Criminal courts and lay people

What are the qualifications for a magistrates?

• must be 18–65

• SCRUMS:

  • Sound judgement

  • Good character

  • Reliable and committed

  • Understanding and communication

  • Mature and sound temperament

• must disclose all criminal convictions even the minor ones (rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not count)

• Must be a British national, cant be a police or army, cannot be an asylum seeker either

How are magistrates recruited?

• interviews from the Local advisory ccommitttee

• Do 2 interviews

• The first interview talks about the SCRUMS qualities the second is how they would act in court

• Background checks, DBS

How are magistrates appointed?

Under the Crime and Courts Act 2013, magistrates are now appointed by the Lord Chief Justice who delegates the function to the Senior presiding judge of the area.

How do magistrates operate before trial?

Where the. Hearing for the trials are, tif the D leads guilty in an indictable offence they will send them directly to the crown court or sentence them themselves. They deal with Bail andd custody issues under the Bail Act 1976..

How do magistrates operate during trial?

For Ds who plead not guilty summarily the bench will sit as a three. They listen to arguments from the prosecution and the defence. There will be a clerk who will help with the legal proceedings but the verdict will be made independantly by then magistrates themselves.

How do magistrates operate after trial?

For sentencing,

• can sentence up to 6 months or 12 months for consecutive sentences

• Maximum of 5000 pound fines but under LASPO 2012 they can give unlimited fines for level 5 offences.

• Though they can send to crown if needed

What are the qualifications for juries?

• under hte Juriess Act 19974 anyone on the electoral register aged 18-75 can apply.

• Must have lived in the uk for five years

How do expel be disqualified from being a jury?

Under the Juries (Disqualification) Act 1984 as amended by CJA 2003 you can be permaamnnently disqualified if youve been in on life sentence

Can be banned if ouve been a juror previously and have leaked info from the previous case.

Or you can be dismissed if you have serious mental health problems or if you have physical impairment such as being deaf

How do people defer from being a juror?

Can defer for up to a year. Most are for holidays and work commitments. You can also ask for deferral if you have exams or operations. After your deferral you might be called straight away. You can be fined or imprisoned for not attending.

How do people get excused from being a juror?

You can be excused for 12 months.

How do juries get selected?

Jurors are chosen at random from he electoral register.