Like others on a separate thread, I was appalled by the recent case where a woman was sexually assaulted by a takeaway worker, who was spared a custodial sentence at Magistrates court.
Some of the issues around Magistrates Court rely on the misperception that the “judge” sits when actually the person making the decision is not legally trained.
The person making th decisions at Magistrates court is a Justice of the Peace (JP) and hey, guess what.
ALMOST ANYONE CAN APPLY TO BECOME A JP.
www.gov.uk/become-magistrate/can-you-be-a-magistrate
Need to be between 18-65 and of good character and able to spare time to sit for at least 13 days per year.
Why are we not applying? Those of us who could? There is also a dire shortage of magistrates at present. So a feminist invasion / Trojan horse may be actively welcomed?
The figures are a little better than I thought wrt demographics
The latest statistics on judicial diversity have been published, revealing that as of 1 April 2020 56% of magistrates in England and Wales were female (the same as last year), 13% were from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds (up from 12% last year) and 49% were aged 60 or over (compared to 52% last year). Just over 1% were aged under 30.
www.magistrates-association.org.uk/News-and-Comments/statistics-published-on-diversity-in-the-magistracy
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