Are our magistrates corrupt or incompetent?

This LBC presenter suggests they are:

Obviously doesn’t understand the concept of the separation of powers.

The Legislature makes the laws, the Judiciary interprets them. If the laws are inadequate then it is not the fault of the Magistrate but the fault of the Legislature ie Parliament.

The point he is making is there is a range of punishments and the magistrate has to assess where on that range the ‘crime’ falls - in other words it’s within their discretion. Unless I am mistaken he’s basically saying those sentences could easily be reversed and still be within that range - so why did one magistrate give the wife beater less punishment than a protester on a slow march? Doesn’t quite make sense does it :101:

I get that but the magistrate acts as an individual responding to the single case before him and there is an appeals process if the sentence in considered unfair.

Surely you wouldn’t want a justice system where the sentence is determined by the magistrate’s political master as in Russia or China? Or even mandatory sentencing like the three strikes legislation in the USA and WA?

That is a very slippery slope which I hope you wouldn’t want…

The UK (and other countries like it) purport to be the epitome of modern, fair and democratic civilisations and so I would think it’s fair to expect better. Particularly when it’s something that seems politically motivated or influenced. I reckon most people will think it’s absurd that a wife beater wasn’t sent to prison when someone who was merely slow marching as a protest was.

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Firstly the questioner didnt let the judge fully answer the question , so i guess the judge couldnt or wouldnt say that he would jail the wife beater etc .

Our sentences are not long or hard enough and the judicial sentencing needs shaking up but the reason they wont is they dont want prisoners inside for years . Most criminals serve only half now .

Non the less the wife beater should have served 7rs .

Was the protester violent do we know ?

There’s a distinct lack of detail related to both cases - a raging (almost rabid) radio presenter on TikTok is hardly credible evidence.

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I think they have all become Woke Windbags. :flushed:

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Being a Magistrate must be difficult, any job where you have to consider justifying a decision making process before actually making a decision is.

A bit of both imo.
Most have never been in the real world.

I’ve presented cases in magistrates courts and magistrates can be very quirky, even eccentric

They seem to function very much as individuals and there’s not always consistency between magistrates decisions, it’s very much their own choices

I’ve never encountered corrupt to my knowledge but odd decisions that I thought were incompetent, yes

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Presenters invite people onto a show and ask them a question only to stifle an answer with their own badgering or opinions. I’ve heard other presenters do that but not quite so angrily.

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