Magistrate Suggests Summary Court For Minor Offences

Press, Volume C, Issue 29691, 8 December 1961, Page 8

Magistrate Suggests Summary Court For Minor Offences

A suggestion that a new summary court be set up to deal with traffic and other minor offences to relieve the increasing pressure of work on magistrates, so that they would be available for more important work, was made by Mr Raymond Ferner, S.M., at a luncheon given yesterday to him by the Canterbury District Law Society to mark his retirement.

“I believe that in the near future the present two-tier setup of the New Zealand judiciary, already somewhat unsatisfactory, will become more so,” Mr Ferner said. “At the turn of the century the country had a three-tier system, but early in this century district courts were abolished and the jurisdiction of the stipendiary magistrates’ courts, which took their place, was considerably increased.” No doubt there were excellent reasons for the change at that time. However, social changes and developments in recent years had thrown an increasingly wide variety and constantly increasing number of eases on x the courts. In his opinion further change? were now necessary. “I believe it is well known to you how heavy is the burden borne by judges of the Supreme Court. It is perhaps not realised how developments have increased the work of the Magistrate’s Court,” said Mr Ferner. In recent years the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Court had been increased to include nearly the whole range of indictable offences. Except when an accused person elected trial by jury the offences were dealt with in that court. By the Magistrate’s Court Act, 1947, the jurisdiction of the court was increased to include all the jurisdiction exercised by the County Courts in England. During the recent session of Parliament the monetary limit of jurisdiction was raised from £5OO to £lOOO. This would result in some of the claims which' now went to the Supreme Court being heard in the Magistrate’s Court.

Exactly the same number of magistrates was serving in Christchurch now as 20 years ago, said Mr Ferner, who Quoted the following figures to show hpw the work had increased during the last 15 years. The number of plaints enite-red in 1945 was 2151 compared with 8431 in 1960, a four-fold increase; judgment summonses in 1945 numbered 399 compared with 1937 in 1960, a five-fold increase; criminal cases in 1945 numbered 4787, compared with 13,131 in 1960, a threefold increase; fees and fines numbered 11.425 in 1945 compared with 58,871 in 1960, a five-fold increase. The pressure of work on magistrates had increased so much that for years they had been unable to conduct the preliminary investigation of indictable offences. This function bad to be relinquished almost entirely to voluntary justices of the peace. “We are greatly indebted to the justices of the peace for the many hours they give to help us.” Mr Ferner said. “I do not know what- we should have done without them. “But it seems certain that a number of accused persons go forward for trials after hearings by lay justices on charges which would not pass the scrutiny of a professional magistrate. There should be time available to magistrates to take the more complicated of such cases. It would not be apparent to an untrained justice that an ingredient essential to proof was absent in the evidence, and that the accused should not be sent for trial. “Now that grand juries have

been abolished it becomes more necessary that the more difficult preliminary investigations should be conducted by a magistrate and the charges be professionally scrutinised at an early stage. “The lack of this means that the time of judges, jurors and court staffs is needlessly consumed and this should be avoided if possible.” said Mr Ferner. The easy answer to this problem was that more magistrates should be appointed. But there were less expensive steps which could be taken. It would be of great advantage if the magistrates were relieved of some of the less important functions of the court and a new court was set up to deal with traffic and other minor offences. “Traffic courts now absorb a great deal of magistrates’ time,” Mr Ferner said. "In Christchurch heavy traffic courts are conducted on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I have no doubt that the position is similar in other cities. “It might well be thought that magistrates courts, as now constituted, are too expensive to be employed on such business. A lesser court, of purely summary jurisdiction, could deal with such matters, subject to appeal. “There are other timeconsuming functions which could be relegated to a court of lesser jurisdiction. If a third end lower tier was restored some relief would be given to the Magistrate’s Court and consequently to the Supreme Court,” said Mr Ferner.