And as Chief Magistrate Fraser prepares to leave the bench in a few weeks, we asked her whether she feels the justice system will be left better or worse after her decades of work:
Sharon Frazer, Chief Magistrate
"I would want to say that it's not where I would have wanted it to be and that is for many reasons: resources, and finances. I wish we could have been in our own building. I wish that we could have had the proper equipment, even as far of the size of the courtroom. I feel that there are lots of things that could have been done to improve the terms and conditions for magistrates as you would have noticed that they concentrated on increases for the judges but no consideration has been given to magistrates and people don't realize it but we are the foundation, um, at least about I would want to say more than 75% of the cases that are before the court, after all, is for here, yet we don't get the kind of recognition. When there is a complaint, yes, you hear that but the recognition..."
"We work under varying conditions and yet we still perform. So, I still would want to say yes, that there has been improvement simply because there are certain things that now have been put in place."
