... a closer and objective look we can see that most Magistrates are either middle-aged or retired. Therefore it cannot be expected of retired people to cope with the same load of work as younger people. In this way they become more expensive to the state since more time and subsequently money is needed to deal with a smaller amount of cases. Furthermore the use of a clerk in the court room is also time consuming and expensive, but it is essential since lay Magistrates may come across (and they offend do) with a legal point or procedural matters they need advice with. The justifications used for using lay people in the Magistrate's court are really not so essential. The most commonly used excuse is that ordinary people are best able to judge and sentence minor crimes. Another excuse given is that lay Magistrates are cheap. But this is controversial since ...

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