Agnes Xavier-Phillips was a corporate lawyer who started her career in nursing Most of us will hope never to set foot in one, but thousands end up appearing in court each year. What is it like in ...

Magistrates in England and Wales could be given powers to hand down longer custodial sentences under proposals to help reduce the backlog in crown courts and prisons. The move could allow magistrates ...

Magistrates in England and Wales will have greater sentencing powers to enable them to take on more cases, under plans to clear court backlogs. The government plans to let magistrates sentence cases ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

Magistrates’ sentencing powers will be doubled again in a bid to cut the court backlog and ease overcrowding in jails. The move, confirmed by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Thursday, means ...

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood introduced the scheme to address prison overcrowding amid fears jails will run out of space (Joe Giddens/PA) Magistrates are being handed powers to sentence ...

On Wednesday, they demonstrated outside Parliament to highlight salary disparities between them and high court judges, despite having the same training and qualifications. Frustrated magistrates in ...

Most of us will hope never to set foot in one, but thousands end up appearing in court each year. What is it like in Wales' 14 magistrates courts - and how are they working? In the final piece in our ...