It's an old-age right, but from the end of the month many Auckland offenders won't be getting a hearing in front of a judge - instead they will get community magistrates.
The Ministry of Justice says the move will speed up court proceedings, but some lawyers say it's not the answer, and the Justice of the Peace (JP) says they are being over-looked.
Les Smith has been serving the community as a JP for 16 years, for the last eight years he has given up hundreds of hours as a court-sitting JP.
“We presided in excess of 80,000 different hearings last year in Auckland alone. The system would collapse without JPs being involved,” he says.
JPs volunteer their time to deal with minor offences such as disorderly behaviour. They cannot impose sentences.
Community magistrates will deal with offences carrying a maximum of three months jail or a fine not exceeding $7,500.
Mr Smith says the news that the new community magistrates will be paid $400 a day is a slap in the face.
“Apart from getting a meal allowance if we sit past midday and travelling expenses, we get no compensation at all,” he says.
The Ministry of Justice hopes the magistrates will free up District Court judges for more serious crimes.
Nearly anyone can apply to become a community magistrate, there's no necessity to have a legal background.
Barrister Catrina McLennan says they are a cheap option and it’s not the answer.
“The Minister of Justice says he's concerned about victims and I agree that the court process is horrendous for victims,” she says.
“If he wants to help them, the Government should appoint more judges and get rid of the backlog.”
An evaluation of the trial of community magistrates in the Waikato shows they did not ease judges’ workload but just took over some of the work carried out by court registrars.
Eight community magistrates will be appointed in the Auckland region at the end of the month.
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