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Describe the selection,training and role of a lay magistrate


The last of these is especially important due to the training involved to become a lay magistrate. .
             There are a lot of short courses for a candidate to take to become a lay magistrate. The magistrate has to complete a short induction course in the first three months alone. This includes court observation and basic court procedures. This is then followed by some more basic training that includes court observation and prison visits in the first year. In the second and third years an eight-hour course has to be completed. The courses generally cover five main subjects, these are.
              The procedure of the court.
              The rules of evidence.
              The jobs that the court has to perform.
              The use of law words and phrases and principles of law.
              Sentencing exercises to develop the skill of sentencing offenders.
             After completing the training all magistrates have to complete a refresher course of at least twelve hours every three years.
             Although the training process is over a few years and magistrates are very well selected there are still problems with the system. The amount of training is not adequate for the jobs demanding workload and the magistracy sometimes does not attend some training courses as pointed out by the Lord Chancellor. There is also inconsistency in the training system because there is not a national training programme. These are not the only disadvantages that accompany the role of a lay magistrate. A lot of lay magistrates are suspended for long periods of time or even removed from the office for misbehaviour which is wasting the governments money that they spent on training the magistrate. Magistrates also give varied hearings across the country with some people being prosecuted in one area of the country and not another. The inconsistency is most probably due to the fact that there is not a national training programme but it is a big disadvantage of having lay magistrates in the English system.


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