Recently appointed Magistrate Franco Depasquale yesterday introduced some new fangled technology to his musty court room when he made use of an iPad during his first arraignment.

Magistrates tend to lug around voluminous files containing the laws of the land and flip through the pages when they need to refer. Magistrate Depasquale produced the light device and simply fingered his way effortlessly through the criminal code.

It is the first known use of the touch screen device, which has sold millions around the world, by a member of the judiciary during a court sitting.

During the arraignment, Sergio Torres, 18, from Spain, admitted to causing some €780 worth of damage to three cars parked in St George’s Road, St Julians at 3 a.m. on Sunday.

Police Inspector Trevor Micallef told the court that the full amount had been paid back by Mr Torres and that he cooperated fully with him during investigations.

Lawyer Jean Karl Farrugia echoed these factors and asked the court to also take into consideration the fact that the accused had filed a guilty plea straightaway.

He added that his client was admitting to the charges because it did not make sense for him to deny them when he was leaving the island on Saturday.

Magistrate Depasquale conditionally discharged him for 18 months and told him: “You can come to Malta and learn English as much as you want, but incidents such as these are not to be repeated”.