Magistrates or Justices of the Peace (JPs) are volunteers from all walks of life who deal with around 95 per cent of criminal cases in England and Wales, including many of the crimes that most affect the public, such as anti-social behaviour.
About the Opportunity As a magistrate, you will sit in your local magistrates' court dealing with a wide range of less serious criminal cases and civil matters. Some of your duties will include:
- determining whether a defendant is guilty or not and passing the appropriate sentence
- deciding on requests for remand in custody
- deciding on applications for bail
- committing more serious cases to the Crown Court
With experience and further training you could also go on to deal with cases in the family and youth courts. Magistrates sit on a 'bench' of three (an experienced chairman with two other magistrates) and are accompanied in court by a trained legal advisor to give guidance on the law and sentencing options.
Time Committment You need to be able to commit at least 26 half-days per year to sit in court. Your employer is required by law to grant reasonable time off work for magistrates,although they don't have to pay you for this time. Speak to your employer about their policy.
Location It is preferred that magistrates serve in court(s) in the borough in which they live or work, altough this is not mandatory. Southwark has two magistrate's courts, one in Camberwell and one at Tower Hill.
Interested? Volunteer Centre Southwark is running a training course entitled Introduction to Being a Magistrate on the 18th March (10am - 1pm) Please contact Francoise Ghaly if you are interested in attending. She can also answer other questions you might have and can send you an application form for applying to become a magistrate.
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