Judicial appointments in England and Wales

Judicial Office	Court	Number
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (also known as Law Lords)	House of Lords
Lord Justices of Appeal	Court of Appeal
High Court Judges	High Court of Justice
Circuit Judges	Crown Court and County Court
Recorders	Crown Court andCounty Court
District Judges (Civil)	County Court
Deputy District judges (Civil)	County Court
District Judges (also known as Stipendiary Magistrates)	Magistrates' Court
Deputy District Judges	Magistrates' Court

 

An Act of Parliament lays down the mandatory requirements for most judicial offices. Candidates must have practised as a lawyer or judge for a specified time and must meet other statutory requirements for specific posts. The hierarchical strtucture of the courts informs the process of selection to the Judiciary. Experience gained as a judge in a lower court is one of the qualifications for appointment to a higher court. Senior appointments to the Court of Appeal and the High Court are made by the Queen following the recommendation of the Prime Minister currently on the advice of the Lord Chancellor – a senior member of the government and head of the judicial system.

The training of judges

The Judicial Studies Board (JSB) is responsible for the training of judges, lay magistrates, and members of Tribunals in England and Wales. The JSB would normally organize the following for an appointee Recorder in the Crown Court: an induction course; visits to penal establishments, for example prison and young offender institutions; meetings with personnel from the Probation Service, which deals with criminals, often young offenders, who are not sent to prison unless they reoffend, but who are under the supervision of a probation officer.

The appointee would experience a period of sitting in on the Bench - the judge's area of the Court - with a Circuit Judge. In his first week after appointment he would be supervised by aCircuit judge. Practical guidelines for judges are set out in Bench Books.

Civil courts: sentencing and court orders

Judges in civil courts can fine, commit to imprisonment [normally between 18 days and six months) or give a suspended sentence - where imprisonment does not take place unless the offender commits another offence. An applicant can seek an injunction - an order - against a respondent. The court may grant an interim injunction, that is, a temporary one, to stop the defendant from doing something before the hearing of the application. The judge can grant or refuse an injunction against a legal person to do or not do specified acts. The judge can, alternatively, require an undertaking, or promise, from the relevant party at the hearing proceedings.

 

Match the judicial offices in the box with the requited qualifications below (1-4). Bear in mind the hierarchical structure of the courts.

 

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Circuit Judge

Lord Justice of Appeal District Judge (Magistrates' Court)

 

1 must have been qualified as a lawyer for at least seven years

2 must have been qualified for ten years, although three years' service as a full-time District Judge is allowed

3 must have been qualified as a lawer for at least 15 years and is usually drawn from judges in the Courts of Appeal in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and in the Court of Session in Scotland

4 the statutory qualification is at least ten years in the High Court as a lawyer and, in practice, tо be a High Court Judge

 

Complete the definitions.

1 - collective word for a group of judges and the name of the place

where a judge sits in court.

2 - formal collective word for all the judges in the legal system.

3 - the specific post of a judge [for example, a High

Court Judge).

4 - place where people are held as a punishment when convicted of

an offence.

3. Complete the sentences.

1 Judges may make a first sentence for a non-serious offence a ................ sentence.

2 The period of ............... awarded by the judge should reflect the number and seriousness of the offences and their context.

3 A person who seeks an Injunction is generally described as the ........... .

4 Instead of ordering a specific act, the court can seek the agreement of the relevant party to an ............. to do the specified act.

5 An applicant may seek an .............. to prevent a breach of contract.

6 If an applicant claims that the defendant is about to do something that infringes his/her rights before there can be a hearing (for example, to dispose of disputed property), the judge may grant an ................ .

 

Module 4 CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 

Unit 1 CRIMES AND CRIMINALS

 

The table below gives the names of some types of crimes together with their associated verbs and the name of the person who commits the crimes.

 

crime	definition	criminal	verb
theft	stealing something	thief	steal
pickpocketing	Stealing things from people’s pockets in crowded places	pickpocket	steal
shoplifting	stealing something from a shop	shoplifter	Shoplift
burglary	stealing from someone's home	Burglar	burgle
mugging	attacking and robbering people in the street	mugger	mug
robbery	breaking into houses or other building to steal	robber	rob
car theft	stealing a car	car thief	steal a car
joyriding	driving around for enjoyment in a car you have stolen	joyrider	joyride
murder	killing someone	murderer	murder
manslaughter	killing someone undeliberately	murderer	murder
assassination	murdering for political reason or reward	assassin	murder
smuggling	taking something illegally into another country	smuggler	smuggle
arson	setting fire to something in a criminal way	arsonist	Set fire to
kidnapping	taking a person hostage in exchange for money or other favours	kidnapper	kidnap
blackmail	Treating to disclose some information in exchange for money	blackmailer	blackmail
drug-pushing/dealing	selling drugs	drug-pusher/dealer	sell drugs
terrorism		terrorist	terrorize
vandalism	causing damage to property deliberately	vandal	vandalize
hijacking	hiding on a ship or plane	hijacker	hijack
hooliganism	Causing damage or disturbance in public places	hooligan	hooliganism

 

1. What do we call ...?

1 a person who steals cars?

2 a person who kills someone?

3 a person who steals things from shops?

4 a person who robs people's houses and flats?

5 a person who attacks someone in the street and steals their money?

6 a person who sells dangerous drugs?

 

2. Choose two of these expressions to complete each sentence below:

a. serious b. illegal c. crime d. violent

e. criminal offence f. commit a crime g. against the law h. break the law

 

1 Young men are more likely to _______ / _________ than any other group in society.

2 In most countries carrying a gun is ___________ / ____________ .

3 In most countries drink driving is a _________ / ___________ .

4 Latest figures show that _______ /________ crime, such as murder and rape, is on the increase.

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