Magistrates In Youth Court Cases

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Magistrates may also sit in the Crown Court with a judge to hear appeals from magistrates’ courts against conviction or sentence and proceedings on committal to the Crown Court for sentence. Moreover, they are also specially trained to sit in youth courts, where procedures are slightly more informal than in adult criminal courts, for example, magistrates will deliberately talk directly to young defendants, rather than always through their legal representatives. In criminal cases the youth court can deal with all offences committed by a minor except homicides, which has to be dealt with in a higher court. Sentences are quite different in that they specifically address the needs of young offenders. Young defendants should always be accompanied by a responsible adult when they appear in court unless they are mature enough to be …show more content…
Some hearing centres can also deal with bankruptcy and insolvency matters, and also cases related to wills and trusts, equity and contested probate actions, where the value of the trust, fund or estate does not exceed £30,000, and actions which all parties agree to have heard in a county court like defamation cases etc. Most County Court centres are assigned at least one Circuit judge and one district judge, but judicial numbers will vary. Circuit judges generally hear cases worth over £15,000 or involving greater importance or complexity. They also hear many of the cases worth over £5,000 but not over £15,000. As well as hearing cases, District judges generally keep an overview of a case to make sure it is running smoothly. They also deal with repossessions and assess damages in uncontested cases. Although County Court judgments usually call for the repayment or return of money or property, anyone who does not comply with the judgment can be arrested and prosecuted. The court has a range of procedures to deal with enforcement of