Lord Chief Justice
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 560.
Attorney-General and Director of Public Prosecutions
Clerks of the court
Coroners
Coroners have medical or legal training (or both), and inquire into violent or unnatural death.
Clerks look after administrative and legal matters in the courtroom.
The Attorney-General is the Government's chief Law Officer and his deputy is the Solicitor-General. They are primarily concerned with representing the Crown in Courts. The Attorney-General advises the Government on legislative proposals and on criminal proceedings which have a political or public element. He may take advice from his colleagues in the Government but he cannot be instructed by them. The Attorney-General is a member of Government; he is not actually a member of the Cabinet itself.
The Attorney-General has the power to stop proceedings for any indictable offence. He has certain administrative functions of which the most important is the control of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The DPP's office was established under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1879. The Director undertakes about 7,000 prosecutions a year himself and is constantly required to give advice to the police, the main prosecuting agencies, as well as to central government departments and magistrates clerks.
The Lord Chief Justice (LCJ) holds the senior judicial office in the country. He presides over the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court and the criminal division of the Court of Appeal. He has supervisory and procedural duties relating to the administration of justice generally.
2. Match the words with their definitions.
| 1. Solicitor | a. body of persons sworn to judge and give a verdict on a given matter, especially a body of persons summoned by law and sworn to hear and hand down a verdict upon a case presented in court. |
| 2. Barrister | b. a lay judge or civil authority who administers the law (especially one who conducts a court dealing with minor offenses) |
| 3. Judge | c. a lawyer who advises clients on matters of law, draws up legal documents, prepares cases for barristers, etc., and who may represent clients in certain courts |
| 4. Jury | d. is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors. |
| 5. Magistrate | e. or forensics examiner is an official chiefly responsible for investigating deaths, particularly some of those happening under unusual circumstances, and determining the cause of death. |
| 6. Clerk of the court | f. a public official with authority to hear cases in a court of law and pronounce judgment upon them. |
| 7. Coroner | g. a British lawyer who speaks in the higher courts of law on behalf of either the defence or prosecution |
3. A potential foreign client is talking to an English solicitor. Complete the solicitor's statements with phrases from the list below.
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| Magistrates | | | Advocacy; solicitor; draft; appear; barrister; conveyancing |