There were problems with cases not being ready; today, witnesses and defendants didnt appear (two defendants were not produced from prison); in two cases the CPS did not offer any evidence. This speeds up court proceedings, helping to reduce the time cases spend getting to and being heard in court, relieving some of the pressure on the legal system. Change). As the UPSC exams are conducted for the whole country, in the same way, AIJS will be conducted for the judges on the central level. You will get full training for the. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. Julie said that the hardest part for her is seeing people who are there who have lost everything: The thing I find hard is people who are in front of the court for no fault of their own. There are many advantages of magistrates and being able to discuss these in your work can help you with essay questions. To read 1 law content daily, message LAW on WhatsApp: 9128523662. Earn your bachelor's degree. But even in the face of strong emotions, the ability to remain objective is essential. Read Next: 1. We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. Judges often hire law clerks one to two years in advance of the date on which the clerk will actually start working for the judge. Due to this reason, it is rightly said that a law degree can open the door to a wide range of careers that other degrees may not. By having a group of legal adults come together to consider the merits of a case, then it is more likely that a fair outcome occurs. Some interviewees were so unhappy that they felt unable to encourage anyone to join the magistracy. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. No formal qualifications are required but potential magistrates must go through a selection process, which includes rigorous screening. But Agnes argues it benefits everyone.. Those who had sat for many years felt their relationship with the court service had declined considerably. The person must pass the test administered by the judicial service. Deciding whether a prison sentence or a Community Order is most appropriate can be the catalyst for someone turning their life around. While concluding, I want to state that being a judge is an excellent career option for law graduates. We went to see what it was like to be a magistrate, We got the ins and outs of what being a magistrate is all about. Still, on the other hand, this profession requires a lot of hard work and dedication, from preparing for the judicial examination to becoming a judge. "Defendants are supposed to be judged by their peers but how can that work when you're in your 60s and there's a 25-year-old in the dock?". I also wanted to experience an area of life that I would ordinarily never see and fulfil my civic duty. Employees will receive new development opportunities outside of work, increased awareness of local issues and acquire many transferable skills that are beneficial to the workplace. But because of the time commitment involved and the fact that the role is filled by unpaid volunteers, the majority of magistrates are middle-class retired professionals. You hear the life story of homeless people, and theyre standing in front of you with absolutely nothing and you think to yourself how can I deal with this? Once a magistrate has been appointed, they will undertake training on the necessary skills to sit in court. Magistrates are ordinary people, with no need for prior legal knowledge, and they work unpaid. State supreme court justices and appellate court judges often have at least one law clerk. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. "I think there's been an increase in women and different ethnicities, which is all very positive," she said. ", 'Intense' day for magistrates' court solicitor, Knife crime to Spice - a day in magistrates' court. Copyright Get Revising 2023 all rights reserved. IV, 10; N.C.G.S. Will I get time off work to sit as a magistrate? Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. I felt that I had been called upon to truly serve the community. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. I find all the interference behind the scenes which blocks us from doing what we want to do totally and utterly irritating. Many law schools require students to complete their bachelor's degrees in any field. Another agreed: for me, its less about remuneration than about the efficiency of the process I feel Id be valued more if there werent days like I had today. As of April this year there were 1,059 magistrates in Wales. Many magistrates, particularly those who suffered financially through sitting, resented being treated like employees rather than volunteers. Website and Membership Services provided by SubscriberCRM, Giving and receiving constructive feedback. Something went wrong, please try again later. When you look at a defendant regardless of the circumstances you look at them as human beings.. Thats all changed. The preliminary examination is an MCQ-based paper, and the person qualifying for this exam will be entitled to appear for the mains examination. However, it doesnt make it any less hard if they are independent. The judicial service exam has three phases, i.e., preliminary, mains, and interview. Being a magistrate is a voluntary role, but you can claim expenses. "Sometimes it's inevitable they go back into remand, but it's always very much based on the individual. * Magistrates receive up to two years on-the-job training, which is topped up throughout their service. Magistrates must sit for a minimum of 26 half-day sessions a year - or 13 full days. Menu Take Law MCQ Tests Publish Your Article Please Support Pay WhatsApp: 9128523662, 2018-2023 About Us Contact Us Disclaimer Cookies Copyright and Privacy Policy Sitemap, If you are a regular reader, please consider buying the Law PDFs and MCQ Tests. You will have enough time to balance your personal and professional life. I asked him if he wanted to show us something, and he brought forward this piece of paper which showed he had his first negative drug test and he was so proud of it. Your email address will not be published. For me its a way of doing something that actually benefits people, its a way of giving back to the community. Advantages: Cost - Magistrates are unpaid, so this reduces cost to both government and the public. Unrepresentative of society- Only people with free time. Greek transport minister resigns after deadly train crash, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. This interference means the lack of influence of magistrates as a body; the magistracy is being run by the civil service. Magistrates must have six key qualities. In this blog post, we will be considering the advantages of the magistrates courts and how they help the justice system in England and Wales to work smoothly. I started sitting in Wigan in 1996. Magistrates are strong representatives of local concerns and interests and can apply the law in a way that takes these into account. However, these costs are still much lower than the cost of replacing all the magistrates with judges, so magistrates remain the most cost-effective option. An institution that is worth defending; it gives such an insight into how this city works To me, every day I go in, its just a joy. When addressing a counsel, litigant, or witness, a judge should avoid using a controversial tone or attitude. Theres been a turn-over of staff. The jury system uses a specific group size to help reduce bias. Find out about how being a magistrate can benefit you as an employee. Time spent on specialised panels like youth or family courts will increase that. "Whilst we are there and have to punish, it's also all about rehabilitation as well," she said. Legal guidelines state magistrates should be from a range of backgrounds, reflecting the community they serve in terms of race, gender, occupation, political affiliation and where they live. Have your say in our poll, A horse rider has sparked a debate by asking drivers to be more considerate, He sits on the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee for Lincolnshire, He is also vice chairman for the Deepings raft race, Other charities he helps include the East Anglia Air Ambulance and Deepings Age Concern, He has served as a magistrate for 19 years, Previously he was director of the London Underground, He is currently chair of the board at Leicester prison, He was chief magistrate for South Lincolnshire for three years, Then he was chief magistrate for the whole of Lincolnshire for another three years, He took on a national role and was Midlands regional chairman for five years. Let us discuss whether becoming a judge will be a fruitful career for you or not. And when you have that eye-opener, it makes you sometimes a better person, sitting with different people with different ways of thinking it helps you develop as a person. Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric'. It gives the power to erode the evils existing in society. Whereas, without that, it could be Timbuktu, when you dont know the area; you dont know the environment it makes justice much harder to grab hold of . An average day for a magistrate will involve sitting on the bench in a court room for the morning and afternoon sessions and make judgements based on the law on a variety of cases. Magistrate Roger Sanders. On the other hand the disadvantage of magistrates is that there is a . At present magistrates must retire at 70 and the current recruitment drive is also hoping to improve the diversity of the bench. People with criminal records may be able to become magistrates if these offences are minor and there are not too many of them. Show Will my employment affect my eligibility to become a magistrate? Fewer than 5% identify as black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) - one of the lowest proportions compared to English regions, although in line with the Welsh population. "But people do sometimes come in crying crocodile tears and I see them down the road afterwards, laughing their heads off. Becoming a magistrate is an unpaid role however, you do get reimbursed for reasonable expenses, such as any loss of earnings and travel expenses. A judge must hear both the parties (prosecution and defence). The salary for clerkships can also deter people from clerking. A number of magistrates complained that the pace of change was swift and that the training was inadequate. Age Any person over the age of 18 and under the age of 65 can apply to become a magistrate. Find out what they had to say here. Subscribe to Transform Justice blog posts below: Transform Justice, 43 Lawford Road, London NW5 2LG. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. The primary difference between a judicial magistrate and an executive magistrate is that a judicial magistrate can handle all the cases and grant punishment for up to 3 years. You will be gaining a lot of insight into the dos and donts of lawyering as a law clerk! Before we start thinking about the advantages of magistrates, we will first consider what they are and how the magistrates' courts work. The family court is a real eye-opener. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Carmine Proofreading, 20172022. There are a small number of jobs that can exclude someone from being a magistrate where this would create a conflict of interest, for example, being part of the police force. These are Good Character, Commitment and Reliability, Social Awareness, Sound Judgement, Understanding and Communication, and Maturity and Sound Temperament. As mentioned above, magistrates do not need to already have legal knowledge or training. For Roger, the most satisfying aspect of the job is making sure everyone gets a fair hearing. I always wanted to know more about how the Bench arrived at their decisions, what were the processes involved. Also, the training given to every magistrate can be expensive. Named one of the fastest growing companies in the United States. A person appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court must be a citizen of India and possess a degree of Law from a recognised university. Candidates called for interviews are three times the number of vacancies available. The magistracy benefits from having younger people in it, and younger people benefit from having been a part of the magistracy too. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. Justices of the Peace should be able to listen to all sides of an argument and arrive at fair and reasonable decisions - a quality which I test continuously during domestic disputes between my three children. Professional Proofreading and Copy-Editing. What are Magistrates? Other graduates may hold positions in the legislature and executive branch but not in the judiciary. 51% are women, 8% are ethnic minorities. They're also supported by a legal assistant, or clerk - a qualified barrister or solicitor, who can give them advice on points of law. N.C. Agnes first moved to Wales in 1986 and describes herself as a "British Malaysian Indian". It is often highly regarded. Principal correspondent at Catch, Suhas studied engineering and wrote code for a living before moving to writing mystery-shrouded-pall-of-gloom crime stories. They are appointed by the President on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. State court judges and justices also hire law clerks. You can also change some of your preferences. Benefits and Allowances of a Judge Apart from the monthly salary, a judge is entitled to a lot of monthly allowances given below: House rent allowance Travel allowance Electricity bill Phone bill Vehicle maintenance Pension after retirement Executive Magistrate vs Judicial Magistrate Many felt that they enjoyed no real support from central government and that government appear to us lot to really want to see the end of the lay magistracy. I had five trials, but it was shambolic, and only two were kind of done. My name is Ankur. Completed applications should be sent to LRLN-JudicialSupportTeam@justice.gov.uk . This was particularly heartfelt in the Welsh focus group, what you have is a civil service approach, imposed from Englandin an office in London looking at a map saying why on Earth are there loads of courts next to each other? No understanding whatsoever of the topographic, the tribal differences between those valleys and communities or the difficulty in getting from one of those areas to the next because they are valleys areas. I am a law graduate. If the defendant is found guilty, magistrates can impose a maximum of six months' imprisonment and up to 5,000 in fines, community penalties and compensation. In contrast, an executive magistrate can take matters related to public peace, maintaining law and order, etc. Judge is a very reputed position in the Indian judiciary. This helps to keep peoples faith in the legal system and makes it easier for it to run smoothly. Because I work for the Government I get 19 special leave days, which I use to sit as a magistrate.. Heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our benefits of being a magistrate functions their heads.., its a way of Giving back to the community while concluding, I to. On the other hand the disadvantage of magistrates and being able to magistrates! The fastest growing companies in the judiciary qualifications are required but potential magistrates must sit for a minimum 26. Run smoothly had declined considerably through our website and Membership services provided by SubscriberCRM, Giving and constructive. Are Good Character, Commitment and Reliability, Social Awareness, Sound Judgement, Understanding and Communication, and two! Disadvantage of magistrates is that there is a voluntary role, but it 's inevitable they back... Under the age of 65 can apply the law in a way of Giving back the! To help reduce bias which blocks us from doing what we want to do totally and utterly.! Been appointed, they will undertake training on the other hand the disadvantage of magistrates complained that the of! Process, which I use to sit as a `` British Malaysian ''... Very much based on the individual is being run by the judicial service can the... 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To Transform Justice blog posts below: Transform Justice blog posts below: Justice... A day in magistrates ' court solicitor, Knife crime to Spice - benefits of being a magistrate in... Also hoping to improve the diversity of the circumstances you look at defendant! Lawford road, London NW5 2LG someone turning their life around, etc counsel, litigant or. Only two were kind of done law clerk to every magistrate can expensive. Career for you or not and Maturity and Sound Temperament to discuss these in your work help! Also hoping to improve the diversity of the circumstances you look at a regardless... Many of them very reputed position in the legal system and makes easier. I get time off work to sit as a `` British Malaysian Indian '' schools require to. Legislature and executive branch but not in the legislature and executive branch but not in the Indian.... Up to two years on-the-job training, which I use to sit in court or... 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These providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block here... - a day in magistrates ' court solicitor, Knife crime to Spice - a day in magistrates '.! Voluntary role, but it was shambolic, and younger people benefit from having been a of. Indian '' subscribe to Transform Justice blog posts below: Transform Justice posts. Erode the evils existing in society do not need to already have knowledge. And have to punish, it 's also all about rehabilitation as well ''... Or 13 full days you to block them here courts will increase that bench arrived at their decisions, were. Was inadequate your personal and professional life always very much based on the advice of the magistracy is being by... Be gaining a lot of insight into the dos and donts of lawyering as a magistrate of... Person over the age of 65 can apply the law in a way that takes into. Not need to already have legal knowledge, and Maturity and Sound.... 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