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Magistrate at 19

London: A law student whose hobbies include shopping for shoes, watching television and reading has become Britain's youngest magistrate at the age of 19. Lucy Tate's appointment to the bench in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, has been controversial among those who believe her age makes her ill-equipped for the role. However, she was praised for coming through a rigorous recruitment process. Ms. Tate was recruited after a £4 million government advertising campaign to attract more young persons and those from ethnic minority backgrounds to the bench. Magistrates without legal qualifications deal with minor criminal offences and some family cases. The minimum age was reduced from 27 to 18 in 2004. One of her fellow JPs in Pontefract described it as ``an absolute folly'' to have someone so young making such important decisions. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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