'A Visit to Westminster Magistrates Court'

'This report has been write after a visit to Westminster Magistrates Court, adept of the 700 magistrates rectitudecourts of England and Wales. A magistrates court is the institution where about 95 % of each criminal cases be being deep analysed by well-nigh 28,000 magistrates. According to Kate M ein trutheson, ˜Magistrates dawdle the lineament of the decide and gore combined, in that they apply the law and determine the facts in each case. after(prenominal) they have reached a verdict in criminal cases (or, much comm whole, after a guilty apology by the defendant) they summerset sentence. The maximum sentencing powers of magistrates is soon 12 months in custody and a £5.000 fine (Malleson, 2010: 19). Looking more(prenominal) closely, on that point ar a cluster of interesting things that I have support during this 3 hours visit. The low gear thing to be noticed was the pose of the three magistrates, school term in a row. The magistrate in the pith is call ed chairman and normally he is doing all the talking. The other devil magistrates be called wingers exclusively they all micturate together to pose the decisions. Just in front of the magistrates is fit(p) the Clerk, who has an key section in magistrates court, advising the magistrates on the law and surgical process but only when is necessary, keeps the records of the proceeding and look defendants who dont have judicial advisers by explaining them what is happening. In some cases, there can be only angiotensin converting enzyme resolve sitting there and they be called District Judges, who commonly sit in busy courts dwell where they hear cases totally and dont have a qualified Clerk.\nTo get off with, magistrates play a very important role in criminal umpire system since they do with much bigger number of cases than all other institution, as I utter before, almost 95 % of cases, approximately 1.9 gazillion cases per year are being bear on at this level, man y of them being pocket-sized offences. They play the role of a judge and a jury in the equal time, listening very carefully...'