Daniel Schunmann, 25, is Cambridgeshire’s youngest magistrate and has
been given a guest spot on this site to speak up for young people like Lucy Tate who are appointed JPs.
I feel we should place trust and pride in our exceptionally talented young people who are, after all, old enough to vote, get married, take out a bank loan.
“As the youngest Magistrate in Cambridgeshire, I am very encouraged to hear about the appointment of Lucy Tate. I was 25 when appointed and have sat on the Cambridge bench for the past 10 months.
“I firmly believe that young people have much to contribute to the judicial process in this country. The whole ethos of the Magistracy is that it is local justice and therefore the bench, must reflect the community it serves, which, of course, includes young people.
“In a time when we are trying to encourage community spirit and volunteering among the young, teach citizenship to young people and engage them in the legal and politic processes this country has, it can only be a good thing that the age of Magistrates has been lowered.
“The qualities you need to become a Magistrate – good character, communication skills, social awareness, sound temperament, sound judgement and commitment – can just as easily be possessed by someone of 18 as someone of 70.
“Most people are perhaps not aware of the long, careful and detailed selection process for the Magistracy. This, together with the huge on-going commitment you make to training, means that all Magistrates, regardless of age, are well-equipped to carry out their duties and make decisions without ‘fear or favour, affection or ill will’ as the judicial oath states.
“The bench will, more often than not, consist of three Magistrates, so ‘youth’ would not be able to dominate any more than, (say), the ethnicity or gender of the panel members. The bench works as a team, each individual using his or her personal judgement but within the strict guidelines of the law and under the guidance of the court clerk.
“I feel we need to be applauding and encouraging any young person who volunteers and chooses to give something back to the community; whether it is as a Councillor, Magistrate, Charity Trustee or Volunteer.
“The contribution of volunteers and the voluntary sector in this country is huge and we must encourage young people to step forward for these roles in order to preserve, sustain and strengthen this for the future.
“I applaud and echo Lucy’s comments and hope she finds her time as a Magistrate as rewarding and interesting as I have.”
A younger person as a Magistrate may have a clearer view opf how things are. I agree that we need to applaud Lucy and wish her every success.
In America we wait until after graduation from law school to put people on the bench.
In Chicago we wait a decent interval beyond that, too — and then make certain we elect only the most qualified sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, and spouses of our existing politicians. *Cough*
But to each their own. Just one question: How will Hilda Rumpole take this news — when poor old Horace can not even get a temporary sitting at the Oxbridge Magistrate’s Court?
We need to credit the cream of our youth with being able to take part in important decision making. I know in Cambridgeshire, youth democracy is very big and they even sit on panels to appoint the Chief Exec of Cambs County Council and give their views on council spending in the city.
Good point about Rumpole, I guess he’ll be scratching his wig.
I think this is an excellent development and agree with Jean-Luc Picard that a young person’s input could be valuable. As Daniel says, they have to make a commitment to ongoing training so there is no way that people like him and Lucy would not take their positions seriously. Good luck to them.
Congratulations on your placing in Iain’s guide, Ellee. Always a great read. Always thought provoking.
Hi UK Pundit, I am just back from a 10 mile walk, I know nothing about my ranking on Iain’s guide, I will now check it out. Thanks for your kind words, they are much appreciated.