Adult Court

Adult criminal courts are not always absolutely the same but usually the layout of the court is something like this:

1. There are usually three magistrates. They will hear the case, make the decisions and issue the orders and directions. Apart from magistrates, there are about 130 District Judges (magistrates' courts) who are paid full-time professional judges. District Judges have the same powers as a bench of two magistrates, ie he or she may sit alone, except in the Family Court. Mostly they sit in London and larger cities and occasionally assist local benches. Until 2000 they were known as stipendiary magistrates.

5. The prosecution could be by the Crown Prosecution Service; Customs and Excise; Trading Standards; television licence records office; local authorities or public utilities.

6. Probation officers work in direct contact with offenders (and often their families) in order to reduce the likelihood of future offending and protect the public. They give comprehensive and researched advice about offenders to courts when magistrates are deciding a sentence and they supervise offenders on community sentences like probation orders or community service.

7. The usher shows people in and out of court and keeps things running smoothly.

8. Many local papers still report cases from their local magistrates' courts.

9. Most court hearings are open to the public with the exception of youth court and family proceeding matters. It is useful to telephone the court first to find out what courts are sitting on the day you wish to observe.