Dire Magistrates: Who are Britain’s self-selecting arbiters of justice?

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

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News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2023

⏱️ 27 minutes

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Summary

Around 12,000 people in England and Wales volunteer as magistrates. That means they can sentence people to up to a year in prison. Yet they have barely any training and no legal qualifications. Penelope Gibbs, the director of Transform Justice, tells Ros Taylor about the problems with relying on a self-selecting, middle-class magistracy who may never have seen inside a jail. They talk about the difficulties in trying to hold remote hearings during the pandemic and how a cash-strapped system struggles to deliver justice. “The training for magistrates is woeful, and I and others have been saying that for years.” – Penelope Gibbs “There used to be really feisty magistrates who would speak out but gradually their independence has been ground down.” – Penelope Gibbs “It’s an incredibly closed and untransparent system.” – Penelope Gibbs “What happens in magistrates court is pretty hidden most of the time.” – Penelope Gibbs Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:55.3	look after theirs with dental life. Pick up dental life in the pet food aisle. Hello and welcome to the bunker I'm Ross Taylor. If you're charged with a crime, it's extremely unlikely that you'll end up before a jury.
1:17.0	95% of criminal cases are resolved by magistrates and never get as far as the Crown Court.
1:22.0	But who are magistrates?
1:24.0	How do we choose them?
1:25.0	And is it right, for example, that the people who can sentence you
1:28.0	to up to a year in prison have no legal qualifications?
1:31.0	Pannellopi Gibbs is director of Transform Justice, which scrutinises our justice system, and she's joining me today to talk about the 12,000 volunteers who we trust with life-changing decisions.
1:42.0	Welcome to the bunker Penelope. Thank you. trust with life-changing decisions.
1:42.6	Welcome to the bunker Penelope.
1:44.0	Thank you.
	...

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