Justice of the Peace
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE. Justices of the peace were originally medieval English officials authorized to keep the peace and to try felonies and trespasses at the king's suit. In more recent times, they dealt with numerous other affairs of local government. The office flourished in the colonies from the beginning. The justices exercised both criminal and civil jurisdiction—the former through the courts of Quarter or General Sessions, the latter by statutory authority that authorized them to try all manner of debts, trespasses, and other matters involving not more than forty shillings, or, in Virginia, "one hogshead of tobacco not exceeding 350 pounds." In Maryland the justices of a county made up the county court, and later the governor designated some of their number, known as "justices of the quorum," for court service. In New York the justices gradually supplanted the old Dutch commissaries. In North Carolina they possessed exclusive jurisdiction over the crimes of slaves.
In most of the colonies, the justices in court sessions exercised sweeping local executive and administrative powers; drew up the levy; collected the tax; appointed road commissioners and supervised highways; made disbursements; granted licenses to keep taverns and retail liquors; and appointed and controlled administrators, executors, and guardians. They generally took acknowledgments of deeds and depositions and performed marriage ceremonies, but they seldom exercised the sweeping authority of the English and Welsh justices of levying wage assessments of laborers.
While the institution still exists in some states, the criminal jurisdiction of justices has narrowed, and they are now mainly committing magistrates. Appointive officers in colonial times, they are now generally elected, with compensation from fees paid by parties losing in litigation. As in colonial days, they are usually members of the laity. By World War I, justices of the peace no longer existed in most urban areas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Botein, Stephen. Early American Law and Society. New York: Knopf, 1983.
Friedman, Lawrence Meir. A History of American Law. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985.
Richard B.Morris/a. e.