Local Senior Associate Solicitor sworn in as Justice of the Peace

Photo: Kerry Hargreaves Photography

Richard Michael Dobson-Mason with his Certificate of Appointment

Richard Michael Dobson-Mason, a local Senior Associate Solicitor from Molesworths Bright Clegg Solicitors in Rochdale, was sworn in as a Justice of the Peace on Friday 21 September 2018 at the Manchester Civil and Family Justice Centre.

Mr Dobson-Mason, who has spent his adulthood devoted to studying and practising law, originally applied for the position in May 2017 and was appointed the following year in May 2018, with the swearing-in ceremony taking place recently.

The process to become a magistrate is a long one, which includes a number of interviews, tests and court visits. However, Mr Dobson-Mason will still have to wait to sit on the bench until he completes further training and court viewings, which he hopes to complete by the end of the year.

Mr Dobson-Mason said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as a Justice of the Peace. 

“Magistrates play a vital role in administering justice and deal with, at some point or other, the vast majority of criminal cases passing through our criminal justice system. 

“I am immensely proud and privileged to have joined the Greater Manchester Bench.

"The application process was long and challenging but extremely worthwhile and caused me to reflect on my own views and attributes and to pay closer attention to issues affecting the communities around us.”

As a magistrate, Mr Dobson-Mason will be required to sit for a minimum of twenty-six half days (or thirteen full days) per year, for a minimum of five years, and will be sitting at either Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court or Tameside Magistrates’ Court.

When asked about his appointment, Mr Dobson-Mason said: “I am very much looking forward to my first day sitting on the bench, to being a part of the judicial system, and to supporting, rehabilitating and protecting the local community.”

A Justice of the Peace is a magistrate or judge who hears cases in their local community, including the criminal courts, family courts, or both. There are six key qualities required to become a magistrate – these are: good character, understanding and communication, social awareness, maturity and sound temperament, sound judgment and finally, commitment and reliability.

Most criminal cases begin in the Magistrate’s Court and around 90% are completed there. As a Justice of the Peace, Mr Dobson-Mason will be dealing with a range of cases and hearing types including trials, the entering of pleas, bail applications and related restrictions as well as sentencing, amongst other things.