A Visit to Westminster Magistrates Court

This report has been write after a lambast to Westminster Magistrates Court, one of the 700 magistrates judiciarys of England and Wales. A magistrates court is the institution where almost 95 % of all(a) pitiful cases atomic number 18 being profoundly analysed by about 28,000 magistrates. According to Kate Malleson, ˜Magistrates diarrhoea the role of the essay and instrument panel combined, in that they apply the virtue and determine the facts in each(prenominal) case. After they experience reached a verdict in criminal cases (or, much commonly, after a guilty plea by the defendant) they pass sentence. The maximum sentencing powers of magistrates is soon 12 months in wait and a £5.000 fine (Malleson, 2010: 19). Looking more closely, there atomic number 18 a lot of interesting things that I have assisted during this 3 hours vi sit down. The first thing to be noticed was the positioning of the deuce-ace magistrates, sitting in a row. The magistrate in the middle is c alled lead and usually he is doing all the talking. The other two magistrates ar called wingers but they all dissemble together to take the decisions. righteous in front of the magistrates is find out the Clerk, who has an important role in magistrates court, advising the magistrates on the law and affair but only when is necessary, keeps the records of the exploit and assist defendants who dont have ratified advisers by explaining them what is happening. In roughly cases, there can be only one judge sitting there and they ar called District Judges, who usually sit in busy courts suite where they hear cases alone and dont have a qualified Clerk.\nTo unhorse with, magistrates play a actually important role in criminal justice strategy since they deal with much larger number of cases than any other institution, as I tell before, almost 95 % of cases, approximately 1.9 million cases per year are being processed at this level, many of them being humble offences. They p lay the role of a judge and a control board in the same time, perceive very carefully...