Charles Austin Beard. Office of Justice of the Peace in England in Its Origin and Development (1904).
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CHAPTER I ORIGIN OF THE OFFICE OF JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
"The theory is advanced that this assignment of knights marks the origin of the conservator of the peace, and it is compatible with subsequent developments. Here is a distinct appointment of officers to take oaths for the preservation of the peace and to assist the sheriff in his police work -functions like those of the conservators before they received that fuller authority and dignity which made them justices of the peace." page 18
"The precedent set by Hubert does not seem to have been followed by the disorderly government of John, but in the reign of Henry III. the knights of the shire were used by the crown in police and administrative work. In 1227, Geoffrey de Lucy and four others were appointed justices for the examination of weirs in the Thames in Oxfordshire, Berks, Bucks, Middlesex, and Surrey, and given power to punish offenders against the provisions for the maintenance of weirs. This was a work afterwards done by the justices of the peace." page 19
CHAPTER II ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
"UNDER the pressure of social conditions, the office of conservator of the peace was transformed into that of justice of the peace during the long reign of Edward III. A large portion of the activities of Edward's government was devoted to the maintenance of police control. It had to contend with a number of unusual disturbing forces in addition to the ordinary lawlessness which characterized the transition period." page 33
"The circumstances attending the dethronement of Edward II. and the coronation of his fourteen year old son led to a fear of general disorder, and the first parliament of the new reign made special provision for the conservation of the peace by passing the following act:
For the better keeping and maintenance of the peace, the king will, that in every county good men and lawful, which be [no maintainers of evil, or barretors] in the country, shall be assigned to keep the peace.
In accordance with the statute, the king and council commissioned two, or three in each county as guardians of the peace." page 35
"These progressive measures culminated in the statute of 1360 which is commonly regarded as having finally established the office of justice of the peace as a permanent police and administrative institution. It enacted
'That in every county of England shall be assigned for the keeping of the peace, one lord and with him three or four of the most worthy in the county, with some learned in the law, and they shall have power to restrain the offenders, rioters, and all other barators, and to pursue, arrest, take, and chastise them according to their trespass or offence; and . . . . " 34 Edward III pages 40-41
"Section 6. Justices of the Peace and Police Control. It is difficult to separate the judicial from the administrative work of the justices of the peace. No such distinction was made in the minds of legislators at that time. If a measure pertaining to local government needed execution, it was given to the justices to enforce directly or indirectly. Administrative work often involved judicial powers and vice versa." page 100
CHAPTER V PRIVY COUNCIL AND JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
"The justices even used torture to wring information from recusants. Some Suffolk justices informed the Council of the apprehension of an offender who had expressed an evil opinion against the sacrament, and received instructions as to procedure. These examples fairly illustrate the character of the work which the justices did in matters ecclesiastical." Page 129
"The Council and justices were especially active in the apprehension of Jesuits and priests. In 1578, orders were sent to all magistrates instructing them to arrest all priests going about disguised. When they captured such offenders, they sometimes sent them to London under sure guard and forwarded their books, papers, and the records of the preliminary examinations. Justices along the coast took precautions to examine passengers coming from abroad and those seeking to leave the realm." page 130
The justices also had a large amount of police work of a varied character. They were required to assist in the apprehension of prisoners escaped from Marshalsea; to repress revolts in the making, to repress idlers of all kinds; to collect money and reimburse gaolers for the support of prisoners; to make special enquiries into important murder cases; to punish the spreaders of false rumors against the queen; to arrest and punish pirates; to keep order at fairs and wakes; to examine embezzlers and report to the Council; to examine maimed beggars and relieve bona ide soldiers; to restore estates seized by force; and to assist in the search for pirates' plunder.
Military and Naval Obligations. The justices of the peace proved to be efficient officers for recruiting, equipping, drilling, and maintaining soldiers, for securing and transporting supplies for the army and navy, and for guarding the coasts in times of apprehended danger." pages 135-136
CHAPTER VI CONSTITUTION OF THE OFFICE OF JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
The Qualifications of a Justice of the Peace.
The justices of the peace were chosen from that rising and powerful middle class of landed gentry who superseded the feudal baronage, were disciplined in self-government in the county and parliament, and finally under the Stuarts asserted their power as the dominating political factor in the nation. The introduction of a bureaucratic element was prevented by the final disappearance of any fixed compensation. It is evident that the execution of the long list of statutes placed in their hands required more than ordinary ability and energy, and from time to time acts were passed to provide for the appointment of justices of capacity and high standing. The aim of the law was to consolidate the local authority in the hands of a single class, and as late as Elizabeth's reign it was necessary to exclude retainers and servants from the commission. Under Henry VI. a property qualification of £20 per annum was imposed upon all justices of the peace, and in case any county did not have in residence " sufficient persons, having lands and tenements aforesaid, learned in the law and of good governance," the Chancellor could put in discreet persons learned in the law even if they did not possess the required income.' Owing to the depreciation of money under the Tudors this qualification really amounted to nothing. Indeed it was scarcely necessary, for Lambard says that in practice the proportionate amount of property was taken into consideration when appointments were made. In short, as the old statute ran, the justices of the peace were to be made of "the most sufficient knights, esquires, and gentlemen of the law of the said counties." page 144
Edmond Bourgeois, Justice of the Peace Courts, 1 LOY. L.J. (New Orleans) 44 (1920).
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"The Justice of the Peace Courts were created by Article 62 of the Constitution of 1845." page 44
"Additional light with respect to the qualifications of the Justices is furnished by Act 155 of 1898, the following essential prerequisites being therein enumerated: That he shall be of good moral standing in the community of his residence; and that he shall read and write the English language correctly." "
These bodies, by virtue of the directory provisions of Article 128 of the Constitution of 1913, grade the salaries of the Justices commensurately with services rendered; and following this mode of procedure, they authorize the payment of salaries ranging from one hundred and eighty to fifteen hundred dollars per annum." page 45
Chester H. Smith, The Justice of the Peace System in the United States, 15 CALIF. L. REV. 118 (1927).
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page 134, Footnote 65
Neb. Const. (1875) Art. V, § 1; N. D. Const. (1889) Art. IV, § 112; Ohio Const. (1851) Art. IV, § 1. The development of the recent tendency to make inroads on the justice of the peace system and to empower the state legislature to abolish the system throughout the state is most clearly reflected in the constitutions of Louisiana. The office of the justice of the peace was universal in that state until the adoption of the Constitution of 1879. By that constitution the justice courts were abolished in the city of New Orleans and their places were supplied by City Courts, the judges of which were required to be practicing lawyers of five years' experience preceding their election or appointment. La. Const. (1879) Arts. 125, 135. "The system worked so well that in the Constitution of 1898 a provision was adopted reading as follows: 'The General Assembly shall have the power to abolish Justices of the Peace Courts in wards containing cities of more than five thousand inhabitants and to create in their stead courts of such civil jurisdiction as is now vested in Justices of the Peace, etc.' and in the constitution of 1913, the same provision was incorporated. Under these provisions about ten such courts have been created." The Constitution of 1921 goes still further and provides, "that the legislature may reduce such number [of justices] or even abolish the office of justice of the peace throughout the state," § 46; see also Art. VII, § 51 and compare Art. 84 of Const. (1913) with Art. VII, § 1 of Const. (1921).
The writer is indebted to Mr. W. 0. Hart of the New Orleans bar and a member of the Constitutional Conventions of 1898 and 1913 for most of this information concerning the justice of the peace system in Louisiana. Mr. Hart, in his letter to the writer under date of January 31, 1924, writes, "In the Constitutional Convention of 1921 the question of abolishing Justices of the Peace entirely in the State was considered, but the lobby was too strong and abolishment did not take place"
Mr. Paul A. Sompayrac, Assistant Attorney General of Louisiana, in a letter to the writer under date Dec. 3, 1923, writes, "The question of replacing justices of the peace by judges learned in the law was discussed at length at our Constitutional Convention in 1921. It was urged that as presently constituted, a justice of the peace was a poor man's court, and fulfilled with a great degree of efficiency the needs of rural communities."
