The Magistrates Court is the lowest level of court – all criminal cases will come before a Magistrates Court for trial or referral to a higher court. At the Magistrates Court the case may be heard by either two or three Magistrates or a District Judge. In a Magistrates’ Court a defendant’s guilt and subsequent sentence is decided by the Magistrates or a District Judge. District Judges are legally qualified either as barristers or solicitors and work full-time as judges. There isn’t a jury in a Magistrates Court. 

Who is a Magistrate?

Magistrates are trained volunteers from all walks of life. They are not required to have any legal training and are assisted in court by a legal adviser. Magistrates generally sit in ‘panels’ of two or three. All members of the panel have equal decision-making powers but only one member, the chairman, speaks in court and presides over proceedings. District judges may also hear cases in a Magistrates Court. They usually deal with the longer and more complex matters coming before the Magistrates Courts. 

Sentencing in a Magistrate Court

Magistrates cannot normally send people to prison for periods of time over six months (or 12 months for consecutive sentences). The upper limit of the fine they could impose used to be £5,000 but from 12 March 2015 there is now no cap on the fine a magistrate can impose. Magistrates can also impose a community sentence, like doing unpaid work in the community, and can also give a combination of punishments – e.g. a fine and unpaid work in the community. If the court decides the sentence should be for longer than 6 months, it can pass the case to the Crown Court for sentencing. 

Page last reviewed: 15 February 2021

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