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Discuss the arguments for and against replacing lay magistrates with qualified lawyers An increasing number of magistrate courts now make use of stipendiary magistrates. These are professional lawyers, who were once either court clerks or barristers, who are paid (a stipend) in order to act as full-time magistrates. At the moment there are only about 100 of these magistrates, half of them being in London, but their numbers are growing. Now it comes into question whether lay magistrates should be replaced with properly qualified judges. Firstly, the cost of magistrates needs to be taken into question. The cost of lay magistrates is minimal, as the state only pays for the costs on the job. This is because lay magistrates are volunteers. It has been reported by Elliot & Quinn that the average cost of each lay magistrate does not exceed £800 a year, which is a very small amount when compared to...

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