Conclusion

This book has set out to account for some of the key alterations occurring to summary justice within the lower criminal courts of the English justice system as they undergo various modernising transformations. These are in efforts to operate criminal courts that are responsive to the changing demands of the twenty-­first­century,­as­well­as­achieving­an­efficiently­run­and­tightly­managed­ criminal­court­service.­In­addition,­a­key­focus­within­this­examination­has­been­ on­the­experiences­of­lay­magistrates­in­their­judicial­court­working­role­and­at­ this time of reform. This concluding section brings together the main themes framing the research material presented in the preceding chapters and the main arguments drawn out from­ the­ analysis.­ As­ such,­ it­ revisits­ aspects­ of­ the­ court­ process­ in­ which­ fundamental­alterations­are­being­made­ that­can­be­argued­are­accruing­examples­of­managerial­and­ technocratic­ justice.­Lay­ justice­and­ the­experiences­of­ magistrates­ in­ their­ lower­ court­ judicial­ decision-­making­ role­ are­ returned­ to,­ with links made to the value of citizen participation in this work. This is at the same time that it is argued that we are seeing the increasing professionalisation of­lower­court­justice,­which­goes­some­way­towards­magistrates­being­appraised­ as­lay­legal­professionals.­This­chapter­also­briefly­revisits­the­conceptual­theory­ developed in Chapter 6 on the way that the lower criminal courts can be argued as­embedding­social­justice­principles.­This­is­specifically­in­the­example­of­the­ rehabilitative sentencing styles assigned to some offenders with health treatment and­ other­ lifestyle­ needs,­ and­ the­ specialist­ problem-­solving­ court­ approaches­ that are growing in popularity with various offender groups across jurisdictions and in the UK. It is argued that enhanced notions of fair justice are a key feature of these approaches.