A magistrates' court is the lowest level of court in England and Wales. A magistrates' court is presided over by a tribunal consisting of two or more (most commonly three) justices of the peace [Steve is a justice of the peace] and dispenses summary justice [a ruling without a jury]. The tribunal that presides over the Court is commonly referred to simply as the Bench.
Magistrates' courts deal with minor offenses (generally, fines of up to £5,000 and imprisonment of up to 6 months). For certain specified offenses, maximum fines may be higher (for example, for fly tipping ... dumping trash ... up to £50,000).
The Magistrates courts are often considered to be the 'workhorses' of the criminal justice system and handle over 95 percent of the criminal cases in that jurisdiction.
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer elected or appointed [Steve is appointed] by to keep the peace. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have a formal legal education in order to qualify for the office.
So, how has it been 650 years?
In 1195 [that's 816 years ago...], Richard I ("the Lionheart") commissioned certain knights to preserve the peace in unruly areas. They were responsible to the king for ensuring that the law was upheld, and preserved the 'king's peace', and were known as "keepers of the peace".
An act of 1327 [that's 684 years ago ...] had referred to "good and lawful men" to be appointed in every county in the land to "guard the peace"; such individuals were first referred to as conservators or wardens of the peace. The title "justice of the peace" derives from 1361 [ah! 650 years!], in the reign of King Eward III. The "peace" to be guarded is the "king's peace" that justices of the peace use the power conferred to bind over unruly persons "to be of good behaviour." The bind over is not a punishment, but a preventive measure, intended to ensure that people thought likely to offend will not do so. The justices' alternative title of ''magistrate' dates from the sixteenth century.
And there you have it. So there was a champagne reception, a sit down dinner, and several speeches to celebrate the Middlesex bench which has about 150 members, I am told.
