The Magistrates' Court of Tasmania is the main day-to-day court in the Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n state of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 and exists in accordance with the laws handed down by the Tasmanian Parliament. The Court is an inferior court to the Supreme Court of Tasmania

Supreme Court of Tasmania

The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, and is able to both receive appeals from lower courts, and able to be appealed from.The ordinary sittings of the...

 and, in terms of the Australian court hierarchy, is at the bottom level.

Jurisdiction of the Court

The Court has jurisdiction in a number of areas, including minor and moderately serious criminal matters, civil claims involving less than $20,000 or where the parties consent, child protection, youth justice, and coronial matters.http://www.magistratescourt.tas.gov.au/divisions

The majority of the Court's workload is in minor (or "summary") criminal matters; the Court also has jurisdiction over serious (or "indictable") criminal matters where the value of the property involved, or the nature of the crime, mean that the matter may be heard by the Magistrates' Court of Tasmania according to Tasmanian law. Criminal matters in the Magistrates' Court are heard by a single Magistrate sitting alone and do not involve a jury.

Serious criminal matters are heard by the Supreme Court of Tasmania

Supreme Court of Tasmania

The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, and is able to both receive appeals from lower courts, and able to be appealed from.The ordinary sittings of the...

 after having been "committed" to the Supreme Court by the Magistrates' Court. This committal involves an examination of whether or not the Defendant has a case to answer - however, in practice, this is normally a procedural step that grant the Prosecution and Defence an opportunity to examine the details of the case.

The Court also deals with civil disputes involving property valued at less than $20,000 and property disputes involving de facto relationships (where the parties agree to the settlement proposed). Disputes involving $5,000 or less are heard by the Magistrates' Court's Minor Civil Claims division.

Appeals from the Magistrates' Court of Tasmania in all matters are to a single Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania

Supreme Court of Tasmania

The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, and is able to both receive appeals from lower courts, and able to be appealed from.The ordinary sittings of the...

.

Structure of the Court

The Magistrates' Court of Tasmania operates from four courthouses in Tasmania, located in Burnie, Devonport

Devonport, Tasmania

-Sport:The Devonport Football Club is an Australian Rules team competing in the Tasmanian Statewide League. The Devonport Rugby Club is a Rugby Union team competing in the Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide League...

, Launceston

Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...

 and Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

. All of these Courthouses operate on a full-time basis and provide circuit courts to more regional and remote parts of the state of Tasmania.

The current list of Magistrates of the Magistrates' Court of Tasmania are:

• Burnie Courthouse
  • Magistrate D J Jones
• Devonport Courthouse
  • Magistrate T J Hill
• Hobart Courthouse
  • Magistrate P F Dixon
  • Chief Magistrate M R Hill
  • Magistrate S F Mollard
  • Magistrate O McTaggart
  • Magistrate M Daly
  • Magistrate CP Webster
  • Magistrate G Hay
  • Magistrate C Rheinberger
• Launceston Courthouse
  • Magistrate T J Hill
  • Magistrate Z Szramka
  • Magistrate P H Wilson