| |
The office of
Justice of the Peace is an integral part of the
Anglo-American system of jurisprudence. As King John of
England agreed in the Magna Carta of 1215, “We will appoint
as Justices, Constables, Sheriffs or Bailiffs, only such as
know the law of the realm and mean to observe it well.” In
1360, King Edward III provided for the appointment of “one
lord, and with him three or four of the most worthy in the
county, with some learned in law.” These men were “charged
with the responsibility for keeping the peace and trying
felonies and trespasses on behalf of the King.” The
statute, by King Edward III, required two or more of these
officials to act together, and soon they became known as
justices, the title “Justice of the Peace” being conferred
by the 1362 statute 34 Edw. III, c. 12. The office of
Justice of the Peace is credited with completing the
centralization of government in England. By bringing common
people into contact with the noblemen, the office soon
became a strong, important, judicial institution. For three
hundred years, the English Justices of the Peace contributed
immeasurable, through police, administrative and judicial
functions, to the final supremacy of the lawmaking body of
England.
As the
American Colonies were being founded, one of the first
offices established by the king was that of Justice of the
Peace. In the colonial setting, the primary function of the
justice was to establish and maintain order. The
Americanized Justice of the Peace Court expanded to include
taking acknowledgments, performing marriages, and taking
dispositions. The Justice of the Peace quickly became a
person of recognized standing in the community.
This
tradition of a “grass roots” court was quickly instituted
when Texas became a Republic. With the sparse population
and the need for a decentralized government, the Justice of
the Peace became an integral part of the young Republic’s
government. The Constitution of the Republic, written in
1836, specified that a “convenient number of Justices of the
Peace” were to be elected in each county by the qualified
voters for a term of two years.
Today,
under our present Constitution adopted in 1876, each county
is divided into not less than one nor more than eight
precincts in each of which there is elected one justice of
the peace to serve for a term of four years. When elected,
each justice is “…commissioned as justice of the peace of
his precinct and ex officio notary public of his county.”
Despite being commissioned for particular precincts, the
justices in a county may exchange benches, or a justice may
hold court for any other justice whose precinct is in the
same county. In the event there is a vacancy in the office,
or the justice is unable or unwilling to perform, the
nearest justice in the county may temporarily perform the
duties of the office. Moreover, in those situations where a
justice is disqualified, sick or absent from his precinct,
the parties to the suit may agree upon some person to try
the case; but, if they fail to agree, the county judge, upon
application, shall appoint some qualified person to try the
case. Furthermore, provision is made that in the event a
justice is disabled, the county judge may appoint a
qualified person to serve during the period of disability.
Justice
courts are not subject to general supervision by any other
court. A limited supervisory function is provided for in
that rare instance where proceedings may be enjoined by
another court acting through proper appellate procedure.
Today, there are approximately nine hundred
and fifty Justice of the Peace Courts in the State of
Texas. These Justice of the Peace Courts afford our
citizenry with a valuable and readily accessible forum for
the impartial adjudication of minor conflicts.
Approximately ninety percent of our citizenry, who have
contact with our court system either appear only in a
Justice of the Peace or Municipal Court. Thus, the lower
courts are paramount in the attitudinal perception which our
citizens develop of our entire court system.
|
|
.htm_cmp_Satin110_vbtn.gif){kind=small}
