Everyday Work in the Magistrates Courts: Time and Tasks

Abstract

Using interviews, surveys and observation studies, this article analyses the types of cases, location of work, important judicial and non-judicial functions and sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with magistrates' work. It includes a very detailed analysis of magistrates' typical work days, describing the actual amounts of time magistrates report spending on a range of tasks and activities which are part of their everyday work. While magistrates' work is dominated by high volumes of in-court work on criminal cases, there is also considerable unpredictability about the exact nature of work demands on any given day, though there are consistent patterns over time. The impact of court location and size on the nature of the work and its organisation is especially important in several respects.

Keywords: Magistrates, courts, Australia, everyday work, time, tasks, empirical research, survey research, lowers courts, criminal cases, court organisation