levo

Lay People: Magistrates and Juries

  • 4 subtopics
  • 14 things to know
  • All three papers

What Lay People: Magistrates and Juries covers

Who magistrates and jurors are, how they are selected and what each decides — with the arguments for and against leaving verdicts to lay people.

Where it is assessed

All three papers

The nature of law and the English legal system, 25 marks on each paper.

Check the AQA specification ↗

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

What are magistrates in the context of the criminal justice system?

Numbers

What is the maximum prison sentence magistrates can impose for either way offences?

Numbers

What is the age range for appointment as a magistrate?

Key term

What rule applies to jury deliberations and disclosure?

Numbers

What is the age range for jury service eligibility?

Key term

What type of verdict should a jury initially aim to reach?

Key term

How does the use of juries allow public participation in the justice system?

Key term

What concerns exist about juror impartiality in high-profile cases?

Key term

What is a perverse verdict?

Key term

What advantage does jury trial provide in terms of citizen involvement in the justice system?

Key term

How does jury trial act as a constitutional safeguard against the state?

Key term

Why does jury secrecy create a problem for scrutinising verdicts?

Process

By what other name are magistrates known, how many sit together, and who assists them?

Process

What is the case for jury independence, and what are the objections about complexity and cost?

Take Lay People: Magistrates and Juries further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

  • Magistrate vs Juror

    Magistrate: lay decision-maker handling lower-level cases. Juror: lay fact-finder serving in a trial panel.

  • Retribution vs Rehabilitation

    Retribution: punishment expressing blame for wrongdoing. Rehabilitation: measures intended to reform an offender.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What are magistrates in the context of the criminal justice system?

    Model answer

    Lay people who sit in the Magistrates' Court to hear criminal cases without formal legal qualifications.

  2. 2

    By what alternative title are magistrates also known?

    Model answer

    Justices of the Peace (JPs).

  3. 3

    How many magistrates typically sit together to hear a case?

    Model answer

    Three magistrates sit together as a bench.

  4. 4

    Who assists magistrates on points of law and procedure during hearings?

    Model answer

    A legally qualified legal adviser (clerk).

  5. 5

    What two decisions do magistrates make when hearing summary and triable either way offences?

    Model answer

    They determine both the verdict and the sentence.

  6. 6

    What is the maximum prison sentence magistrates can impose for a single summary offence?

    Model answer

    6 months' imprisonment.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

The Nature of Law
The European Union and English Law
Legal Personnel and the Judiciary
Access to Justice and Funding

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Assault and .
batterywoundingtheft

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe defendant must have brought something onto their land.
BThe thing must be likely to do mischief if it escapes.
CThere must be a non-natural use of land.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Wound means a break in both layers of the skin.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Lay People: Magistrates and Juries revision questions

What does Lay People: Magistrates and Juries cover in AQA A-Level Law?
4 subtopics: who the magistrates are, jury selection and eligibility, the case for trial by jury and juries: representation, secrecy and equity. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Lay People: Magistrates and Juries organised?
By the AQA 7162 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

Every question in Lay People: Magistrates and Juries, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.