District Judges
"District Judge" is the title given to two different categories of judges. One group of District Judges sit in the County Court, having previously been known as County Court Registrars until the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. The other group sit in the Magistrates' Courts and were formerly known as Stipendiary Magistrates until the Access to Justice Act 1999. Members of this latter group are more formally known as "District Judge (Magistrates' Courts)" (see the Courts Act 2003). Judges in both groups are addressed as "Sir" or "Madam". In law reports, referred to as "DJ Smith".
Formerly, District Judges could only be drawn from barristers and solicitors of at least 7 years' standing. However, in 2004, calls for increased diversity among the judiciary were recognised and the qualification period was changed so that, as of 21 July 2008, a potential District Judge must satisfy the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a 5-year basis. From November 2010 other types of lawyer, such as Legal Executives (ILEX Fellows), also became eligible to be District Judges.
The senior District Judge is also known as the Chief Magistrate. (currently Howard Riddle)
Read more about this topic: English Judges
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