Magistrate (England and Wales)


In the legal system of England and Wales, there is a history of involving lay people, namely people from the local community who are not required to hold any legal qualifications, in the judicial decision-making process of the courts. They are called justices of the peace or magistrates.
These magistrates were termed "lay magistrates" to differentiate them from stipendary magistrates. District judges sit alone to hear cases and are permanently employed by the Ministry of Justice. Magistrates are not paid, apart from an allowance for loss of earnings, mileage and subsistence. A practising solicitor or barrister may sit part-time as a deputy district judge. Retired district judges may occasionally sit as deputies. District judges are formally addressed in court as "sir" or "madam". In law reports, they are referred to as "DJ Smith".
Magistrates generally sit in threes in order to give judgement on a variety of cases in magistrates' courts, youth courts and family proceedings courts. The lead magistrate, known as the chairman, is formally addressed in court as "sir" or "madam" or "your worship", and the magistrates collectively as "your worships". In law reports, they are referred to as "John Smith JP".
Magistrates deal with less serious criminal cases, such as minor theft, criminal damage, assaults, public disorder and motoring offences. All magistrates sit in adult criminal courts as "benches" of three, mixed in gender, age and ethnicity whenever possible to bring a broad experience of life to the bench. All three members of the bench have equal decision-making powers but only the chairman speaks in court and presides over proceedings. A qualified legal adviser, also known as the court clerk, sits with the bench in the court room and is available to them at all times during the court sitting.
The term "bench" is also used collectively to describe a group of magistrates assigned to a particular local justice area.

History of the magistracy

Magistrate derives from the Middle English word magistrat, denoting a "civil officer in charge of administrating laws" ; from the Old French magistrat; from the Latin magistratus, which derives from magister, from the root of magnus. Today, in England and Wales, the word is used to describe a justice of the peace.
The office of justice of the peace has its origins in the 12th century when Richard I appointed 'keepers of the peace' in 1195. The title justice of the peace derives from 1361, in the reign of Edward III. An Act of 1327 had referred to "good and lawful men" to be appointed in every county in the land to "guard the Peace". Justices of the peace still retain the power confirmed to them by the Justices of the Peace Act 1361 to bind over unruly persons "to be of good behaviour". The bind over is not a punishment, but a preventive measure, intended to ensure that a person guilty of a minor disturbance does not re-offend. The Act provided, among other things, "That in every county of England shall be assigned for the keeping of the peace, one lord and with him three or four of the most worthy of the county, with some learned in the law, and they shall have the power to restrain the Offenders, Rioters, and all other Barators, and to pursue, arrest, take and chastise them according to their Trespass or Offence".
Over the following centuries, justices acquired many administrative duties, such as the administration of the Poor Laws, highways and bridges, and weights and measures. For example, before 1714, magistrates could be approached at any time and in any place by people legally recognised as paupers, appealing to them for aid if parish authorities had refused to provide any. It was relatively common for these magistrates to write out, on the spot, an Order requiring aid to be granted. The 19th century saw elected local authorities taking over many of these duties. There is one remnant of these duties, the appellate jurisdiction over the licensing of pubs and clubs.
Towards the end of the 18th century, the absence of an adequate police force and the quality of local justices became matters of concern. Justices received no salary from the government, although they could charge fees for their services. They were appointed from prominent citizens of property, but a shortage of landed gentlemen willing to act in London led to problems. In Middlesex, for example, the commission was increasingly dominated by merchants, tradesmen and a small number of corrupt magistrates, known as "Trading Justices" because they exploited their office for financial purposes. A Police Bill in 1785 failed to bring adequate supervision of justices. However, the Middlesex Justices Act of 1792 set up seven public offices, in addition to Bow Street, London, with three justices in each, with salaries of £400 a year. The power to take fees was removed from all justices in the city. Six constables were appointed to each office, with powers of arrest. This was the origin of the modern stipendiary magistrate.
One famous magistrate was Sir John Fielding, who succeeded his half-brother as magistrate in Bow Street Magistrates' Court in 1754 and refined his small band of officers into an effective police force for the capital. Stipendiaries remained in charge of the police until 1839.
The first paid magistrate outside London was appointed in 1813 in Manchester. The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 gave boroughs the ability to request the appointment of a stipendiary magistrate in their locality. Originally stipendiaries were not required to have any qualifications, however they could only be appointed from the ranks of barristers and solicitors.
Women in England and Wales were not allowed to become justices until 1919, the first woman being Ada Summers, the Mayor of Stalybridge, who was a JP by virtue of her office. Today, the number of male and female magistrates is approximately equal.

Magistrates

The titles "magistrate" and "justice of the peace" mean the same, although today the former is commonly used in the popular media, and the latter in more formal contexts. The term "lay" referred to the voluntary, unsalaried nature of the appointment and was used to distinguish them from professional magistrates, known as stipendiaries. However, since stipendiaries became district judges, the term has fallen into disuse. There are approximately 16,125 magistrates in England and Wales.
Magistrates sit in tribunals or "benches" composed of no more than three members. Although three is the usual number, a bench is properly constituted with two members. However, if they sit as two on a trial and disagree about the verdict, a retrial will be necessary. Magistrates deal with around 97 per cent of criminal cases in England and Wales. A single magistrate sitting on his or her own has very limited power. They can however, deal with remand applications, issue search warrants and warrants for arrest as well as conducting early administrative hearings.
The term "bench" is also used collectively to describe a group of magistrates assigned to a particular local justice area, for example "The Midshire Bench".
The presiding magistrate is known as the chairman. When sitting three magistrates on the bench, the chairman will sit in the middle. The magistrates sitting on either side of the chairman are known as "wingers". The chairman of the bench is formally addressed in the court room as "sir", "madam" or "your worship" and collectively the magistrates are addressed as "your worships". In law reports, they are referred to as "John Smith JP". Magistrates deal with less serious criminal cases, such as common assault, minor theft, criminal damage, public disorder and motoring offences. They also send serious cases such as rape and murder to the Crown Court for trial, determine applications for bail, enforce the payment of fines, and grant search warrant and right of entry applications to utility companies. Magistrates' powers are limited to imposing six months' imprisonment, or fines not exceeding £5,000 per offence. They also have a civil jurisdiction, in relation to family work, and the enforcement of child support and council tax payments. To complement magistrates, there are a small number of district judges who are either barristers or solicitors. Under s 16 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1979 they have the same powers as magistrates but sit alone. Unlike judges in many of the higher courts, magistrates and district judges do not wear robes or wigs in the court room.
Lord Bingham, former Lord Chief Justice, observed that the lay magistracy was “...a democratic jewel beyond price".

Qualifications

There are no statutory requirements as to the qualifications of a magistrate. There are, however, six core requirements as to the character of candidates for the magistracy, as laid down by the Lord Chancellor in 1998. These are:
  1. Good character: Magistrates are expected to have personal integrity, enjoy the respect and trust of others, and be able to maintain confidences.
  2. Understanding and communication: Magistrates must be able to understand documents, identify and comprehend relevant facts reasonably quickly and follow evidence and arguments.
  3. Social awareness: Magistrates must have an appreciation of, and accept the need for, the rule of law in society. Magistrates should also display an understanding of their local communities, society in general, and have an understanding of the causes and effects of crime.
  4. Maturity and sound temperament: Magistrates must have the ability to relate to and work with others. They must have regard for the views of others and a willingness to consider advice.
  5. Sound judgement: Magistrates must have the ability to think logically, weigh arguments and reach a balanced decision. They must be objective and have the ability to recognize and set aside their prejudices.
  6. Commitment and reliability.: Magistrates must be committed to serving the community and be reliable.
Magistrates must be aged between 18 and 65 upon appointment, with a statutory retirement age set at 70. The minimum age of appointment was reduced from 27 to 18 in 2004. However, appointments under the age of 30 are a rarity. In 2010 out of 30,000 magistrates in Wales and England only 145 were under the age of 30.

Locality and commitment

Until the passage of the Courts Act in 2003 it was necessary for magistrates to live within 15 miles of the commission area for the court in which they sat. As a commission area was usually co-terminous with a county or metropolitan area, they could live a considerable distance from the court in which they sat. However, the Act introduced a single commission area for the whole of England and Wales. The country is divided into local justice areas and magistrates are expected to either live or work within reasonable travelling distance of their court.
Magistrates must commit themselves to sitting for a minimum of 26 half days each year. A 'half-day' sitting typically lasts from 10am to 1pm or from 2pm to 5pm, with new magistrates taking over the afternoon session. On other benches, sittings are organized with magistrates attending to sit for the whole day. Magistrates are expected to attend half an hour before sitting for preparation and a briefing about the case list from their legal adviser.

Restrictions on appointment

Subject to the Lord Chancellor's discretion, a number of activities and occupations, including the occupations of a spouse or partner or other close relative, may give cause for concern in relation to the perceived impartiality of the bench and corresponding risk to the right to a fair trial. For example, a candidate will not normally be eligible if:
Prior to 31 August 2000, district judges were known as stipendiary magistrates. Unlike magistrates, district judges sit alone. Some district judges have been appointed from the ranks of legal advisers to the magistrates' court and will be qualified solicitors or barristers. Questions have been raised by the Magistrates' Association as to the legal safeguards of a single district judge being allowed to hear a case, decide the outcome and pass sentence without reference to another tribunal member.
Originally, deputy district judges could only be drawn from barristers and solicitors of at least seven years' standing. However, in 2004, calls for increased diversity among the judiciary were recognized and the qualification period was changed so that, as of 21 July 2008, a potential deputy district judge can satisfy the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a five-year basis. and so that other types of lawyer, such as legal executives, would also be eligible.

Appointment

Approximately 1,500 magistrates are appointed each year. The appointments are made by the Lord Chief Justice.

Local advisory committees

These committees are responsible for selecting suitable candidates for the magistracy. They comprise a maximum of twelve magistrate and non-magistrate members. The membership of local advisory committees used to be confidential but following reform in 1993 all names must be published.
Local advisory committees have regard to the composition of local benches, especially the numbers needed to process the work, and the balance of gender, ethnic status, geographical spread, occupation, age and social background. Anyone who meets the basic requirements can put themselves forward as a candidate for the magistracy. In fact, many local committees advertise for candidates, mounting campaigns to attract a diverse range of people. Advertisements are placed in local papers, newspapers, magazines aimed at ethnic groups, or even on buses. In Leeds for example, committees have used the radio to invite potential candidates to attend their local magistrates' court open evening.

Interview panels

The first stage of the selection process is the submission of a detailed application form, from which potential magistrates are first sifted to check eligibility to apply and basic suitability. Then, those who are eligible, will be invited to a first interview where selectors from the local advisory committee will seek to establish more about the candidates' personal qualities and whether or not they possess the six key qualities required. The interviewers also use the opportunity to explore the candidates' attitudes on various criminal justice issues such drink driving, juvenile crime or vandalism. If successful at the first interview, the candidate will be invited to a second interview where they will discuss some practical examples of the type of cases with which magistrates deal. Typically, this will involve a discussion of at least two case studies which are typical of a magistrates' court. In both interviews the candidate will be assessed against the core competencies. This is designed to assess and explore the potential candidates' judicial aptitude.
Following the interview stage, the committee will submit the names of those who they assess as being suitable for appointment, to the Lord Chancellor, to fill the available vacancies. By the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, interim arrangements mean that recommendations are passed to the Lord Chief Justice for approval, before being submitted to the Lord Chancellor to make the appointment from the list on behalf of, and in the name of, The Queen.

Magistrates' duties

A magistrate primarily deals with criminal cases, although they have a civil jurisdiction and can also choose to specialise in the family proceedings court. The civil cases they deal with include issuing warrants of entry to the utility companies, enforcing payment of council tax, as well as appeals from local authority licensing decisions regarding pubs and clubs. All criminal cases start in the magistrates' courts, and 97 percent are concluded there.
There are three types of criminal offence:
Single magistrates do not normally hear cases on their own, although they do have a limited jurisdiction. They usually sit as one of a bench of three magistrates, together with a qualified legal adviser who can advise them on matters of law and procedure.

Youth & family proceedings courts

For young offenders aged between 10 and 17 years, there are special arrangements. Youth courts are set apart from the adult courts and the procedures are adapted to meet the different needs of younger persons, for example by requiring the attendance of parents and ensuring that everything is explained in appropriate language. Members of the public are generally excluded from the youth and family proceedings courts and, although the press may attend, there are restrictions on what they can report. Magistrates sitting on the youth court are members of youth panels which meet regularly for training and administrative purposes. Youth magistrates receive specialist training in the youth court, and are mentored and appraised in that role. A youth court must usually include one male and one female member.
Likewise, there is also a special panel for the family proceedings court which deal with private and public family cases. These include applications for non-molestation orders, occupation orders, adoption orders, maintenance cases, and proceedings under the Children Act 1989.
Magistrates also sit at the Crown Court to hear appeals against verdict and/or sentence from the magistrates' court. In these cases the magistrates form a panel with a judge. A magistrate is not allowed to sit in the Crown Court on the hearing of an appeal in a matter on which he/she adjudicated in the magistrates' court. There is a right of appeal from magistrates' decisions on points of law to the Queen's Bench Divisional Court.

Training of magistrates

s 19 of the Courts Act 2003 places a statutory obligation on the Lord Chancellor to provide training and training materials to magistrates.
The Magistrates' Committee of the Judicial Studies Board supervises and governs the training of magistrates. In 1998 the Magistrates New Training Initiative was introduced following criticisms that magistrates were required to attend a certain number of hours training without the effectiveness of the training being evaluated, and that there was no assessment of their competency. MNTI1 was subsequently refined in 2004 by the Magistrates National Training Initiative.
The framework of training is divided into four areas of competence. The first three competences are relevant to all magistrates, and the fourth is only applicable to chairmen, or chairtakers as they are also known. The four areas of competence are:
  1. Managing yourself – which focuses on the basic aspects of self-management in respect to preparing for court, conduct in court and ongoing learning.
  2. Working as a member of a team – which focuses on the team aspect of the decision making process in the magistrates' court.
  3. Making judicial decisions – which focuses on the impartial and structured nature of the judicial decision-making process.
  4. Managing judicial decisions – which focuses on the chairman's role and working with the legal adviser, managing the court and ensuring effective impartial decision making.
Bench Training and Development Committees comprise magistrates elected by their bench colleagues to oversee the mentoring and appraisal of magistrates and to monitor their training. The committee maintains a list of appraisers and mentors and requests additional training if a training need is disclosed during the appraisal/mentoring process. The Magistrates Area Training Committee comprises chairmen of BTDCs across a number of benches, together with a justices' clerk, and aims to co-ordinate training and devise policies in accordance with guidance issued by the Judicial Studies Board.

Training of new magistrates

The JSB Magistrates' Committee has issued a syllabus which is delivered locally. Because of the large number of magistrates, the training is carried out in local areas, sometimes through the clerk of the court, sometimes through weekend courses organized by
universities with magistrates from the region in attendance. The training is designed to develop all the knowledge and skills necessary required to become an effective and confident magistrate. It is based on a competence framework and includes:
All new magistrates are provided a personal development log and with a mentor, an experienced magistrate who has been specially trained to take on the role. The mentor will advise, support, and guide the magistrates, especially during the first few months of their service as a magistrate. During their first year a new magistrate will have six formal sittings attended by their mentor, each of which is followed by an opportunity to discuss the day's business with their mentor. The magistrate will reflect on how they have applied the knowledge and skills developed during their induction and core training and, using the competence framework, will consider whether or not they have any further training and development needs.

Training sessions

The law and procedures pertaining to magistrates' courts occasionally change, therefore "update training" is provided for magistrates. When there are major changes in legislation, magistrates will be provided with written material or formal training sessions to help them to learn and apply the new law. The justices' clerk and his/her legal advisers play an important part in the training of magistrates by assisting in the delivery of training and providing support in the court room.
For a magistrate who wishes to become a court chairman, or to sit in the youth court or family proceedings court, there is additional training to prepare them for the specific competences required for these roles. Training courses are organised on a regional and national scale. For example, the training of youth and family panel chairman will be delivered nationally where local numbers do not justify running a course at a local venue.

Appraisal

After a magistrate has been sitting for about a year he or she will appraised. This takes place during a normal sitting and is conducted by an appraiser who is an experienced magistrate specially trained for the role. Following the sitting, the magistrate and his or her appraiser use the competence framework for magistrates to assess the appraisee's performance and to identify if the magistrate has any outstanding training needs. All magistrates are appraised every three years in each of the judicial roles they perform. If extra training is given and the magistrate cannot demonstrate that they have achieved the necessary competency level, the matter is referred to the local advisory committee, who may recommend to the Lord Chancellor that the magistrate is removed.

Retirement and removal

Retirement

The statutory retirement age for magistrates is 70 years. When magistrates reach that age, their names are placed on the Supplemental List. Although they can no longer sit as magistrates, they are able to carry out minor administrative functions, the signing of official documents. Magistrates may of course resign their office at any time. In cases where a magistrate moves out of his or her justice area he or she will be placed on the Supplemental List until there is a vacancy in the new area.

Removal

According to Section 11 of the Courts Act 2003 and Section 314 of The Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lord Chancellor with the concurrence of The Lord Chief Justice has the statutory power to remove a magistrate for the following reasons:
The record for the most removals of magistrates came under the Chancellorship of Lord Irvine who dismissed fifteen magistrates in 1999. The Lord Chancellor's office has been criticised in the past for the dismissal of a JP who was taking part in a CND march and a JP who engaged in transvestite behaviour.

The justices' clerk

The principal adviser to a bench or benches of magistrates is the justices' clerk, appointed under the Courts Act 2003 by the Lord Chancellor. The justices' clerk will be a qualified solicitor or barrister of at least five years' standing. The vast majority of magistrates' courts are taken by the justices' clerk's assistants who are known as magistrates' clerks, court clerks or legal advisers. Their primary role is to provide legal advice to magistrates in the court room and in their retiring room, as well as assisting in the administration of the court business. The clerk's duty is to guide magistrates on questions of law, practice and procedure. This is set out in the Justices of the Peace Act s 28 which provides:
Although the clerk can assist the magistrates in their decision-making, he/she should not participate in the factual decision-making process. Neither should he/she automatically accompany the magistrates when they retire to make their decisions, although they can be invited to join them. This principle has been upheld in case law, such as the case of R v Eccles Justices, ex parte Farrelly in which the Queen's Bench Divisional Court quashed convictions because a court clerk had apparently participated in the decision making process.
A justices' clerk has the powers of a single magistrate, for example to issue a summons, adjourn proceedings, extend bail, issue a warrant for failing to surrender to bail where there is no objection on behalf of the accused, dismiss an information where no evidence is offered, request a pre-sentence report, commit a defendant for trial without consideration of the evidence and make directions in criminal and family proceedings. The justices' clerk may delegate these functions to a legal adviser. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 also gives clerks the powers to deal with early administrative hearings.

Evaluations of magistrates

Over the last fifteen years, there have been a number of research papers and reviews of the role of magistrates, with many observations being made:

Composition of the bench

Magistrates have been perceived as middle-class, middle-aged and middle-minded and this has some foundation in fact. The Judiciary in the Magistrates' Court report found that magistrates were overwhelmingly from professional and managerial backgrounds and 40 percent of them were retired from full-time employment. The majority of magistrates are within the 45–65 age range and the appointment of magistrates under the age of 30 is still rare although there are a few notable exceptions. For example, in 2006 a 19-year-old law student, Lucy Tate, was appointed making her Britain's youngest magistrate.
The majority of magistrates are female. This compares to 32% of professional judges.
Ethnic minorities are reasonably well represented. According to The National Strategy for the Recruitment of Lay Magistrates , 6 percent of magistrates are of an ethnic minority background which is close to the 7.9 percent of the population as a whole. Again this compares favourably with the professional judiciary which only has 1 percent membership from ethnic minorities. This comparatively high level of ethnic minorities in the magistracy is largely a result of campaigns to attract a wider range of candidates, such as that launched by the Lord Chancellor's Department in March 1999. In announcing the campaign Lord Irvine stated:
Typical recruitment campaigns have been supported by local newspapers and magazines. In efforts to target minorities adverts are placed in publications such as Caribbean Times, the Asian Times and Muslim News. The Lord Chancellor also encouraged disabled people to apply and this has resulted in the appointment of a blind magistrate.
The narrowness of magistrates' backgrounds has been blamed on the selection process with magistrates on the advisory committee tending to appoint people from similar backgrounds to themselves. However, this criticism has been ameliorated to some extent by the widening of advisory committee membership to include non-magistrates.
The Auld Report commented that it was unrealistic to expect the social composition of magistrates to be close to that of the general population. This was partly because many people found it difficult to obtain support from their senior managers to be released for magisterial duties, and because of other reasons relating to employment. Therefore, the bench would never be a true cross-section of society.
Government figures published in 1995 showed a Conservative Party bias among magistrates, although the significance of this finding is inconclusive. A 1979 study found that there was no appreciable difference in approach between the different classes, but that Conservative magistrates tend to express a harder attitude on sentencing. However, it was not established whether this attitude was reflected in their sentencing decisions. In 1997, the Labour Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, called for more Labour magistrates to be appointed. The Labour Government later concluded that it was no longer necessary to seek a political balance on benches because people no longer voted along class lines. A 1998 White Paper stated: "Perhaps most importantly, political balance, as this consultation paper attempts to show, no longer acts as a guarantor or viable proxy for someone's position in society. Historically voting was class based, but, it is argued, this is no longer the case."

Public confidence

In their report, Professor Rod Morgan and Neil Russell demonstrated that there was lack of public understanding about magistrates: 33% of the public thought that magistrates were legally qualified. Professor Andrew Sanders found a low level of public confidence in magistrates' courts based on a British Crime Survey, a MORI poll and focus groups with the public and with offenders. Lord Justice Auld was scathing about these aspects of the research, stating in his report that "it is one thing to rely on uninformed views of the public as a guide to what may be necessary to engender public confidence, and another to rely on such views as an argument for fashioning the system to meet them. Public confidence is not an end in itself; it is or should be an outcome of a fair and efficient system. The proper approach is to make the system fair and efficient and, if public ignorance stands in the way of public confidence, take steps adequately to demonstrate to the public that it is so."
A number of initiatives have been formulated to improve community relations: "Magistrates in the Community" which deals with public relations at a local level, such as presentations to schools, colleges and community groups; the National Magistrates' Mock Trial Competition run in conjunction with the Citizenship Foundation which involves schoolchildren in mock trial competitions; the Local Crime and Community Sentence project. Court open days organised by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service are another method of engaging with the community. Projects are in place to improve public confidence in the criminal justice system as a whole. The British Crime Survey of September 2010 reported that 61 per cent of adults thought that the CJS was fair and 42 percent thought that the CJS was effective.

The importance of local knowledge

The Auld report noted that local justice was seen as "a bridge between the public and the court system which might otherwise appear remote". However, locality could encourage inconsistencies between areas and created a risk of magistrates knowing defendants too well. The argument that magistrates should have a good knowledge of their local justice area is still raised today, often as a defence to court closures. The idea that magistrates should be "local" derives from the fact that magistrates are drawn from that area and, until the Courts Act 2003, had to live within 15 miles of their commission area. In reality, magistrates may not have a knowledge and understanding of their area, especially the poorer parts, because most of them come from professional and managerial classes and live in affluent areas. Nevertheless, it is suggested they are likely to have a greater awareness of local events, local patterns of crime and local opinions than a professional judge from another area.
In the case of Paul v DPP, the court had to decide whether a kerb crawler was 'likely to cause a nuisance to other persons in the neighbourhood'. The defendant was convicted on the basis that the magistrates knew that kerb crawling was a problem in that residential area. On appeal Lord Justice Woolf noted that this was a case where magistrates' local knowledge had been useful.

Cost and timeliness

The use of unpaid magistrates is cost effective, in terms of cost and timeliness, saving the tax payer from the high cost of employing full-time judges. The report The Judiciary in the Magistrates' Court found that at the time the cost of using lay magistrates was £52.10 per hour compared with the cost of using a stipendiary at £61.90 an hour. In 2010, offence-to-completion time for defendants whose case was committed or sent for trial at the Crown Court was an average of 187 days. The estimated average offence-to-completion time in the magistrates' courts for indictable/triable either-way offences was 109 days for the same period. The cost of a trial in the magistrates' court is also much cheaper than the cost in the Crown Court both for the government and for those defendants who pay their own legal costs. However, it should remembered that the Crown Court generally deals with more complex and lengthy cases than the magistrates' court.

Legal adviser

The issue of the legal qualifications of legal advisers has come under scrutiny in recent years.
Following reforms in 1999, all legal advisers were required to be legally qualified. Any existing legal advisers under the age of 40 in 1999 were required to gain a legal qualification within 10 years. The Assistants to Justices' Clerks Regulations 2006, in regulation 3, set out the qualifications for assistants to justices' clerks who could be employed as clerks in court. They provided that people who have qualified as barristers or solicitors and had passed the exams for either of those professions or had been granted an exemption were qualified to be assistants to justices' clerks which meant that they can carry out matters on behalf of the justices' clerk. The 2006 Regulations also enabled the Lord Chancellor to make temporary appointments of people to act as clerks in court where he was satisfied that they were, in the circumstances, suitable and that no other arrangement can reasonably be made.
However, the Assistants to Justices' Clerks Regulations 2007 replaced regulation 3 of the 2006 Regulations. The effect was to clarify that those:
i. who were in employment as an assistant registered by the Law Society under regulation 23 of the Training Regulations 1990;
ii. who held a valid training certificate granted by a magistrates' courts committee before 1 January 1999; or
iii. who acted as a clerk in court before 1 January 1999 and were qualified to act as such under the justices' clerk Rules 1979 to carry out the duties of assistant clerks can act;
could act as clerks in court.
These changes have brought a greater degree of professionalism to magistrates' courts, thus helping magistrates in dealing with points of law and procedure. Furthermore, the training of magistrates has become more consistent with the involvement of the Judicial Studies Board.

Few appeals

Comparatively few appeals are made against decisions made by the magistrates' court, and the majority are made against sentence rather than verdict. The Judicial Statistics Annual Report showed that only 12,992 appeals were made to the Crown Court from the magistrates' court. Of these only 2,020 were allowed and 3,184 resulted in a variation of sentence, out of a total of 2 million defendants dealt with in the magistrates' court. There are also very few appeals allowed because an error of law was made. This is shown by the fact that only 100 appeals were allowed by way of case stated to the Queen's Bench Divisional Court, of these only 42 were allowed. In 2008, there were only 72 appeals, on a point of law, to the Queen's Bench Division, of which 30 were allowed.

Obliged to give reasons

The Human Rights Act 1998 imported the European Convention on Human Rights into English law. Article 6 of the convention gives an accused the right to a fair trial. Implicit in this right is the requirement that magistrates give reasons for their decisions, unlike jury verdicts in the Crown Court.

Prosecution bias

One criticism of magistrates' courts is that they have high conviction rates in comparison to jury trials in the Crown Court because, it is suggested, magistrates have a bias in favour of the prosecution. Unsurprisingly, in a 1982 study commissioned by the Home Office, it was found that direct evidence from prosecution witnesses whose credibility was not challenged led to a high level of convictions. Weaknesses in the prosecution case, such as unreliable witness evidence, a lack of confessions or direct evidence against the defendant led to higher likelihood of acquittal. However, in those cases where a defendant's credibility was not demonstrably undermined, there was a conviction rate of 63 percent. In the majority of these cases, there was first-hand evidence of the defendant's behaviour from which criminal intent was inferred.
Since the inauguration of the Crown Prosecution Service in 1986, the proportion of weaker prosecution cases has declined as a result of the CPS' review function which requires a "realistic prospect of conviction" before a prosecution can be commenced or continued. In 2009, the conviction rate of defendants tried in magistrates' courts for all offences was 98% and in the Crown Court, 80%.
One contributor to Lord Justice Auld's Review of the Criminal Courts of England and Wales drew attention to the "dichotomy in people's attitudes towards the magistracy, according to whether they are considering the elective right to trial by jury in 'either-way' cases or the relative advantages of lay and professional judges in summary cases. On the former issue magistrates are often portrayed as part of the establishment, being used to deny defendants a basic human right; on the latter they are depicted as the near equivalent of a jury – the peers of people who appear before them, ordinary people with experience of the real world, bringing common sense to bear etc."
The need for magistrates to demonstrate impartiality in criminal trials was emphasised in the case of Bingham Justices ex p Jowitt. A motorist was charged with exceeding the speed limit and the only evidence was contradictory, in the form of the statements of the defendant and a police officer. The defendant was found guilty and the chairman stated "My principle in such cases has always been to believe the police officer". The conviction was quashed on appeal as the magistrates clearly demonstrated bias.

Inconsistency in sentencing

It has been demonstrated that magistrates in different regions have passed different sentences for what appear to be similar offences. The Government's White Paper, Justice for All set out differences found in criminal sentencing in the magistrates' court.
Statistics published in 2004 showed no improvement. For example, magistrates in Sunderland discharged 36.4 percent of all defendants in comparison to Birmingham which discharged 9.2 percent of all defendants. In Newcastle magistrates sentenced only 7.2 percent to an immediate custodial sentence whereas in Hillingdon this figure was 32 percent.
The Prison Reform Trust Report on Sentencing highlighted a number of issues including the following:
However, when the statistics are put in context, they may not appear as severe as they might at first glance. Only 4 percent of offenders dealt with by magistrates receive a prison sentence. Furthermore, in an effort to bring a greater degree of consistency to sentencing, national guidelines have been issued to magistrates and updated on a regular basis. These "Sentencing Guidelines" are issued under the aegis of the Sentencing Council which aims to improve sentencing practice in the criminal courts.

Reliance on the legal adviser

The lack of legal knowledge of magistrates should be offset by the fact that a legally qualified clerk is available. It is suggested that, in some courts, magistrates place too much reliance on the clerk, to the extent that a few cases have been quashed on appeal. For example, in R v Birmingham Magistrates ex parte Ahmed , the defendant was accused of deception and handling. When the magistrates retired to consider their verdict, the clerk joined them. Since there was no point of law arising, this created a suspicion that he was taking part in deciding the verdict, and therefore the verdict was quashed. In the case of R v Eccles Justices, ex parte Farrelly the Queen's Bench Divisional Court quashed convictions because the clerk had apparently assisted and participated in the decision making process. In R v Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy, a motorcyclist was involved in a road accident which resulted in his prosecution before a magistrates' court for dangerous driving. Unknown to the defendant and his solicitor, the clerk was a member of the firm of solicitors acting in a civil claim against the defendant arising out of the accident that had given rise to the prosecution. The clerk retired with the magistrates, who returned to convict the defendant. On learning of the clerk's provenance, the defendant applied to have the conviction quashed. The magistrates swore affidavits stating that they had reached their decision to convict the defendant without consulting their clerk.

Magistrates' Association

The Magistrates' Association is the membership organisation for magistrates. Since 1969, it has helped to develop various sentencing guidelines. It also organises conferences and publishes a journal, The Magistrate, ten times a year. Members also participate in local branch activities, with each branch nominating representatives to the organisation's council.