28 Years on the Bench

Today’s speaker was Eileen Marchant M.B.E., J.P. 28 years on the Bench.

Eileen was a Magistrate for 28years until she had to retire at age 70, it has now been changed to 75. Magistrates have been around since 1066 when they were Knights of the Realm, good and lawful men. They were the keepers of law and order until the reform act of 1832 when the police force was formed.

Eileen gave us a fascinating insight into how the Magistrate system works, interspersed with personal anecdotes from encounters with people up before the court.