In my last blog post, we looked at some of the advantages of magistrates and their courts. In this week’s blog post, we will be considering the reverse of this – some of the disadvantages of having magistrates and how they can have a detrimental effect on the justice system. However, before we start looking at these disadvantages, we will first quickly review what magistrates are and the role they play.
What are Magistrates?
Magistrates are also known as Justices of the Peace and make up around 85% of the judiciary, so you can see how vital they are for the justice system to function effectively. In total, there are around 14,000 magistrates sitting in England and Wales in criminal, family and youth courts. They work on a part-time, unpaid basis, although employers are required to give them time off to attend cases, but they do not have to pay them for this time.
So, who can be a magistrate? Magistrates are aged between 18 and 70, although they will not usually accept new magistrates over 65, as it is expected that they will serve for at least five years. You do not need to have any prior legal knowledge or training to become a magistrate, just common sense and the ability to make fair decisions. Magistrates must not have any serious criminal convictions, but some minor ones may be allowed. However, there cannot be multiple minor convictions, such as a string of driving offences.
Magistrates must have six key qualities. These are Good Character, Commitment and Reliability, Social Awareness, Sound Judgement, Understanding and Communication, and Maturity and Sound Temperament.
Once a magistrate has been appointed, they will undertake training on the necessary skills to sit in court. This does include some legal knowledge, such as the type of case they can expect to hear but mostly focuses on the procedures used in court and how they should come to their decision. Magistrates will be advised by a Justices’ Clerk in court on legal details.
In court, magistrates sit on panels of three. One will be the chair, for which they receive additional training; however, all three magistrates have equal weight in the decision. The chair simply keeps proceedings moving. The other two magistrates are called wingers.
Disadvantages of Magistrates
Not Representative
One of the main criticisms of magistrates is that they are not representative of society. Magistrates tend to be white, middle-aged or older and from a professional background, despite this not being the case for the majority of defendants. This can unfairly influence their decision or cause them to see the defendant in a negative light.
Ideally, magistrates would be from a cross-section of society, representing all of it equally. This would mean that they could make decisions impartially, treating all defendants the same so that all similar cases have the same outcome. This is vital to ensure fairness and predictability in the justice system.
Another result of magistrates being unrepresentative is that people may not believe that they are trustworthy. This reduces faith in the justice system and means that people feel unfairly treated or that the outcome would have been different for someone else.
Case Hardened
Magistrates may also become case hardened. This happens when they hear many similar cases and start to judge them all in the same way, without taking into account any unique elements of the case. This can result in defendants being convicted unfairly or punished too harshly for a situation that is familiar to the magistrate but is actually distinct from previous cases.
Again, this can cause people to lose trust in magistrates, as outcomes do not seem fair to them. In addition, important legal distinctions can then be missed by magistrates, giving more work to the appeal courts or creating an injustice if the defendant cannot afford to or does not want to appeal.
Biased Towards Prosecution
Furthermore, magistrates can be biased towards the police’s version of events, leading to them favouring the prosecution. If it comes down to the defendant’s word against the police’s, they will be more likely to believe the police, which can lead people to become disillusioned with the justice system.
Magistrates will also become familiar with the police in their local area, increasing the likelihood of them being biased towards the police. In addition, as magistrates are untrained, they can be easily swayed by the prosecution.
Inconsistent
In addition, magistrates can be inconsistent in their sentencing. As they are only obliged to work 26 half days, they may well forget the exact penalties they have applied before. This creates uncertainties in the law and is unfair for defendants.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you understand some of the disadvantages of magistrates. In my next blog post, we will be looking at the advantages of the Law Commission, so come back in two weeks for that!
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