the point i was making was in response to all judges being lefties ad they qualified from left wing unis (or words to that effect).
Lay magistrates are not paid and clearly whilst they are given some legal training are not fully legally qualified. They usually sit in 2s or 3s so not one person is making the final decision.
The more qualified stipendiary magistrates are used for more serious cases, however, some of these cases will be referred to a Crown court (with a jury) if the offence is deemed to be of a high level.
Rape, as per the example used, will always be a crown court offence so is not a like for like comparison.
That's my point.