News and comments

As a part of the Lord Chief Justice's ongoing schools initiative, Dawn Gibbons (deputy chair of our Black, Asian and minority ethnic network) participated in a Schools' Question Time event co-convened by the Judicial Office and Young Citizens on 9 May 2022.

Every day the Magistrates' Association advocates on behalf of its members. Our national officers, together with our four policy committees and supported by our small staff team, cover a wide range of issues that matter most to our members and represent the organisation on external bodies. Find out what we have been working on most recently.

9-15 May 2022 marks Mental Health Awareness Week, an opportunity for us all to help raise awareness of and take steps to support our own and others' mental health. This year's theme is loneliness, so we've compiled some ideas that might help any of our members who are currently experiencing such feelings.

Tom Franklin took up the role of the CEO of the Magistrates' Association at the end of May 2021. As he approaches his first anniversary in post, he reflects on the last 12 months and shares what's on the horizon for the year ahead.

Fancy helping to oversee the strategic direction of the MA? Familiarise yourself with the board's composition, the positions available this year, and what being a trustee entails. Nominations open in June.

We are pleased that the MA’s views on this historic reform were featured by a wealth of print and online national, local and sector-specific publications.

Taking place annually on 22 April, Stephen Lawrence Day celebrates the life and legacy of its namesake who was murdered in a racially-motivated attack in 1993. The Home Office kindly invited us to mark this day together.

The MA was proud to see several of its members speaking so passionately about volunteering as a magistrate – encouraging others to follow in their footsteps and raising awareness of the immense contribution magistrates make to their communities.

John Bache, MA chair from 2017 to 2020, was recognised for his contribution to his community in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on 30 March 2022.

An opportunity to represent the MA on the Judicial Business Group (JBG) for the North West has arisen following the incumbent's successful appointment as a bench chair. We are looking to fill this vacancy as soon as possible; the first JBG meeting is taking place in July.