Unpaid volunteers begin every criminal case in England and Wales
Every criminal prosecution in England and Wales starts in a magistrates' court, and most benches are staffed by unpaid volunteers with no legal qualification. The word they carry once named Rome's highest officials, who also judged and governed without being lawyers, leaning instead on expert jurists for advice.
In ancient Rome a magistratus held one of the top offices of state, wielding both judicial and executive power within a set sphere, and could issue law of his own. The consul stood highest. The praetor, later split into urban and peregrine posts, was the senior judge in private disputes between citizens, while the curule aediles oversaw public works and policed the markets. That double role explains why the modern word can describe both administrators and judges. After Rome fell, Germanic city-states used magistrate loosely for whoever held top office, whether called consul, mayor or doge.
Today the meaning varies wildly by country. In France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands the term covers both prosecutors, who stand, and judges, who sit. Portugal calls its president the Supreme Magistrate of the Nation. In Finland the related word names a local office that keeps population registers and conducts civil weddings, and in Mexico a magistrado is a senior appeal judge.
England and Wales rely on two kinds. Justices of the peace are trained volunteers chosen for qualities such as sound judgement and maturity, usually sitting as a panel of three with a legal adviser beside them; police officers and traffic wardens are barred from serving. District judges are paid, legally qualified, and normally sit alone. Magistrates can impose up to 12 months' imprisonment or an unlimited fine, and pass the gravest cases up to the Crown Court. They once had to live within 15 miles of their court in case a warrant needed signing at night, a rule the Courts Act 2003 abolished.
Numbers have collapsed: 12,651 magistrates in 2021, half the 25,170 of 2012. Figures from April 2021 showed 56% were women and 82% were over 50. Volunteers can claim up to £116.78 a day for lost earnings and expenses.
Source: Magistrate
