Magistrates
Magistrates sit together in a row facing the rest of the people. The
magistrate in the middle usually does all the talking - she/he is called
the chairman and the other two either side are called wingers. They all
work together to make the decisions. Whenever possible there will be a
mix of male/female, young/old, working/not working, ethnic minorities.
Why is this important?
Sometimes you might see one magistrate sitting alone - she/he is called a
district judge. There are about 100 district judges in England and Wales.
They have legal qualifications and they are paid for the work they do. They
sit alone in court.
The Clerk
- Acts as legal advisor to the court and is legally qualified.
- Assists defendants who do not have legal advisors by explaining what happens
step by step.
- Puts the charges to the defendant.
- Advises the magistrates on the law and procedure when necessary.
- Keeps a record of the proceedings.
Witness stand
When people come to court to give evidence (tell
the story of what they saw) they stand in the witness box. First of
all they have to take an oath which means they promise to tell the
truth.
They then tell the magistrates what happened and sometimes the person
from the law enforcement agency (prosecutor) and the defence ask them
more questions.
The magistrates and the clerk usually take down notes of what they say
to help them remember all the important facts.
There is a service called 'The Witness Service' which helps witnesses,
victims and their families before, during and after the court hearing.
The volunteers help witnesses understand where they have to go and what
happens.
Prosecution
The prosecution represents different organisation
that have to give the facts tothe magistrate to prove that the person
broke the law. Most cases are handled by the Crown Prosecution Service,
but others may include:
- The Royal Sociaty for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who for
example bring people to court if they don't look after their animals
properly
- Trading Standards who, for example, might charge a shop owner with
selling out of date food or a restaurant which was filing to keep
the kitchen clean enough
- TV Licensing Authority who might charge someone who did not have
a TV licence
Find out what sort of cases these prosecutors would bring to court:
Customs & Excise, Local Authorities, Health & Safety Executive,
Environment Agency.
Defence
When someone has been accused of breaking the law, they usually have
a solicitor in court to help them.
A Socilictor is someone who has qualification in the law and who can
help with understanding what is happening. She/he can explain to the
accused person what has been said so that they know what to say.
Probation
Probation officers help to supervise offenders in the community by
trying to help them realise what they have done, how that has affected
victims, and by helping them to go straight. Probation officers also
write reports about people who have been found guilty to help magistrates
decide what is the best way to deal with them.
Press
Sometimes there will be a reporter in court. Usually they are from
the local newspaper but when a celebrity is in court there may be many
more reporters. The press generally do not go into youth courts and
and family proceedings courts because they can only report sertain
things.
When a young person is in court the magistrates can stop the press
from naming the person or reporting certain information.
At the moment television cameras are not allowed to film actual proceedings
in court but they can film reconstructions.
The Court Usher:
- often wears a black coat so that people can find them easily
- checks the arrival of people at court
- shows people in and out of the court
- gives people information about which court they should be in
- calls the witnesses
- generally keeps things running smoothly
A good usher checks a witness' name and religion so that they can swear
an oath on their Holy Book.
They also help a court run very efficiently and calm people down who
are angry, worried or impatient, or often all three!
The adult criminal court
Courts are not always absolutely the same but usually the lay out of the court
is something like this. The offender usually sits in the dock.
Place your
mouse over any part of the diagram for more information.
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