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Unit 23 - D1

Decent Essays

Unit 23 – D1

In this section I am going to evaluate the effectiveness of Lay people within the English Legal System.

Lay people are extremely useful individuals within the civil and criminal courts within the English legal system. The most influential lay people are the Lay Magistrates and the Jury who have important roles with the legal system. Magistrates usually deal with most cases that are heard within the criminal system. They are the decision makers as to guilt or innocence making 97-99% of all cases while on the other hand 1% of cases are heard with a jury present. This shows us that those that are not legally qualified make most decisions regarding the criminal justice system, which means that they are ordinary people who hail …show more content…

Magistrates because they are not paid, will have to take time off work to attend their duties. Now, in a business environment, an employer may be rather annoyed if an employee had to continuously take time off work to attend their duties and would thus be difficult for that employee-especially if they are not to be paid whilst they are away. This loss of earning may discourage a person from becoming a magistrate. Whereas, if a magistrate is an employer or a senior employee in the business, they will more easily be able to take time off work to attend court. This relates to how they will be middle-aged and middle-minded. The training process is said to have not been adequate or effective enough. They are not in trained in broader ways and therefore lacking full knowledge. A risk with the magistrates is that although they may be able to empathise with the defendant, they are prosecution minded and more likely to believe the police. They may also be heavily reliant upon the clerk when in reality, the clerk can only advise them on certain aspects and interpret difficult points of law. A major disadvantage is the fact that there are inconsistencies within the sentencing of defendants. A defendant in Leeds charged with the same offence as the defendant in Bristol may receive a more lenient sentence. Additionally, the workload of the magistrates is incredibly heavy and would be

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