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Magistrates' Court (England And Wales)
In England and Wales, a magistrates' court is a lower court which hears matters relating to summary offences and some triable either-way matters. Some civil law issues are also decided here, notably family proceedings. In 2015, there were roughly 330 magistrates' courts in England and Wales, though the government was considering closing up to 57 of these. The jurisdiction of magistrates' courts and rules governing them are set out in the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. All criminal proceedings start at a magistrates' court. Summary offences are lesser crimes (for example, public order offences and most driving matters) that can be punished under the magistrates' courts maximum sentencing powers of 12 months imprisonment, and/or an unlimited fine. Indictable only offences, on the other hand, are serious crimes (e.g. rape, murder); if it is found at the initial hearing of the magistrates' court that there is a case to answer, they are committed to the Crown Court, which has a mu ...
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England And Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is English law. The devolved Senedd (Welsh Parliament; cy, Senedd Cymru) – previously named the National Assembly of Wales – was created in 1999 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the Parliament were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to pass its own laws, and the Act also formally separated the Welsh Government from the Senedd. There is no equivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the parliament and government of the United Kingdom. History of jurisdiction During the Roman occupation of Britain, the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, except f ...
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Legal Aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial. This article describes the development of legal aid and its principles, primarily as known in Europe, the Commonwealth of Nations and in the United States. Legal aid is essential to guaranteeing equal access to justice for all, as provided for by Article 6.3 of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding criminal law cases. Especially for citizens who do not have sufficient financial means, the provision of legal aid to clients by governments increases the likelihood, within court proceedings, of being assisted by legal professionals for free or at a lower cost, or of receiving financial aid. A number of delivery models for legal aid have emerged, including duty lawyers, community legal clinic ...
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Peace (law)
The legal term peace, sometimes king's peace (Latin ''pax regis'')''Black's Law Dictionary'' (10th ed.: ed. Bryan A. Garner: Thomson Reuters, 2014), p. 1306. or queen's peace, is the common-law concept of the maintenance of public order.Markus Dirk Dubber, ''The Police Power: Patriarchy and the Foundations of American Government'' (Columbia University Press, 2005), pp. 15–16. The concept of the king's peace originated in Anglo-Saxon law, where it initially applied the special protections accorded to the households of the English kings and their retainers. A breach of the king's peace, which could be either a crime or a tort, was a serious matter. The concept of the king's peace expanded in the 10th and 11th centuries to accord the king's protection to particular times (such as holidays), places (such as highways and churches), and individuals (such as legates). By the time of the Norman Conquest, the notion of the king's peace became more general, referring to the safeguarding ...
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Justice Of The Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are (or were) usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs. History In 1195, Richard I ("the Lionheart") of England and his Minister Hubert Walter commissioned certain knights to preserve the peace in unruly areas. They were responsible to the King in ensuring that the law was upheld and preserving the " King's peace". Therefore, they were known as "keepers of th ...
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Family Proceedings Court
{{CourtsEnglandWales In England and Wales, family proceedings court was the name given to a magistrates' court when members of the court's family panel sat to hear a family case. It was a court of first instance in England and Wales that dealt with family matters. Cases were either heard in front of a bench of lay magistrates or a district judge (magistrates' courts). From 22 April 2014 the family proceedings court has ceased to exist and its functions were absorbed into the new single Family Court following the enactment of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. Magistrates continue to sit in family proceedings in the way described but within a different court arrangement. Jurisdiction The family proceedings court's jurisdiction was derived from the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. The Children Act 1989 provided the basis for most applications dealing with children. Beyond the 1989 Act, magistrates continue to have quite separate powers to make maintenance orders between spouses t ...
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Youth Detention Center
In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile detention, juvenile jail, juvenile hall, or more colloquially as juvie/juvy, also sometimes referred as observation home or remand home is a prison for people under the age of majority, to which they have been sentenced and committed for a period of time, or detained on a short-term basis while awaiting trial or placement in a long-term care program. Juveniles go through a separate court system, the juvenile court, which sentences or commits juveniles to a certain program or facility. Overview Once processed in the juvenile court system there are many different pathways for juveniles. Some juveniles are released directly back into the community to undergo community-based rehabilitative programs, while others juveniles may pose a greater thre ...
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Juvenile Court
A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, children who commit a crime are treated differently from legal adults that have committed the same offense. Industrialized countries differ in whether juveniles should be tried as adults for serious crimes or considered separately. Since the 1970s, minors have been tried increasingly as adults in response to "increases in violent juvenile crime". Young offenders may still not be prosecuted as adults. Serious offenses, such as murder or rape, can be prosecuted through adult court in England. However, as of 2007, no United States data reported any exact numbers of juvenile offenders prosecuted as adults. In contrast, countries such as Australia and Japan are in the early stages of developing and implementing youth-focused justice in ...
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Probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such as suspended sentences. In others, probation also includes supervision of those conditionally released from prison on parole. An offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer. During the period of probation, an offender faces the threat of being incarcerated if found breaking the rules set by the court or probation officer. Offenders are ordinarily required to maintain law-abiding behavior, and may be ordered to refrain from possession of firearms, remain employed, participate in an educational program, abide a curfew, live at a directed place, obey the orders of the probation officer, or not leave the jurisdiction. The probationer might be ordere ...
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Court Order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case. A court order must be signed by a judge; some jurisdictions may also require it to be notarized. Content The content and provisions of a court order depend on the type of proceeding, the phase of the proceedings in which they are issued, and the procedural and evidentiary rules that govern the proceedings. An order can be as simple as setting a date for trial or as complex as restructuring contractual relationships by and between many corporations in a multi-jurisdictional dispute. It may be a final order (one that concludes the court action), or an interim order (one during the action). Most orders are written, and are signed by the judge. Some orders, however, are spoken orally by the j ...
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Point System (driving)
Many countries have adopted a penalty point or demerit point system under which a person’s driving license is cancelled or suspended based on the number of points accumulated by them over a period of time because of the traffic offenses or infringements committed by them in that period. The demerit points schemes of each jurisdiction varies. These demerit schemes are usually in addition to fines or other penalties which may be imposed for a particular offence or infringement, or after a prescribed number of points have been accumulated. Under these schemes, a driver licensing authority, police force, or other organization keeps a record of the demerit points accumulated by drivers. When the prescribed point threshold is reached, the person’s licence would usually be automatically cancelled or suspended. Points may either be added or subtracted, depending on the rules of each scheme. A major offence may lead to more than the maximum allowed points being issued. Points are typic ...
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Bow Street Runners
The Bow Street Runners were the law enforcement officers of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in the City of Westminster. They have been called London's first professional police force. The force originally numbered six men and was founded in 1749 by magistrate Henry Fielding, who was also well known as an author. ''Bow Street Runners'' was the public's nickname for the officers although the officers did not use the term themselves and considered it derogatory. The group was disbanded in 1839 and its personnel merged with the Metropolitan Police. The Metropolitan Police Detective Agency traces their origin back to them. History The Bow Street Runners are considered the first British police force. Before the force was founded, the law enforcing system was in the hands of private citizens and single individuals with very little intervention from the state. Magistrate Henry Fielding decided to regulate and legalise their activity due to high rates of corruption and mistaken or mal ...
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Middlesex Justices Act 1792
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouring ceremonial counties. Three rivers provide most of the county's boundaries; the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hills forms the northern boundary with Hertfordshire. Middlesex county's name derives from its origin as the Middle Saxon Province of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Essex, with the county of Middlesex subsequently formed from part of that territory in either the ninth or tenth century, and remaining an administrative unit until 1965. The county is the second smallest, after Rutland, of the historic counties of England. The City of London became a county corporate in the 12th century; this gave it self-governance, and it was also able to exert political control over the rest of Midd ...
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