The following is a brief introduction to the Magistrates' Courts Service. It is intended to assist co-opted members of Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCCs) in particular, and specific guidance for them is included.
Magistrates' work in local courts known as the Magistrates' courts and their work covers a wide range of criminal and civil matters. Magistrates' courts dispose of over 95% of all criminal cases. The Magistrates' courts serve local communities and at the same time form a central part of our system of justice.
Each year over 1,500 people are appointed as lay magistrates; they are appointed to an office which dates back to the 14th century and which is a vital and much respected part of society''s direct involvement in the administration of justice. Nowadays there are about 30,000 magistrates in England and Wales, supported by approximately 10,000 staff within the Magistrates' Courts Service.
The overall responsibility for management of the service and appointment of staff lies with the MCC of which there 42, each responsible for an area co-terminus with that of a police force (and also probation and crown prosecution service area).
Ministerial responsibility for the Magistrates' courts lies with the Lord Chancellor supported by his team of officials at the Lord Chancellor''s Department, but each courts committee has a wide discretion how it provides a service locally.
England and Wales are divided into a number of Commission of Peace areas and magistrates are appointed by the Lord Chancellor or Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to sit at certain courts within these areas. Each commission area is divided into smaller Petty Sessional Areas (known locally as Benches) and each of these areas or group of areas will have one or more courthouses, together with an administrative centre and staff. Each area or bench will be served by a Justices'' Clerk (possibly shared with other areas) whose main purpose is to act as senior legal advisor to the magistrates and also to support the Justices'' Chief Executive (JCE) in the administration and day to day management of the service within each committee area.
The JCE is the head of service within the committee area and may or may not be a lawyer. He/she will have the overall responsibility of implementing the strategies of the committee and carries the day to day responsibility for all administrative functions within that committee''s area.
It is recommended that a co-opted member discusses the organisational structure of the committee with the JCE as these may vary depending, in particular, on the geography and demography of the area served by the committee.
Most criminal cases start in the Magistrates' court and around 95% of them are completed there.
Crime is divided into three categories:
very serious (indictable)
serious (either way)
not so serious (summary)
Summary crimes can only be dealt with in the Magistrates' court. In either
way cases the defendant can choose to be dealt with either by the magistrates
or before a judge and jury in the next convenient crown court. Magistrates
may also decide whether to hear "either way" cases themselves or
to commit the case to the crown court and they may also send the case to the
crown court for sentence if the offence is so serious that the magistrates
cannot impose sufficient penalty '' either way cases only. An indictable crime
can only be dealt with in the crown court.
Magistrates, however, deal with more than just crime. They also have civil courts for dealing with a wide range of issues including family disputes, parental rights and responsibilities, protection of children and adoptions. In addition magistrates will sit as civil magistrates dealing with applications for justices licences; betting and gaming applications and a wide variety of civil matters such as the stopping up of highways and other local authority matters. The Magistrates' courts are seen as part of the local community.
Working in the courtroom you will see only a small proportion of the staff employed by the Magistrates' courts service. Within the courtroom you should see a Court Clerk, who is the Magistrates' qualified legal advisor and will advise on matters of law, practice and procedure. He/she may be supported by an administrative assistant and there will be an usher whose prime duty is to deal with the calling of witnesses and parties to cases; arrange for witnesses and defendants to be directed to the correct court, and the public areas of the court may be patrolled by security officers. There will be other people present such as solicitors, crown prosecutors and probation officers but they are not employed by the MCC.
A substantial amount of the work '' mainly administrative '' is carried out behind the scenes by administrative staff who prepare all the paperwork both before and after the court.
It is recommended that a co-opted member arranges to visit a local court and this should be done by prior appointment with the justices'' clerk. The co-opted members will be able to sit in court and observe proceedings like any other member of the public as most courts are open to the public.
As previously mentioned the justices'' clerk is the prime legal advisor to the magistracy and he/she will normally be supported by a team of qualified court clerks. In addition the JCE will ensure that there are sufficient staff to deal with all administrative pre and post-court work and there may well be a separate section dealing with the collection of fines and fees and the payment of compensation, costs, etc.
The pre and post-court work includes responsibility for all court administration before a case reaches the courtroom. This may include dealing with correspondence, arranging court dates, sending out notices of hearing and adjournment notices. This section will also be responsible for ensuring that the work generated by the court is processed and that the decisions of the magistrates are implemented. Duties will include preparing and dispatching court orders, preparing papers to be sent to the crown court and the endorsing of driving licences. Legal aid and licensing applications will also be dealt with.
The justices'' clerk also has responsibility for ensuring that a Magistrates' rota has been organised to ensure that there are always sufficient magistrates (3 max.) available to hear the cases coming before the court.
A separate section will deal with case accounts and enforcement. The JCE will have one or more such sections with responsibility for the collection and receipting of all fines and maintenance monies, and ensuring that audit procedures are complied with. Enforcement includes responsibility for ensuring that defendants pay their fines and bringing defendants to court for a means enquiry if they default in making payment. The accounts section will also collect monies paid to maintain children and former parties to a marriage. This work includes preparing and dispatching court orders and enforcing orders which fall into arrears.
It is recommended that each co-opted member should seek information from the JCE on the administrative structure within the committee area and how the work is allocated between staff and office(s).
Magistrates are members of the local community appointed by the Lord Chancellor or the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on behalf of the Crown to sit in Magistrates' courts and decide on cases brought before them. Magistrates are not normally appointed before the age of 27 but all magistrates must retire when they attain the age of 70 years. Magistrates decide on issues of fact and, with advice from the court clerk, decide issues of law and sentencing. Sometimes a magistrate will sit alone in court to deal with administrative matters but whenever issues of guilt or innocence or a sentence are decided upon, then at least 2 magistrates should be sitting.
Magistrates are expected to sit a minimum of 26 half days per year although most magistrates in fact comfortably exceed this number. Normally three magistrates make up a bench so that if they disagree the view of the majority will prevail.
All magistrates sit in adult criminal courts but some will also sit on separate family or youth panels or may be members of the local licensing or betting and gaming committee. The MCC is responsible for providing a comprehensive training programme for all magistrates under a scheme of instruction approved by the Lord Chancellor. The Magistrates' New Training Initiative introduces the principles of competence and appraisal with the intention that this uniform approach will help benches to continue to improve the quality and effectiveness of their judicial decision making. Each committee will have an appointed Training Manager who has day to day responsibility for implementing the committee''s scheme of instruction. The training manager will work closely with the local branch of the Magistrates' Association, who also provide some training to ensure that the two training programmes are complementary.
It is recommended that the co-opted member obtains a copy of the scheme of instruction and details of how training is organised on behalf of the committee.
The co-opted member may also wish to contact the local Secretary of the Magistrates' Association with a view to receiving details of their programme of events and also the number of magistrates within the committee area who are members.
Apart from the lay Magistrates' of whom there are about 30,000, there are also 95 District Judges (Magistrates' Courts) (formerly Stipendiary magistrates). These are paid professional lawyers who sit alone in courts where there is a high volume of work such as in London and in larger cities. However, many commission areas now have a full time District Judges (Magistrates' Courts) who will sit in more than one location. District Judges (Magistrates' Courts) can also be called in by a local bench, e.g. at times of abnormal pressure. Stipendiary magistrates have all the powers of a lay bench, i.e. they can decide guilt or innocence and pass sentence on their own.
The committee has overall responsibility for management of the Magistrates' courts service within its area. It will consist of up to 12 magistrates from that committee area who are selected by an elected committee of magistrates composed of representatives from each bench within the commission area. Selected members are appointed for a term of three years and may serve a maximum of nine years. The committee may also include co-opted non-magistrate members, a Judge from the crown court with liaison responsibility for the magistrates, and the Lord Lieutenant is also entitled to attend the meetings of the committee. The decisions of the courts committee will be implemented by the justices'' chief executive supported by his administrative team.
Each courts committee has an annual budget calculated by a formula which produces a cash limit. 80% of the cash limit is paid by the Lord Chancellor''s Department and the local authority will pay the balance of 20%. If there is more than one local authority for the committee area then the cost will be shared.
The Magistrates' court is a focal point for the various criminal justice agencies in its area. The Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (or CPS) have complementary but quite distinct roles: the police as the detectors and investigators of crime, the CPS responsible for most prosecution decisions once cases have been started. This includes reviewing the evidence to see whether a case is worth pursuing, deciding on the eventual charge and making other decisions in the public interest. The CPS can discontinue or withdraw proceedings; it can take over proceedings started by a private individual. Other regular law enforcement agencies include Customs and Excise, Trading Standards, TV Licence Records Officer (or TVLRO), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), NSPCC, RSPCA, local authorities and the public utilities.
The probation service provides a range of services to the court. Probation officers carry out expert assessments on request after a person has been convicted. They are officers of the court but work separately from and independently of it. Pre-sentence reports (PSRs '' personal assessments of individual offenders) are influential in Magistrates' sentencing decisions. Probation facilities, or those arranged by probation, enable courts to use a range of probation orders, community service and conditional bail, e.g. requiring residence in a hostel until the case comes back to court.
Local authorities bring care proceedings in respect of children, and are involved in welfare work through their social services departments. They also have prosecution functions, e.g. against parents for not sending a child to school. Council tax enforcement is the responsibility of local councils.
There are four key indicators against which the performance of Magistrates' courts are measured. In simple terms these cover caseload, the time taken to complete cases, fine enforcement effectiveness and quality of service. The Lord Chancellor sets specific targets. Failure to meet the targets could affect the committee''s budget.
The Lord Chancellor has directed that every committee should produce a charter to include specific standards on the provision of separate waiting areas, facilities for disabled people, and waiting times for witnesses. In addition to these provisions, may committees have identified additional standards with the aim of ensuring a high level of service to all court users.
It is recommended that the co-opted member obtains a copy of the local Magistrates' court''s charter.
Over 30,000 lay magistrates supported by 10,000 paid staff
Over 95% of all criminal work is concluded in the Magistrates' court
80% of the funding comes from the Lord Chancellor''s Department and 20% from the local authority
Each committee will have a head of service '' the justices'' chief executive '' supported by justices'' clerk(s) who have prime responsibility for giving legal advice to the magistrates
Each committee is expected to set standards of service and its performance levels are monitored.
National Framework of Local Justice '' obtainable from the Lord Chancellor''s Department
The Lord Chancellor''s training syllabus for Magistrates' issued by the Judicial Studies Board
How Magistrates are Appointed '' obtainable from the Secretary to the local
Advisory Committee which has responsibility for recommending appointments
to the magistracy.
The Right Local Management in a National Framework