A magistrate's court or petty sessions is the lowest kind of court in England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions. A magistrate's court is presided over by two or more Justices of the Peace (magistrates), or by a stipendiary magistrate, and dispenses summary justice, under powers usually limited by statute. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... A Justice of the Peace (JP) is a magistrate appointed by a commission to keep the peace, dispense summary justice and deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. ... A magistrate is a judicial officer with limited authority to administer and enforce the law. ...

Common law jurisdictions are unique in the maintenance of a lay magistracy, i.e. magistrates who are not legally trained. They date from at least 1327, when an Act provided that "good and lawful men" be appointed in every county in the land to guard the Peace. In former times Justices of the Peace would be noblemen or squires, but nowadays are more like what Alexis de Tocqueville described in Democracy in America as "well-informed citizens". A bench of (usually three) magistrates is advised on the law by a legally-qualified clerk, and functions somewhat like a jury, albeit with presiding and sentencing powers. Events January 25 - Edward III becomes King of England. ... For other uses, see Tocqueville (disambiguation) Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville (b. ... De la démocratie en Amérique (published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840) is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville on the United States in the 1830s and its strengths and weaknesses. ...

In towns and boroughs, magistrates' courts are often presided by stipendiary magistrates, legally-qualified and salaried magistrates. Stipendiary magistrates usually sit alone, like an ordinary judge, but sometimes sit with lay magistrates.

The grand jury system, which still exists in the United States, has been abolished in England and Wales. Instead magistrates now perform the grand jury’s functions of indicting those accused of offences which need to be tried by a jury and committing them to the Crown Court for trial. As well as criminal matters, magistrates have various civil and administrative functions, such as issuing alcohol licences, although a change in the law will see liquor licensing transferred to local councils by the end of 2005. A grand jury is a type of common law jury; responsible for investigating alleged crimes, examining evidence, and issuing indictments. ... This article can be confusing for some readers, and needs to be edited for clarity. ... Role Her Majestys Crown Court is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Supreme Court of Judicature in England and Wales. ...

See also

• Justice of the Peace
• Courts of England and Wales