All About The Justice Of The Peace

By Patricia Foster


Civil justice cases and minor infractions occur at a pace that overtakes the capabilities of the limited number of high courts. However, most of these complaints need not at all fester or reach that far. They may be capably resolved by a Justice of The Peace Salem.

A JP is essentially a judicial officer of a so called puisne, or lower, court. He is either appointed or elected, and his task is, you guessed it, keeping the peace. Over history, this position has been tantamount to many kinds of positions like commissioners, keepers, conservators, or wardens, but their responsibilities are pretty much intuitive and set in stone.

The JP has quite a wide range of duties outlined in his job description. For instance, aside from the civil infractions, they can be asked to perform civil marriages. Nowadays, they are often busy administering same sex marriages, since some religious officials do not recognize it and the task is therefore nearly wholly delegated to civil administrators, who may be penalized if they refuse.

To be a JP, one must be a person of undoubted integrity, who places a premium on the rights and justice of individuals in his community. The influence of this job is such that its practice has come to be regulated by the Ministry of Justice. In fact, before they get to assume their office, they must perform an oath of allegiance and affirmation of office.

For instance, they may preside over cases of traffic violations, neighbor disputes, or else small debt repayments, and other relatively small scale lawsuits. In sum, they serve as entry level courts, and the particular case may therein be resolved or else passed to the high court. In that sense, they are convenient since they offer an accessible outlet which people can approach without complicated logistics and without the bane of longer distances.

For their court duties, they typically preside over small scale civil or domestic cases. The common actualities include misdemeanors, landlord and tenants or neighbor disputes, small debts, traffic violations, and other comparatively petty breaches. Compared to other courts, the proceedings with a JP are relatively fast and a lot less formal.

This feature has its advantages and disadvantages. After all, if you really deem some infraction as kind of petty, then it pays to have it over sooner than later. However, if you deem that a case can be more convoluted than can be perceived by the eye, you can appeal for a trial de novo in a different tribunal, preferably in a higher court.

Although this justices educational requirements is not at all definitive and inhibiting, there is a more important qualification by which they must abide by. That is, they must put forth an acceptable standard of behavior and conduct. Especially in jurisdictions where they are elected rather than appointed, they have the need to maintain their trustworthiness and credibility in the eyes of their constituents. Being a JP hints considerable elbow grease. Therefore, they are trained before they act on their responsibilities. As said, they can be exhorted to continue their education, with the sponsorship of a JP program.

This justice occupies an office that is by consensus the most popular and numerous membership of public office. In fact, in a certain town of average population, there may be at least five justices. In considerably populated towns, there may even be as many as fifteen. However, although they are not really present and conspicuous, it would do to remark on the good service and usefulness of this office.




About the Author: