There are some 30,374 lay magistrates in England and Wales, 15,858 men and 14,516 women, appointed by the Lord Chancellor or the Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster, in the name of the Crown. Magistrates are ordinary
members of the community who sit in the Magistrates' Courts and who
dispense justice the lowest level of the English court system. They are
unpaid for what they do and therefore are not servants of the Crown. This
supports their position of impartiality between the Crown and the public
whom they serve. English lay magistrates are not learned in the law - they
do not hold legal qualifications, nor have they formally studied law to
any level other than that which they may have done at school.…
