MAGISTRATES shouldn’t be swayed by what those in the dock are wearing. But defendants do need to be honest, senior JPs have said.

All criminal cases start at the magistrates’ court, so if you’ve been charged with a criminal offence the chances are that you’re going to appear there first.

Yet very few of those who step foot inside Swindon Magistrates’ Court have ever been to a court of law before, says former justice Martyn Cook. The magistrate of 38-years now helps to run the Swindon court chaplaincy. Volunteers advise defendants and their families on everything from how to get the duty solicitor to reminding them to hand car keys to a relative – just in case they get sent to prison and their families are stuck with a vehicle in the car park.

“We’re here to talk to people, because coming to court guilty or not guilty can be very traumatic and stressful. Of course, some of these people have been under investigation for months and then they eventually get the court and, for the majority, it’s the first and probably only time,” he said.

“They don’t know what to expect and most of them don’t have the money to pay for a solicitor. They don’t know what to expect.”

The best thing people can do is get a solicitor. Defendants no longer need to wear a suit, but they should be mindful of the fact the court was a formal setting.

Simon Wolfensohn, chairman of the Wiltshire Magistrates’ Association, said JPs should have little regard to what people were wearing.

But he pressed upon potential defendants the importance of honesty: “The absolute bottom line is people should be open, honest and say what happened.”