Stephen Baker JP has been elected as Chairman of the South Cumbria Bench for the forthcoming year.
He took over from Jenny Farmer MBE JP on April 1.
Mr Baker has lived in south Cumbria for more than 40 years and lives near Kendal.
He was previously Deputy Bench Chairman for two years and was appointed as a magistrate in 1988 to the then Kendal and Lonsdale Bench.
Formerly an hotelier, he currently works as a director for the Oaklea Trust and is chairman of Right2Work CIC.
Deputy Bench Chairman for the forthcoming year is Dr Alison Spurgeon-Dickson, who lives near Millom and was appointed as a magistrate in 2005 and has been a deputy chairman for the past four years.
She is a chartered psychologist and works as a senior lecturer at the University of Cumbria, currently lecturing in forensic psychology. She is a trustee on the Board of the Magistrates Association.
The South Cumbria Bench hears cases from across South Lakeland and Furness districts, currently in the courts in Barrow-in-Furness and Kendal.
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