A Day in the Life of a Magistrate

A fairly typical day in court, described by a Magistrate:

0900 hrs:

I arrive at the court building I am sitting at that day, probably having travelled many miles to get there. My closest court is half an hour from home, but it only has limited work so I often travel much further afield. I really don't mind travelling to get a few of the more interesting and unusual cases to deal with.

The concept of local justice is a bit of a misnomer nowadays, with Justices having (theoretical) jurisdiction to sit at any Magistrates' Court in England or Wales. That being case the traditional Local Justice Area boundaries are a bit blurred and we are often asked to help out at courts in different areas 50+ miles away. Even so, most still choose to sit fairly close to where they live or work.

On arriving at the court building I will enter via a private doorway, sign in at the sheet in the hallway/foyer and make my way to the retiring room. I am undoubtedly one of the first Justices to arrive, but I'd far rather get there in plenty of time than panic about being late if I am unexpectedly delayed en route.

0900 - 0945 hrs:

I am probably already carrying a cup of coffee (possibly a cheeky bacon sandwich too) when I arrive, but if not my first task will be to get one from the kitchen adjoining the retiring room. There are always plenty of biscuits for anyone with a sweet tooth.

There is usually time for a chat with colleagues as they arrive, some of whom I might not have seen for several months. Conversation is a varied affair, ranging from holidays to medical procedures and everything in between!

Some courts have very grand, spacious retiring rooms where all of the Justices in the court building congregate together; others have small retiring rooms for each bench to congregate separately. There is always a table to sit around, various pieces of literature to read and noticeboards displaying important information.

The office staff will have left lists of the day's work in the retiring room, so I pick out the relevant list that applies to my court and read through the morning's business. Reading the list, I pay particular attention to the names and addresses of the defendants and the offences with which they are charged. If there is an obvious conflict of interest - say one of the defendants was well known to me, or an offence happened at my place of work - then I would make the chairman and legal advisor aware and step down from dealing with that case.

Having read the list I will go to the cabinet in the corner of the retiring room and sign out an iPad. Experience tells me that it's a good idea to view a selection of iPads in the cabinet before choosing one, as some of them are getting a bit weather-beaten and struggle to hold charge.

I'd open up the Sentencing Guidelines app and search for and bookmark the guidelines relating to cases before my court. If sitting in a GAP court (guilty anticipated plea) then I will refresh my memory of the relevant guidelines, as we will probably have a lot of work and have to deal with each case fairly briskly. If sitting in an NGAP court (not guilty anticipated plea) or trials court then the pace is slower and there is more time to read the relevant guidelines as and when required. If it is a remand court then we might not know what we are dealing with until a few minutes before we start, but you can usually bank on things like drunk and disorderly, shop theft, breaches of bail, bindings over etc.

The legal advisor shares details of each case electronically using the Court Store app on the iPad. I'd sign into the Court Store and read through anything that had been shared for the first few cases. In the case of a trial (e.g. where we are hearing the case of a defendant who has pleaded not guilty) we are not told anything prejudicial to the fairness of the trial. We would only get an outline charge and copy of the PET (preparation for an effective trial) form. The PET form, which is agreed by the prosecution and defence advocates, gives administrative details for the trial and briefly outlines the basis of the not guilty plea.

0945 hrs:

Around about this time the legal advisor will appear, introduce them self if necessary and tell us the names of the prosecution and defence advocates. In all likelihood we will know the legal advisor very well, having worked with them on many previous occasions. The legal advisor will bring any unusual cases to our attention and address any questions we might have before going into court. The legal advisor is professionally qualified to advise the bench on points of law. It is not the legal advisor's job to make the bench's decisions for it.

0950 - 1000 hrs:

There might be warrant applications made behind closed doors before we open the court to the public.

1000 hrs (but often delayed):

We leave the retiring room, walk to our courtroom and announce our arrival (by either knocking on the door or pressing a button). We will already have decided which winger is on either side of the chairman. The usher inside the courtroom will ask everyone present to stand and we will enter and take our seats, having wished everyone present a good morning beforehand.

The first case is called and away we go.

Depending on the business of the court, we might deal with 20 (or more) cases during the morning. Some of these might be fairly brief (e.g. adjourning for trial if the defendant pleads not guilty), others may take some time (e.g. deciding whether a drink drive offence has crossed the custody threshold). The more straightforward and routine decisions will be taken by getting our heads together as we remain on the bench. We are keen to make as much progress as possible, so will only retire to discuss matters if we really have to.

1230 hrs:

Usually we break for lunch at about this time, but it may be earlier or later depending on the workload that particular day.

1230 - 1315 hrs:

By this time my iPad will be limping along, so I might sneak it back into the cabinet to squeeze some extra charge into it.

In our area most Justices are rota'd for a full day sitting, but there are sometimes changeovers at lunchtime.

Many of us will have brought something to eat in the retiring room, but some will take the short walk into town to buy sandwiches or simply breathe fresh air and stretch their legs!

1315 - 1345 hrs:

This is when I would start preparing for the afternoon session. I would normally follow the same procedure as between 0900 - 0945 hrs, but having done a lot of preparation earlier on things can get done much quicker now.

1345 hrs:

Just like earlier on, the legal advisor will appear and introduce them self. In our area, it will probably be the same legal advisor as in the morning.

1350 - 1400 hrs:

More warrant applications if necessary.

1400 hrs (but often delayed):

We return to the courtroom to deal with the afternoon's cases.

1630 hrs:

Usually we're finished the afternoon's cases by about this time, but it may be earlier or later depending on the workload that particular day.

1630 - 1640 hrs:

Back to the retiring room now and the legal advisor will often ask if we want to have a post court review. The review is an opportunity to discuss any legal or procedural points that have arisen from the day's cases.

1640:

Just before leaving court I will clear all of my bookmarks on the Sentencing Guidelines app, log out of the Court Store, return my iPad to the cabinet and make sure it is being charged ready for the next person to use.

I engage in any final bits of conversation before wishing my colleagues a good evening and heading home.