Description
A serving magistrate gives us a revealing insider’s view of a year in a magistrates’ court – this entertaining, eye-opening insight into the workings of our legal system is also the much-anticipated response to comments on the magistracy by The Secret Barrister
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“I found it ever so strange that The Secret Barrister could be so devastatingly accurate about much of the Criminal Justice System … with the sole exception of the magistracy. How could he or she have got it so wrong about us? ……. Then it finally struck me; perhaps The Secret Barrister is correct about us after all?!?” The Secret Magistrate
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In the 2018 best-selling book, The Secret Barrister, the anonymous barrister author, labelled magistrates’ courts as “The Wild West” and sharply criticised the abilities and impartiality of magistrates. Now, at last, The Secret Magistrate is asserting his right of reply in this new, thought-provoking (and, at times, laugh-out-loud) book …
Every criminal case starts in a magistrates’ court, and most end there. Last year, the 14,000 magistrates of England & Wales dealt with almost 1.4 million cases.
But, what exactly does a magistrate do? Who are they? And how are they recruited and trained?
Are they out-of-touch and unrepresentative of society in 2020? Or are magistrates still fit for purpose with a role to play in today’s increasingly sophisticated and complex judicial system?
With remarkable candour and openness – plus a healthy helping of humour – The Secret Magistrate takes the reader on an eye-opening, behind-the-scenes tour of a year in the life of an inner-city magistrate – warts and all.
Chapters describe a wide variety of intriguing cases and bizarre characters such as:
The disqualified driver who drove away from court, The Sunbed Pervert, and – to be overlooked at your peril – Fifi the Attack Chihuahua!
A book for all those interested in the Criminal Justice System, in the workings of the courts, and in those who serve our communities – or who enjoy true stories of the best and worst of human nature.
“Hopefully, I might even persuade some of those reading this book to consider becoming magistrates themselves. Come and read about justice at the sharp end – arise ‘The Secret Magistrate’.”
