He is cheap, he is pure, he is capable – and he isn’t doomed

In any discussion about the English judicial system with foreigners, they are always amazed to learn that more than 90 per cent of the criminal cases in this country are tried by unpaid lay magistrates. In a society where an applicant for the most unskilled job is required to be able to produce some paper qualification, the magistracy sails on with a magnificent disregard for such irrelevancies. Its requirements are simple but demanding: good character, common sense, fairness and good judgment, and it expects and largely succeeds in finding these qualities in people from widely varying backgrounds.

Magistrates have never had a good press. People identify more readily with juries, knowing that next week they could find themselves serving on one. Magistrates, by their process of selection and training, are to some extent set apart, although nowadays they are broadly representative of their community, or at least the more mature and responsible elements within it. As Trevor Grove rightly says, one cannot imagine anyone producing a film called Three Angry Men – or indeed women.

This book provides an introduction to the subject and explains who is eligible to apply for the Bench. Certain occupations, such as the police and traffic wardens, are excluded on grounds of a conflict of interest. Applicants should be of British nationality, should live in the area and are unlikely to be appointed if they are under 27 or are over 65 years of age. Within these elastic parameters anyone can apply, and a fairly extensive interview process will seek to determine whether they have the qualities which would make them good and effective magistrates. I serve on one of the Lord Chancellor’s advisory committees, which interviews candidates and selects those whose names are to be submitted to the Lord Chancellor for appointment.