... whether it is a summary offence where the defendant has no jury at the trial, these offences include minor assaults or vehicle crime. Or whether to decide if the case should be heard at a Crown court. The Magistrate deals with cases that are considered as mainly minor offences, in fact over 90 percent1 of all criminal cases are tried by magistrates. Even though the Magistrate courts have civil jurisdiction, there main case load is criminal. The most significant difference that is noticed in the magistrate court is that cases are heard by Justices of the peace or magistrates, there can either be three judges or one district magistrate judge. As these are the judges and are people who do not have formalised legal training and are volunteers but are advised by the magistrate clerks on legal issues, who also handle the general administrative court work.There are generally three main ...

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