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There is a clear line between criminal acts and those that display a lack of moral compass.
We have 100s of thousands of people who over stated their income on mortgage applications from 2001 to 2009, a standard 18 month custodial sentence, working as everything from Housing Officers and Teachers to CPS Prosecutors and MPs with no possibility of ever being investigated let alone prosecuted. Yet it's easy to automate the cross referencing of the databases at HMRC and the state owned banks to pick out excessively mis-aligned figures. While these matters are not investigated and prosecuted, all positions of authority and trust are open to such offenders and undoubtedly some already sit on the bench.
Meanwhile we have thousands of "lite" to "pretend" Duty Solicitors sitting on the rotas. Some are mis-repping, some displaying a lack of moral compass, and some are genuine Duty Solicitors committed to the job who can't get full time employment because of the drain on firm finances by the rest of the "lites" and "pretends". The SRA, the MoJ and the LS have a duty to protect the public purse and uphold the standing of the profession. Is the failure to deal with this stuffing of the rotas a wilful neglect or a lack of moral compass?
Just as the epidemic of mortgage fraud led to the UK economy being within hours of collapse, the lack of working duty solicitors and the driving away of the genuine "lites" has serious implications for the next contract and the continuation of reputable criminal defence.
The reason we don't have and from the comments, don't want ex-offenders as magistates, is the belief that the thinking processes of offenders doesn't change when they stop offending. I respect their restraint but it isn't of itself enough.
The same applies to the "lites" and the "pretends" that don't want to do the Duty Solicitor job. They lack the strength of moral compass required to provide effective criminal defence. When a "D" says they are innocent despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, our job is to dig regardless of the cost and income implications. We can't trust the unworthy "lites" and "pretends" to do that.