by TheJusticeofthePeace @ 31.
Dec. 2010. – 12:00:21
This is the last day of a
decade probably to be known in future as the twenty “naughties”. Like many apt
short cuts this pun on its numerical values combined with an accurate
description of its financial values seems appropriate.
I became a J.P. in the nineties
and am entering my third decade. When I applied I left blank on the application
form the question ,”Which party did you vote for in the last General Election?”
Subsequent to being interviewed I was told that unless I answered the question
my application would not go forward. I answered the question. At that time it
was considered necessary for such a question to be put in order to balance the
perceived political opinions on the bench. Subsequently I was surprised by how
many colleagues approved of such a question. No amount of persuasion on my part
that our position was apolitical had much influence. It was only after a year
or two in position that I learned that many of the senior J.P.s on my bench
were political hacks of one sort or another. I can honestly say that I despised
them, what they stood for, how they got there and in retrospect how they
behaved on the bench. In those early days the bench was run as a petty sessions
there being no distant overall management structure. It was run by a single
justice`s clerk who controlled every function from court structures on one hand
to legal staff on the other. We as magistrates fitted well into our independent
slot. There were no sentencing guidelines and “common sense,” a requirement for
appointment which has since been discarded, was often our guide to just
sentencing.
That was then and this is now.
This coming decade heralds the greatest changes in the magistracy in a century.
We are at a crossroads. Either our powers will be enhanced by increased
sentencing powers and the abolition of a defendant’s right to choose mode of
trial or we will be reduced to winging courts of presiding District Judges thus
reducing our numbers at a stroke and sitting on minor motoring matters. This
government and probably any other does not see us in terms of local justice any
more than a hospital is local. A hospital or a court is part of a network of
such institutions and its purpose is to provide a designated service of the
highest quality at the lowest cost. If magistrates and their representatives
have not realised this by now they should wake up before the tsunami washes
them away. In 366 days my bench will absorb two nearby benches. Those who don`t
want or cannot adapt to the changes have only one future and that is as ex
magistrates.
I wish one and all a happy New
Year and thank you again for spending a few of your treasured life minutes
reading these posts.