Criminal Justice System: Roles of Judges, Juries, and Magistrates

This assignment explores the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in England and Wales, focusing on the roles and responsibilities of key decision-makers. It begins by examining the roles of magistrates, detailing their qualifications, responsibilities (including handling a vast majority of criminal cases, dealing with anti-social behavior and granting warrants), and potential conflicts of interest. The assignment then delves into the role of judges, outlining their responsibilities (such as maintaining order, sentencing, and instructing juries), and qualifications. Following this, the role of the jury is discussed, highlighting their responsibilities (deciding facts in cases) and qualifications. The assignment then evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of each of these components: the jury (bias, representativeness), magistrates (inconsistency, bias), and judges (influence by lawyers). Finally, the assignment concludes with recommendations for improvements, emphasizing the importance of fairness, community representation, and minimizing corruption within the criminal justice system. The document cites various legal and academic sources.

Effectiveness of Criminal Justice System 1
EFFECTIVENESS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
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Effectiveness of Criminal Justice System 2
Workbook: Effectiveness of Criminal Justice System
Key Responsibilities of Judges, Magistrates, and Juries
Magistrates
The magistrates in Wales and England play a critical role in the UK judiciary. According
to a study which was conducted in 2011, it was found out that about 19 of the 20 criminal court
cases had been dealt with by the magistrates. Also, about 6 percent of the total cases were
handled by the crown court (Crosby, 2018 p.8). The magistrates are also involved in the law
enforcement such that they apply the civil jurisdiction with the aim of assisting the local
authorities and police in reducing gang violence and anti-social behavior. Moreover, the
magistrates are considered volunteers who aid in the justice system. The justice system was
formed such that the magistracy was at the helm with much focus on the provision of justice to
the society (Brooks, 2017 p.90). Besides, there are certain qualities which the magistrates must
have to produce sound judgment. Such qualities include the application of sound judgment,
fairness, good character and comprehension of other people.
Roles and Responsibilities
There are a variety of roles played by the magistrates in the UK as is indicated below;
 Protecting children from abuse
 Combating anti-social behavior and gang violence
 Dispensing justice for the benefit of the society
Dealing with fine enforcement
Granting search warrant and also the right of entry applications
Monitoring offenses
Consideration of bail applications
Hearing less serious court cases such as murder and rape

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Qualifications of Magistrates
According to the law, there are formal qualifications or rather a legal training for an
individual to become a magistrate. Some of the key qualifications include;
Good Character
A magistrate should have a good character such that under the following circumstances
he or she will not be appointed;
Declared bankrupt
Found guilty of serious crimes
Restrained from driving in the past 5 to 10 years
Found guilty of a variety of minor offenses.
Age
According to Backhouse and Ferrett (2016 p.30), a magistrate has to be over 18 years and
below 65 years of age. However, they should retire at 70. Moreover, the magistrates should serve
for at least five years.
Personal Qualities
A magistrate is expected to have the right personal qualities such as being committed and
reliable to serve the society. Other personal qualities include being aware of social issues as well
as being fair, mature and the ability to comprehend other individuals. Besides, the above
mentioned personal qualities, there are also certain others such as the ability to think logically
thus attain a fair decision. Also, a magistrate should comprehend documents, communicate
properly as well following evidence.

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Conflict of Interest
A magistrate is not expected to have another job apart from the one which he or she is
appointed to do, and this is done to avoid the creation of a conflict of interest.
Health
Health is an important quality which should be possessed by the magistrates. For
example, the magistrate should have the ability to hear clearly and thus listen to a particular case.
Also, he or she should concentrate and sit for a long time.
Judges
A judge is defined as an appointed official whose responsibility is to conduct a variety of
court proceedings (Jimeno-Bulnes and Hans, 2016 p.10). The critical role of the judge is to
maintain order as well as providing information on the sentence of another individual. According
to the UK law, a judge should be fair, impartial, unbiased and at the same time follow the law. In
the event that a particular case is brought to court for the first time, judges are expected to
ascertain whether there is sufficient evidence to offer support that a specific criminal activity had
been done
Roles and Responsibilities of Judges
Gerry and Cooper (2017 p.270), argues that there are a variety of roles performed by judges
in court. Such tasks usually depend on the presence of the jury in the court. The roles include;
 Signing for arrests and searches
 Punishing the misconduct which may occur in a courtroom.
 Implementation of an order which refrains another individual from carrying out certain
things in court
 Overseeing the juvenile courts to ensure that they work effectively and quickly.

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 Presiding over hearings and trials
 Instructing the jury on relevant laws and the consideration of the evidence provided.
 Conducting research and readings on the laws.
Qualifications
According to Gray (2018 p.670), to become a judge, an individual must have
certain qualifications such as one must have practiced law for about six years as a legal
executive, barrister as well as a solicitor. The other qualification is that an individual
must be a graduate diploma in the law which is later proceeded by a legal practice course
or bar professional training course. Another important qualification is that to become a
judge in the UK; one must be an undergraduate having completed a law degree for five
years (Aliverti and Seoighe, 2017 p.140).
Jury
According to the UK law, the jury performs a vital role in the legal system. While
in courts, the jury tries a case and this is primarily a serious case. There are however
certain legal cases which the jury is required (Hunt, 2018 p.10). The significant cases
which are handled by the jury are usually the civil cases which include, assault and
defamation cases. Additionally, the civil cases relating to family law and personal
injuries, the presence of the jury is not required.
Roles and Responsibilities of the jury
 Taking notes of court proceedings
 Reaching a verdict on particular cases in court

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 Deciding on the facts of cases
Qualifications.
The critical qualifications of a jury in the UK include the following;
A person must;
 Be between 18 and 70 years old
 Registered to vote in both local and parliamentary government elections
 Registered citizen of UK
Strengths and Weaknesses of Judges, Jury and Magistrates
Strength of Jury
 Minimizes cases of corruption
 Help in spreading of responsibility through sharing of decision making
 Acts a representation of a cross section of the community
Weaknesses
 Could be unrepresentative of the community due to ineligibility as well as
disqualification
 Some of them are usually biased for example in the case of Andrew Adams V. Jack
Royal in which Adam was wrongly convicted for 15 years without proper consideration
of various elements.
Magistrates
Strength
 Represents the concerns of a community
 Participate publicly in the justice system
Weaknesses

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 Some of them are inconsistent due delays in making of decisions
 The magistrates are also bias to the police.
Judges
Strengths
 Act on behalf of the society
 They are usually volunteers hence they are cheap.
Weaknesses
 They can easily be influenced by some of the charismatic lawyers resulting to
biased decisions.
Recommendations
Based on the failures of the judges, jury and magistrates during the implementation of the law, it
is recommended that they should;
Be fair and unbiased in their ruling
Represent the community by being fair with their decisions
Minimise various cases of corruption
References

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Aliverti, A. and Seoighe, R., 2017. Lost in translation? Examining the role of court interpreters
in cases involving foreign national defendants in England and Wales. New Criminal Law
Review: In International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 20(1), pp.130-156.
Backhouse, J. and Ferrett, E., 2016. Fire Safety and Risk Management Revision Guide: for the
NEBOSH National Fire Certificate. Routledge.
Brooks, T., 2017. The right to trial by jury. In The Right to a Fair Trial (pp. 83-98). Routledge.
Crosby, K., 2018. Restricting the Juror Franchise in 1920s England and Wales. Law and History
Review, p.1-15
Gerry, F. and Cooper, P., 2017. Effective participation of vulnerable accused persons: case
management, court adaptation and rethinking criminal responsibility. Journal of Judicial
Administration, 26(4), pp.265-274.
Gray, S., 2018. You Can't Change Me, I'm a Cop: Should Police, Corrections Staff and Law
Enforcement Officers Be Immune from Criminal Liability for Actions Carried out against
Vulnerable People in the Course of Their Duties. UNSWLJ, 41, p.670.
Hunt, G., 2018. Health and Safety Pocket Book. Routledge.
Jimeno-Bulnes, M. and Hans, V.P., 2016. Legal interpreter for the jury: the role of the Clerk of
the Court in Spain, p.1-10