Magistrate Service Joining Criteria?

[mbga9pgf]

Just having a look online and it turns out that being a serving member of the Armed Forces disbars you from being a JP. Why?

Surely serving NCOs and Officers would be ideal candidates for the job? Yet it clearly states on the BBC website that serving mebers of the Armed Forces cannot act as a local Magistrate?

So, where is the conflict of interest? Is it some age-old constitutional issue? Seems ludicrous to me. :}

[Tigs2]

Got an ex forces mate who is a magistrate. I think you will find it is because their is a very lenghty training regime, and you are required to set the dates you can appear in court well in advance (2 mths sometimes), so they cant really rely on people the perceive to be prone to last minute changes.

[16 blades]

It's more to do with the fact we are, in general, too right-wing and will jail too many of these poor helpless criminal 'victims' who after all are just poor and therefore not responsible for their own actions. After all, the courts are an integral part of the great lefty social engineering experiment.

Oh, that and the fact that we are already Crown servants and Magistrates are supposed to be independent....or some such.

16B

[southside]

If you read the small print you can become a Magistrate providing you have less then 3 years to serve. A good pal of mine is a magistrate AND a serving Officer but he goes outside in 6 months. It all todo with training and relocation, back in the 60's serving Officers could become Magistrates but they found that no sooner had they trained them they buggered off to Suez or somewhere sandy and hot (rings a bell !!) so they stoppped recruiting them.


But actually, you need to ask the question,...."Why do you want to become a magistrate"? My Uncle is a JP and he spends his entire day looking down at snotty nosed kids who are in for drugs offences or smarmy businessmen who are about to lose their driving licience for drink related stuff. Its the same case every day, day in, day out...exactly the same every day....same....same.....same.....only the names of the guilty changes.

[Splash Coxswain]

16 B

You are talking utter crap!

I am in the process of becoming a JP right now. They are very happy to take military people but, as has been stated already, need a commitment; current minimum is 26 half days per annum. They acknowledge (and so would you) that a Forces lifestyle does not lend itself easily to such a commitment but, if your CO is prepared to sign a letter that says that you will be made available, then feel free to apply. The reality is, of course, that no CO would sign a letter like that in the current expeditionary warfighting climate and, thus, it is more often those on their last tours who start the process (which can take 2 years from application to sitting on the Bench) to become a lay magistrate. For those that are interested and haven't been to a job interview in a while, heed my warning, it is very rigorous and very searching - so prepare yourself well. Whilst some civilians might see the military as right of Attilla the Hun, you can prove to the interview panel that that is not the case. Finally, it is the office of the Lord Chancellor that makes the decision as to who is appointed, so even if you pass both interviews, there are no guarantees that you will end up a JP. They look for balance and cross-representation of the local community. So, if you live in a high-percentage military zone, you can anticipate that there will undoubtedly be some ex-military amongst the JPs available to sit.

Southside,

Take time out, go sit in the Magistrate Court and see for yourself; that would then allow you to speak from first-hand experience (but then you are prone to spout on this forum) rather than quote your uncle. I have and believe me it's fascinating AND you get the opportunity to send the snotty nosed oiks to prison, thereby clearing the streets for the law abiding citizens of this land. I suspect that if your uncle really felt that way (and wasn't just jossing you about it during a family gathering) he would step down; there is no compulsion to stay a JP for the rest of your life once qualified, after all it's unpaid!

Anybody interested in becoming a JP is welcome to PM about my experience in the recruitment process so far.

[southside]

Oh I've been in a Magistrates court. 4 times. Once as a witness and 3 times as the bloke standing to attention and removing my cap.