The Magistrates' Association is proud to operate under our Royal Charter granted in 1962. We are established as a charity and incorporated to promote the sound administration of the law, including, but not restricted to, educating and instructing magistrates and others in the law, the administration of justice, the treatment of offenders and the prevention of crime.
FREE TALKS
We offer free talks to community groups such as WI, Round Table, U3A, Car groups, Trade Unions, Schools and Colleges, etc., about the Role of magistrates, the sorts of crimes we deal with and the sentencing options we have.
If you are interested in arranging this please email wedotalks@berksma.com in the first instance.
We are always very interested in talking to anyone who would like to be a Magistrate. More information can be found here:-
https://www.gov.uk/become-magistrate/what-magistrates-do
If you have further questions, please email secretary@berksma.com
SCHOOLS MOCK TRIALS COMPETITION
Berkshire is one of the leading counties supporting our National Mock Trials competition. Any State school can field a team of year 8/9 students. A case is supplied, the students work as a team to split up the roles- Magistrate, Usher, Justices Clerk, Solicitors, Defendant and Witnesses. Berkshire is a hotspot for the competition, thanks to support from many schools and every year we have more than 30 teams entering.
They learn the case, prepare their part and then come to Reading Crown Court to compete against other Berkshire Teams. The heats are usually held in March with the regional final held in May. The winners of the regional final go forward to the national final. In 2018 three Berkshire schools came first, second and third in the national finals- an unprecedented success.
Whether the school wins or not, all students benefit from appearing in a Crown court with Public Speaking, use of closed and open questions and team working skills all being transferable to their future career. Even at age 13 it’s easy to spot the budding Rumpoles of the Bailey and future East Enders actors!
If you know of any Berkshire state schools who would like to take part, please email mocktrials@berksma.com
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