A Life on the Bench

Our speaker on 8th December was Stephen Baker JP, on his life as a magistrate, reflecting on 31 years of service and on being Chair of the Bench, having been originally recruited by the late Rotarian Ruth Otway. 

Magistrates are Judges: they listen, apply the law, deliver a verdict and decide on sentence. They differ from Judges in that they are ordinary citizens, not lawyers, and, unlike Judges, they are on call 24/7.

Steve does not “take cases home”, though did entertain us with some amusing anecdotes and sobered the atmosphere with a tragic case. 

He reflected on how technology has changed systems for the better and he has seen sentencing become structured and more varied.

Magistrates work as a threesome, make decisions collectively and with mutual respect. He said that most people are not bad, but are in court because of bad choices: being a magistrate has taught him patience, empathy, discipline, humility and the value of public service.