Magistrates’ powers doubled
Fortunately, the justice secretary has an off-on-off-on-etc switch
Magistrates in England and Wales can now sentence offenders to 12 months’ imprisonment for a single middle-ranking offence. Until last week, the maximum was six months.
My definition of “middle-ranking” excludes minor offences that can be tried only by magistrates. It also excludes serious offences that can be tried only by a judge and jury in the Crown …
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