An alternative view is offered

In his article for Adel Bells in October, Raymond Curry wondered whether today's magistrates approach their duties in the same way that he did. Perhaps this response will help to answer that question.

Raymond suggested that some people see appointment to the Bench as an opportunity to enhance their CV; and he stated that some magistrates also feel that they should be paid. We haven't come across either sentiment amongst our colleagues and we recognise, in recent appointees to the Bench, the same motivation which caused us to offer ourselves for selection - a wish to give something back to the community which has given much to us.

It's true that the job has become more bureaucratic over the years; and some of us worry that this may deter some potentially excellent people from applying for appointment. But new legislation is enacted by Parliament, ultimately in response to and - we hope - in accordance with the wish of society. If that's not the case, then we're all guilty of electing the wrong people as our MPs! New legislation requires new skills from JPs and contributes to the need for the continuous in-service training we all undertake. Another cause of more paperwork is the wish of the public to 
see Benches sentence more consistently; so we have sentencing guidelines to help ensure that offenders are sentenced according to the same criteria, wherever in the country they commit a crime.

In our experience, JPs tend not to take themselves too seriously; but the 400-odd JPs in Leeds take their duties very seriously and they are neither complacent nor uncritical about the impact of new - or old - legislation on offending behaviour in the community. We see our role as applying the present legislation objectively and impartially. Where we have concerns with aspects and trends in current legislation we use internal channels - direct contact with Legal Advisors, informal contacts with permanent staff, formal Bench meetings and membership of the Magistrates Association - to express our opinions and make an informed contribution to the development of better legislation.

Although well over 90% of criminal cases are completed in the Magistrates' Courts, their activities go largely unreported; an indication perhaps that we get it nearly right most of the time! We all derive satisfaction from being responsible for justice being done - and seen to be done - albeit not in relation to the most serious of crimes.

Iain Butler; Jenny Jones; 
John Williams - very active JPs