Shortly before Christmas, a presiding Justice of the Peace, Mr G. Dowler visited Central Foundation and presented a talk with our Year 12 A level Law students. The talk was divided into two parts, one describing the role and responsibilities of a Magistrate and the other taking students through an interactive sentencing exercise.
Below are some of the comments showing appreciation of the talk:
- We really enjoyed the visit from the Magistrate. We had lots of questions answered such as them not always sitting as three, they can in fact sit as two.
- The test they take to become a Magistrate seemed interesting as they are asked questions regarding different criminal scenario’s and having to rank them in order of seriousness.
- We were given a task where we had to look at the sentencing guidelines magistrates use to decide punishment. Thereafter, we were given a criminal scenario where a crime had been committed.
- We had to consider any aggravating and mitigating factors that would influence the outcome of sentence which is something we have learned in class and were able to put into action again.
- The activity was very informative allowing us to understand what it is like to be a magistrate and how they reach conclusions. The visit also gave us a greater insight to the justice system by hearing about some cases the magistrate had sat in on.