District court (Scotland)
The courts operated under summary procedure and dealt primarily with minor criminal offences.[3][4] The district courts was abolished in a rolling programme between 10 March 2008 and 22 February 2010, following the passage of the Criminal Proceedings etc.[7] The district courts were replaced by justice of the peace courts by a series of Scottish statutory instruments as follows: They handled many cases of breach of the peace, minor assaults, petty theft, and offences under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.Their sentencing powers of lay justices were limited to a fine in excess of £2,500 or imprisonment of up to 60 days.[14] In Glasgow, the volume of business required the employment of four solicitors as stipendiary magistrates who sit in place of the lay justices.