Lay Magistrates (Justices of the Peace)

Lay Magistrate Qualifications

Good character
Understanding and communication
Social awareness
Maturity and sound temperament
Sound judgment
Commitment and reliability
Aged between 18-65 on appointment
Live within the local justice area of which they are allocated
Commit at least 26 half days a year
Have no serious criminal convictions
Do not be an undischarged bankrupt, member of the forces, or have a job such as police officer or traffic warden
Do not have any hearing impairments
Do not be related to the other magistrates in your bench

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Appointed by Lord Chancellor, on behalf of the Queen, who relies on the local advisory committees (LACs)
LACs should have no more than 12 members and are encouraged to be diverse
First is a two-stage interview process
In the first stage the interviewers will look for the 6 key qualities required
The second stage the candidates' potential judicial aptitude
The LAC then submit names of those they think are suitable to the Lord Chancellor

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Magistrates try 97% of all criminal cases
The remaining 3% of trials have their preliminary hearings in the Magistrates' Court
These involve Early Administrative Hearings, remand hearings, bail applications, and transfer proceedings
Magistrates also deal with the civil matters of debts owed to utilities, the non-payment of council tax and the non-payment of television licences
They also hear appeals against the refusal of the local authority to grant licences for the sale of alcohol, betting, and gambling
Specially nominated and trained justices from the Youth Court panel hear cases of 10-17 year olds
Lay magistrates also sit at the Crown Court to hear appeals from the Magistrates' Court in a panel with a qualified district judge

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Training is supervised by the Magistrates' Committee of Judicial Studies Board (MCJSB)
The MCJSB has drawn up a syllabus of the topics lay magistrates should cover in their training
Training is carried out in local areas
In 1998 the Magistrates' New Training Initiative was introduced in order to assess what the Magistrates had learned, this was later refined by the Magistrates' National Training Initiative in 2004
There are four areas of competence
- Managing yourself
- Working as a member of a team
- Making judicial decisions
- Managing judicial decision-making (this is only relevant to the chairman of the bench)
The Bench Training and Development Committees (BTDCs) deliver training
The Courts Act 2003 sets out an obligation for the Lord Chancellor to provide training and training materials

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The syllabus for new magistrates is divided into three parts
- Initial introductory training - covers matters such as understanding the organisation of the bench, roles, and responsbilities
- Core training - provides the opportunity to acquire and develop key skills, knowledge, and understanding of a competent magistrate
- Activites - observations of court sittings and visits to establishments such as a prison or probation office
Training sessions are carried out at a local level within the 42 court areas
The majority of training is delivered by Justices' Clerks
After training the magistrate will sit as a 'winger' to hear cases in a panel of three with the chairman (an extremely experienced magistrate)

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During the first two years of a magistrate sitting in court between 8-11 of the sessions are mentored
In the same period magistrates are expected to attend around seven training sessions
After two years an appraisal will take place to check if they have acquired the competencies
Any magistrates who cannot show this will be given extra training, if they still fail the LAC may recommend the Lord Chancellor to remove the magistrate

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