Which court should I apply to?
While the role of the magistrate is always about hearing a range of cases and using sound judgement to make the right decisions, magistrates work in two distinct environments – the criminal court and the family court. If you’d like to become a magistrate, you’ll need to choose which type of court you want to work in. In either environment, you’ll have a wide range of opportunities to make a meaningful difference to individuals, and to wider society.
Family and criminal courts handle different types of cases, and work with different groups of people. Magistrates in both courts require similar skills, character, and sound judgement, but the interests and motivations that might lead you to each could differ.
Skills for both courts include:
- Understand and appreciate different perspectives
- Make fair, impartial and transparent decisions
- Communicate with sensitivity and respect
- Show self-awareness and be open to learning
- Work and engage with people professionally
Family court magistrates might have a number of interests such as:
- Working with vulnerable children and families
- Making a tangible difference to the community
- Education and welfare
- Supporting children and families through difficult times
Learn more about the family court
Criminal court magistrates might have interests such as:
- Supporting communities
- Working with vulnerable adults
- Reducing crime
- Rehabilitating offenders
Before you can apply to be a criminal magistrates, you will need to visit a court.
Learn more about the criminal court
How does sentencing work?
Magistrates work as a bench (team of three) and are supported by a legal advisor to help them make decisions.
Only criminal court magistrates deliver sentences. They can sentence people for up to 12 months for a single offence.
Watch how offenders are sentenced in England and Wales to give you an insight into the types of sentences magistrates can give out.
While family magistrates don’t pass sentences, they do make decisions that affect vulnerable children, support separated parents in making arrangements for their children, enforce child maintenance orders, and help prevent domestic abuse.
What’s it like working as a magistrate?
Watch magistrate Khadija talk about what it’s like volunteering as a magistrate (this video contains hard coded captions):
Read full video transcript
Khadija: (0:02)
So, a magistrate is a voluntary role, it’s a member of the public and it can be anybody. So, you can do it if you’re over 18 and you can sit as a magistrate, which is amazing! It’s a voluntary role, but you’re growing and learning so much from doing it as well. It’s more than just a role, it’s a public service. It’s a public duty for a reason because you are investing your time into others and that’s just a privilege. Actually, I’m learning so much being a magistrate. I’m learning how to articulate myself. I’m learning about the law; I’m learning about how the legal system works. And I’m learning how to make decisions in the best interests of people.
I’m taking that straight back with me to work, and to home and to my friends, and to the people in my community.
0:49 [Music]
Khadija: (0:50)
I think because I love doing this, I love meeting new people. I love working with different magistrates and each time I’ve come to court I’ve met someone completely different. It’s really fun and it’s really exciting and the buzz you get from coming into court, and the buzz you get leaving court, you don’t really need energy to do it. You just need to want to do it and it all comes naturally – it’s very exciting, and you don’t know what the day might bring, and you learn something every single time you sit, whether you’ve sat for a day or you’ve sat for so many different years.
You’re learning all the time and it’s a very exciting thing to do, so you don’t need energy to do it, you can just, you can turn up and do it.
1:31 [Music]
Khadija: (1:32)
Things that I love about this role is that I get to see when I make a difference for somebody. I get to see when someone was really scared about coming to court and thought that they were going to either have a huge fine or they were going to have to suffer some really brutal consequences for them. Recognising what is just for somebody and what the right punishment is, or the right consequence of their actions is. Recognising that you can change someone’s thought processes instead. Or you can make them safe in their community, that’s important.