The Pros and Cons of The Use of Lay Magistrates

The Advantages and Disadvantages of The Use of Lay Magistrates

This essay will explore the importance of lay magistrates in the

English Legal System.

It will explain and justify the advantages and disadvantages of the

use of lay magistrates.

Lay magistrates, also known as Justices of the Peace (JP’s). They are

ordinary people who are trained to be judicial officers with limited

authority to administer and enforce the law in magistrates’ courts.

They are not legally qualified and undertake the work of a magistrate

out of the sense of citizenship, as they are not paid to become a lay

magistrate and work on behalf of the government.

There are approximately 30,000 lay magistrates across the country and

they sit as benches of three. As the magistrate’s court hears summary

and hybrid offences, lay magistrates never make a decision on their

own.

They are appointed by the Lord Chancellor on the information regarding

different magistrates in each area by an advisory committee.

There are certain requirements for a lay magistrate, which are that

candidates must be aged between 27 and 65. They must also live within

15 miles of the area for which they serve and must not have any

previous criminal convictions.

The advantages of lay magistrates are, that they are much more cost

effective to administer justice than using juries for example, as they

are working for free and they also save the government money. A trial

in a magistrate court is much more cheaper and efficient than a trial

in a crown court.

If the government is spending less money on lay magistrates, it can

spend that money saved on other important issues, such as h...

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The final disadvantage is that there is inadequate compensation for

loss of earnings, thus discouraging workers from applying to become

magistrates.

As time off is needed, the magistrates do not get money for the time

lost at work while working on cases. Working as a lay magistrate can

be daunting, which could lead to rushed decisions being made.

In conclusion, I think that the system of lay magistrates is a

reasonable one, as the government are trying to increase the number of

cases in magistrate’s courts. Which means that the system is working.

It is a cost efficient process, which allows the government to spend

less; which eventually leads to the taxpayers paying less.

Therefore, I think that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, as

there is an increasing use of lay magistrates all across the country.