The Great Debate: Full Days or Half Days

For as long as I can remember a Magistrates' minimum annual sitting requirement has been the equivalent of thirteen full days.

There has always been the option of completing these as full days, or half days or a combination of the two. Indeed if you read the frequently asked questions page on the current incarnation of the Magistrates' Recruitment website it will tell you the same.

Due to the distance I have to travel to court I am not a big fan of half days. I would much rather be utilised for the full day. From a practical point of view full days are preferable if you are sitting in a trial court, just in case matters take longer than expected and spill into the afternoon session.

However, half days are very handy for those colleagues that live or work very close to a court venue and have other commitments during the day. We're a broad church, so it's important to make sittings as accessible as possible to all colleagues, particularly those with work, family and caring responsibilities.

For years this situation has remained unchanged, but recent retiring room conversation suggests that moves are now afoot to encourage a greater uptake of full day sittings. This, accompanied by the recent suggestion that every Magistrate will be expected to travel up to 90 minutes in each direction to and from court (see Reform of Local Justice Areas consultation), has been met with a degree of consternation.

Half day sitters will be particularly impacted by any expectation that they have to make longer journeys. There is the real prospect that many of them will simply resign from the Magistracy if any pressure is exerted to that effect. That's potentially thousands of Magistrates - many very experienced and long in service - who could up sticks and leave, at the very time the Government is seeking to increase numbers nationally by around 6,000.

There is also concern at the growing disconnect between the Magistracy and local justice. I have never had a Magistrates' Court in my home town, but many longer-serving colleagues have a very strong connection to their local courthouses and communities. There is a special espirit de corps that still exists between Magistrates assigned years ago to courthouse at the bottom of their street. Newer Magistrates tend not to have the same bond with their colleagues or localities - not least because there are now very few courthouses at the bottom of people's streets.

There is also a growing sense of being taken for granted. I was struck by the comment of one Magistrate mentioned in the recent Magistrates' Association "Magistrates Matter" report. In it, they said: "We are volunteers, not employees. But we are treated like unpaid lackeys."

I think that puts it a bit strongly, but the mood is certainly changing in that direction.

These changes will have come from on high, but of course it is local management - the people we have to work with on a weekly basis - that have to do the arm twisting and risk putting noses out of joint. It is not a pleasant position for them to be in.

The Magistracy is a very important asset to the nation. It is one that should be nurtured, instead of slowly being eroded at the edges.