Magistrate

A magistrate is a judicial officer with limited authority to administer and enforce the law. A magistrate's court may have jurisdiction in civil or criminal cases, or both.

In England and Wales

In the English and Welsh legal system, magistrates hear prosecutions for and dispose of summary offences, by making orders in regard to and placing additional requirements on offenders. Magistrates' sentencing powers are limited, but extend to shorter periods of custody, fines, probation and community service orders, and a miscellany of other options. Magistrates hear committal proceedings for indictable offences, and establish whether sufficient evidence exists to pass the case to a higher court for trial and sentencing. Magistrates have power to pass summary offenders to higher courts for sentencing when, in the opinion of the magistrate, a penalty greater than can be given in magistrates court is warranted. A wide range of other legal matters are within the remit of magistrates, such as certain licensing matters. In the past, magistrates have been responsible for granting licences to sell alcohol, for instance, but this function is currently being shifted to local councils.

Related Topics:
English - Welsh - Legal system

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There are two types of magistrate in England and Wales: lay magistrates and legal professionals permanently employed by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The first group, known as Justices of the Peace, sit voluntarily on local benches (a colloquial and legal term for the local court), hearing lesser matters, and are provided with advice, especially on sentencing, by a legally qualified Court Clerk.

Related Topics:
Department for Constitutional Affairs - Justices of the Peace

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The second group, professional magistrates, are nowadays known as District Judges, although hitherto they were known as Stipendiary Magistrates (which is to say, magistrates who received a stipend or payment). District Judges have the authority to sit in any magistrates' court (or, in legal parlance, on any bench). Under European legislation with force in England and Wales (by Act of Parliament), certain sentences may be passed only by paid magistrates and not by their lay colleagues.

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In Scotland, the lowest level of law-court is presided over by a Sheriff.

Related Topics:
Scotland - Sheriff

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