Magistrate, Stipendiary

In some cities cases may be heard by a stipendiary magistrate, who sits alone but is a professionally qualified barrister or solicitor of at least seven years standing. 

Judicial appointment, to the Supreme Court and the Sheriff Court, is by Royal authority on the recommendation of the Secretary of State, judges in the District Courts are lay justices of the peace, apart from some stipendiary magistrates in Glasgow. 

In the Magistrates Court there are 2-7 Justices of the Peace or, in London and some large cities, possibly a District Judge (formerly stipendiary magistrate). Justices of the Peace are lay persons appointed by the Lord Chancellor on behalf of the Queen. The office dates back to the thirteenth century, but is now mainly regulated by the Justices of the Peace Act 1997. Justices sit part-time. They are not paid, but are reimbursed for... 

A court of summary jurisdiction in which criminal cases, i.e. alleged breaches of, inter alia, health and safety laws, are heard by a bench of between two and seven magistrates although in some cities the cases may be heard by a stipendiary magistrate sitting alone. Stipendiary magistrates are... 

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