On Leaving the Judiciary
As everyone knows, those approaching 70 are
quite incapable of making sound judgements, so, on
Wednesday 20 September 2017, I sat for the last time as a
magistrate on the Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire bench.
Officially, I'm still a justice of the peace until 3 October,
the day before my three-score-and-tenth birthday, but I don't
think I'll be called upon to undertake any additional legal
duties - I hope not.
The court was very kind and before we started the day's
business there were several little speeches in my
honour. The chairman for the day, Dewi Hughes, started
by thanking me for my 13 years of upholding justice as a
valued winger, etc., etc., and finally wished me a happy
retirement. Then the crown prosecutor, Miss Rhian Jones,
said similar things. Then two of the solicitors chimed
in. Miss Katy Hanson referred to the many years of
valued civic duty and so on. And Alan Lewis took the
bull by the horns and wondered why I was retiring early - I'm
not, I just look that young. Finally, the legal adviser,
Mrs Diane Williams, wanted to know what facial cream I
use. She thanked me for my contributions in court and
witty remarks in the retiring room. I would be missed,
crosswords, sudokus and all. How sweet!
In reply I recalled my first sitting back in November 2003,
when we dealt with about 55 cases. Everybody else in
court understood and knew what was happening, but I wondered
what weird new world I had entered and if I would ever learn
to keep up. This new-fangled world was reinforced by a
letter I received a little later from Charlie Falconer, the
Lord Chancellor. I had recently managed to gain six
points on my driving licence for two cases of speeding.
He wished to make it clear that magistrates were expected to
behave within the law and he did not wish to hear about any
more such misdemeanours, otherwise ....
Of all the hundreds of case I have heard, I can recalled only
a very few - two in particular. The first was the
saddest. One summer, a couple had arrived in Aberaeron
for a family holiday but had forgotten to bring the pepper and
salt. While the wife popped in a convenience store to
buy them, the husband reversed round the corner of Water
Street. Alas, he had a blind spot and he hit an elderly
lady crossing the street. She died. He came to
court a broken man, telling us that he would never drive
again. He was so grateful that we recognised this when
we took away his driving licence. The second memorable
affair was a sentencing case. Would we send the offender
to prison or grant him his freedom? He had already
guessed his fate because he sported his toothbrush in the top
pocket of his jacket. I was amused.
Would I miss being a magistrate? Not really. It
has been mostly an enjoyable experience, but I was tiring of
the wasted hours of inaction in the court while paperwork was
completed and cases were delayed for a variety of
reasons. On the other hand, it has been a worldly-wise
education and many tales have been heard and friendships
started. Then again I will be happy to escape the
failures of the court iPads and the frustrations of the
e-judiciary website. And anyway, despite the legal
team's insistence that I was 'retiring' with the implication
that I had nothing much more to do, I shall press on with a
growing portfolio of activities.
Court life is nothing if unpredictable. The most
straightforward cases on paper can take on the most
unimaginable twists and turns in the courtroom. Yet
there have been two areas of disappointment. One, is
that the legal system cannot effectively deal with many
criminals. For example, those involved with drug
possession and use are not, despite the best efforts of the
probation service, given access to effective courses of
treatment - unless sentenced to at least six months of
imprisonment. Similarly, domestic violence is
ineffectively handled. And secondly, I was never part of
a bench which handed down the sentence of crushing the
offender's car. I always wanted to do that!
Finally, I expressed my thanks all those concerned -
magistrates, solicitors, prosecutors, legal advisors, ushers
and the administrative teams. I sent in my last expenses
claim form with a note - 'Thank you and goodbye!'