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Description
Flashcards by aneesa_baig786, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by aneesa_baig786
about 10 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| What is a summary offence? | A summary offence are the most minor offences, for example, motoring and minor assaults. For summary offences, their court of first instance is at the Magistrates' Court, and where the trial is held. There can only be a maximum of 6 months of sentencing. |
| What is a triable either way offence? | A triable either way offence is a middle ranged offence, which can vary to being very serious or not that serious. The pre-trial is always at the Magistrates Court. The most serious go to the Crown Court, and the least serious will stay at the Magistrates Court. This will be based on the nature of the offence and how serious it is. |
| What is an indictable offence? | An indictable offence is a very serious offence, for example murder, rape or manslaughter. Their court of first instance and pre-trial matters are at the Magistrates' Court. They are moved immediately to the Crown Court. The decision is made by the jury; overseen by the judge. |
| What are the six key qualities that are set out by the Lord Chancellor, that the potential lay magistrates should have? | 1. Good character 2. Understanding and communication 3. Social awareness 4. Maturity and sound temperament 5. Sound judgement 6. Commitment and reliability |
| Apart from the six key qualities, what else does the Lord Chancellor look for? | In addition, the potential lay magistrates must have "judicial abilities" such as being able to assimilate factual information and make a reasoned decision upon it. |
| What are the formal requirements that lay magistrates must have? | 1. Be aged 16 - 25 2. Live or work within or near to the local justice area to which they are allocated 3. Be available to sit at least 26.5 days each year |
| What are the restrictions on appointment? | 1. Those with criminal convictions 2. Undischarged bankrupts 3. Members of the forces 4. Those whose work is incompatible with sitting as a magistrate (police officer) |
| Describe appointment of lay magistrates. | The Lord Chancellor, on behalf of the Queen, appoints the lay magistrates. In order to decide, the LC relies on recommendations from the local advisory committees. |
| What is the local advisory committee? | The membership of the committee used to be secret, but now all names must be published. The members tend to be ex or current lay magistrates. There is a maximum of 12 members on the committee. |
| What is the two-stage interview process? | At the first interview the panel tries to find out more about the candidate's personal attributes and 6 key qualities. The second interview is aimed at testing candidate's judicial aptitude which is done by discussing case studies. |
| Describe the work of lay magistrates. | They have a very wide workload. They try 97% of all criminal cases including summary and TEW offences. They deal with preliminary hearings in the remaining 3%. They have specialist panels - Youth Court and Family Court. There are also appeals they decide upon. |
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