1. become a lay magistrate & be part of your community
2. Becoming a Magistrate You can be appointed from the age of
18 You will be a volunteer and meet a diverse group of people Do
not need qualifications as you will be assisted in court by
aqualified legal advisor Must be available for 13 full days or 26
half day court sittingsper year Can claim expenses, typically
travel to and from the court Can apply to become a magistrate with
certain criminalconvictions (Courts and Tribunal Judiciary,
2014)
3. Committed& ReliableWhat do you need tobecome a lay
magistrateSoundSound TemperamentJudgement
4. What you can gain from being a laymagistrate
5. The Magistrates Court
6. Cases heard at a Magistrates CourtYou will hear the
following types of cases Summary offences (less serious) including
motoringoffences and minor assaults Either-way offences such as
theft and certain drug offences Indictable-only offences including
murder, manslaughter orrape will be firstly heard at the
Magistrates Court then willbe passed to the Crown Court
7. Sentencing Powers Lay magistrates can impose a
maximumsentence of up to six months in prison for asingle offence,
and or a fine of up to 5,000 For more than one offence a lay
magistrate canimpose a maximum sentence of up to 12months in
prison, and or a fine of up to 5,000
8. An Interview with a lay magistratetalking about her
experience
9. We need the lay magistrates bench tobe representative of
your community There are very few young magistrates most are
middle-aged orolder. The average age of a magistrate is 57 and only
4% ofmagistrates are under 40 and almost a third are in their 60s.
In April 2013 the BAME population shows 91.7% of magistrates
arewhite compared to 85% of the population. Magistrates of Asian
origin are particularly under-represented with4.3% compared to 6.8%
in the population
10. Become a magistrate - applicationformTo download an
application form please
visit:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/become-a-magistrate-application-form
11. BibliographyCourts and Tribunal Judiciary, 2014. About the
Judiciary. [Online]Available at:
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/judges-career-paths/becoming-a-magistrate/[Accessed
22 November 2014].Gibbs, P., 2014. Magistrates: Representatives of
the People, London: Penelope Gibbs.Quinn, C. E. a. F., 2014.
Magistrates. In: English Legal System Fifteenth Edition.
Harlow:Pearson Education Ltd, pp. 274-292.
