
deaths in prison
deaths caused by industrial accident
deaths where health and safety of public is involved
jury of 7-11 members used
example: hillsborough

what are the qualifications required to be a juror?

18-75
registered on electoral register
resident in the uk, channel islands, isle of man for at least 5 years since age 13
not qualified

what would disqualify someone becoming a juror?

persons on bail
serious criminal convictions

what are deferrals in relation to the qualification of jurors?

anyone can apply to defer jury duty:
exams
holiday
wedding
surgery
can be deferred once and must be retaken within 12 month period of deferral

which act sets out the eligibility of a person to become a juror?

juries act 1974

what are excusals in the qualification of jurors?

discretionary (up to court to grant) excusal can be applied for by anyone
automatic right of excusal applies to full time serving members of armed forces and those who’ve served as a juror in the last 2 years

how does the selection of a jury work?

at CC there is official who is responsible for summoning enough jurors from central summonsing bureau
names selected at random form electoral roll
summonsed must notify court of any reason why they should/cannot attend
all others expected to attend for at least 2 weeks
jurors receive set on notes briefly explaining procedure/functions of juror

which cases examples relate to the selection of a jury?

R v abdroikov: in 2 cases, serving police officers were on the jury, and in the third, a CPS solicitor. HOL held that this could give appearance of bias, contrary to right of a fair trial especially where police evidence is being challenged. appeals allowed and convictions quashed
hanif and khan v uk: ECtHR held presence of police officers on jury breached article 6 ECHR (fair trial). police officer on jury knew police witness in the case in professional capacity

what is contempt of court?

jury service is compulsory
failure to attend/be unfit for service (due to drugs/alcohol) is a criminal offence called contempt of court

which cases show contempt of court?

R v banks: matthew banks jailed for 14 years for missing jury service to see a musical in london. was in the middle of a trial and case had to be postponed for a day as a result
R v fraill: joanna fraill jailed for 8 months after sitting on a jury and contacting D on facebook to discuss the case

what did the criminal justice and courts act 2015 do?

created 4 new offences in relation to jury deliberations and researching a case
can result in 2 years in prison

what does s.71 of the criminal justice and courts act 2015 say?

created an offence of researching a case during the trial period. researching means intentionally seeking info that the juror knows will be relevant to the case. could be through asking a questions, searching the internet, visiting/inspecting a place/object

what does s.72 of the criminal justice and courts act 2015 say?

created an offence for juror to intentionally disclose info obtained under s.71 to another jury member

what does s.73 of the criminal justice and courts act 2015 say?

created an offence for a juror to engage in prohibited conduct, defined as trying the case other than on the basis of the evidence presented in proceedings

what does s.74 of the criminal justice and courts act 2015 say?

created an offence for the juror to intentionally disclose info about statements made, opinions expressed, arguments advanced or votes cast by jury members during deliberations

which case violated the procedure outlined in the criminal justice and courts act 2015?

R v smith and deane: smith carried out research on case he was trying - 9 month sentence suspended for 12 months
deane disclosed contents of jury deliberations after service - 3 month sentence suspended for 12 months

which cases illustrate jury vetting?

sheffield crown court ex parte brownlow: denning LJ thought jury vetting was unconstitutional except in some circumstances
r v ford: D was mixed race and preferred to be called black. arrested by mixed race constable for unlawful use of motor car. at CC D applied for multiracial jury
held: judge had no power to influence the composition of a jury, whether the reasons of race/sex

how does the selection at court work for juries?

court official chooses 15 people at random from those in assembly area
12 chosen from them
allows for random selection process to continue
before 12 are sworn in, possible (but rare) for juror to be challenged

what are the 3 ways jurors can be challenged?

challenge for the cause
challenge to the array
stand by the crown

what is a challenge for the cause?

challenge by defence/prosecution
request that a juror be dismissed because there is a reason to believe they cannot be air, unbiased or capable
biases include:
knowing someone in the case
prior experience in similar case
obvious prejudice
ineligibility/disqualification

what case illustrates a challenge for the cause?

r v gough: where a juror is challenged on the grounds of bias, the rest is whether there is a ‘real danger’ that they are biased

what is a challenge to the array?

challenge by defence/prosecution
whole jury is challenged on grounds the summoning officer is biased or acted improperly

which cases illustrate challenge to the array?

romford jury: out of panel of 12 jurors, 9 came from romford, with 2 of them living within 20 doors of each other on the same street
r v ford: no power for a judge to order a multiracial jury

what is a stand by the crown?

challenge by prosecution/judge
rarely used and only in cases of national security/terrorism and where vetting has been authorised
where used, permission of attorney general is needed

what are racial challenges when it comes to juries?

jury isn’t racially representative
groups like commission for racial equality have argued where race is an issue in a trial, jury should contain at least 3 ethnic minority individuals - auld report recommended this
government rejected this on grounds that it would undermine random principle

what are the advantages of jury trials?

active citizenship: ordinary citizen plays the role
less prosecution minded and less case hardened than judges
12 opinions safer than 1 judge
jury equity: verdicts can be viewed as those of society rather than those of professional lawyers/judges
impartiality/fairness: free from pressure/secrecy of jury room
evidence they don’t discriminate

what are the disadvantages of jury trials?

high acquittal rates compared to MC
makes trials slow/expensive: 3x cost of MC trials
lack of understanding: MOJ report says 2/3 of jurors don’t understand judge’s legal directions
media influence: high profile cases may not get fair trial
use of internet: r v marshall and crump
mccabe and purves found jury can be dominated by a strong individual

what are examples of jury trials?

r v young: used ouija board to decide if D was guilty to not
r v davey and beard: sentenced to 2 months imprisonment for contempt of court
r v fraill: sentenced to 8 months in prison after discussing trial on facebook with jamie stewart (D)
r v vicky pryce: jury dismissed after suffering what judge described as ‘absolutely fundamental deficits in understanding’

which report proposed reform to trial by jury?

leveson review

what does contempt of court 1981 do with a case example?

finds jurors who reveal how they came to a decision guilty of an offence
ag v scotchner: juror written to 3rd party revealing deliberations of jurors was in contempt of court. although right to freedom of expression in article 10 of ECHR was engaged, rule of governing secrecy of jury deliberations was a crucial/legitimate feature of english trial law

what are alternatives to jury trial?

trying cases with single judge
trying case with judge/lay persons
trial by bench of 3 judges
trial by ‘mini’ jury

what are arguments for the secrecy of the jury room?

jury members free from pressure during discussions and protected from outside pressures
people may be less willing to serve on jury if they knew their discussions were public due to possible repercussions
gives juries freedom to ignore strict letter of the law - kronlid, kings norton 6 if they believe the law is wrong

what are the arguments against the secrecy of the jury room?

no reasons need to be given for a verdict which makes it difficult to appeal
contempt of court act 1981makes it an offence to disclose, obtain or solicit info about what happened in a jury room so a juror cannot disclose even when a decision is made on very shaky grounds - mirza and connor v rollock
inquiries can be made into conduct of the jury room - marshall and crump, fraill. both required retrials but if the events had happened in the jury room no one would have known

what were sir brian leveson’s recommendations on juries?

removal of the right to elect crown court trial
creation of the crown court (bench division)
mandatory judge-alone trials for complex cases
defendant’s option for judge-alone trial

what is the removal of the right to elect crown court trial?

for offences that can be tried in either the MC or CC and carry a maximum sentence of 2 years or less, D would lose right to choose a jury trial in CC
cases dealt with in MC or new CC (bench division)

what is the creation of the crown court (bench division)?

new division of CC would be established where cases heard by judge sitting with 2 magistrates wirhout jury
division would handle either-way offences with anticipated sentence of 3 years or less upon conviction aiming to save thousands of jury sitting days

what is the mandatory judge-alone trials for complex cases?

serious/complex fraud cases and those of exceptional length would be tried by a judge alone to manage their complexity and length

what is the defendant’s option for judge-alone trial?

defendants in the CC could elect to be tried by a judge alone subject to judge’s consent

what is the rationale and reception for the need for reform of trial by jury?

primary driver is characterised as a record backlog of cases (over 76,000 in CC in early 2025) and associated long delays for Vs and Ds
sir brian argues the right is to a fair trial not necessarily a jury trial and these ‘drastic’ actions are essential for system’s survival/efficiency
proposals are controversial and have faced criticism from legal bodies like Bar council and human rights groups

what are criticisms of the leveson review?

right to a jury trial is fundamental, constitutional safeguard that ensures public confidence and trial by one’s peers
removing juries could disproportionately affect ethnic minority Ds as research suggests juries are less likely to show racial bias than judges
focus should be on addressing root causes of backlog such as underfunding, lack of lawyers and poor infrastructure, rather than fundamentally altering a cornerstone of the justice system