NCJ Number
200379
Journal
Judicial Officers' Bulletin Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2003 Pages: 1-3
Date Published
February 2003
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The rise of the Magistracy in New South Wales is profiled in this journal article from the Judicial Officers’ Bulletin.
Abstract
After detailing the similarities between the life of a magistrate and the life of a Justice of the High Court of Australia, the author describes the role of the magistracy of New South Wales during the 1960’s and 1970’s, highlighting the author’s early experience performing voluntary work for the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (CCL). Claiming that the enactment of the Local Courts Act of 1982 allowed the magistrates to become fully participating judicial officers, the author argues that the role of the magistrates in New South Wales has evolved over the years so that person’s with special disadvantages, such as those with mental disabilities, may obtain fair representation in a court of law. The pressures of time and resources under which magistrates perform their duties should not be overlooked and that the role of the magistrates needs to be honored because the local courts, under which the magistrates operate, is the court for ordinary citizens.