Origin 1195
A justice of the peace is a judicial officer of a lower court, elected or appointed by commission to keep the peace; in past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, justices of the peace dispense summary justice or deal only with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions, and they are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction they serve, usually without any requirement of formal legal education, though some jurisdictions provide varying forms of training. In some jurisdictions the court over which a justice of the peace presides is itself called a justice court. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Origin Period Core PrincipleA lower-court judicial officer commissioned to keep the peace, dispensing summary justice or handling local administrative matters. 1 Origin Period
Origin Period (category) Connections
Sources
1. Justice of the peace (Wikipedia)
History in the United Kingdom, first paragraph
In 1195, Richard I of England and his minister Hubert Walter commissioned certain knights to preserve the peace in unruly areas.
Lead section, first paragraph
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace.
View the SourceJustice of the peace (Wikipedia)
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a justice of the peace need to be a trained lawyer?
Usually not; formal legal education is generally not required, though some places provide training.
Usually not. A justice of the peace is a judicial officer of a lower court, elected or appointed by commission to keep the peace. In common law jurisdictions such officers dispense summary justice or handle local administrative matters, and they are drawn from the citizens of the jurisdiction they serve, usually without any requirement of formal legal education. Some jurisdictions do provide varying forms of training. The office traces to 1195, when Richard I of England and his minister Hubert Walter commissioned certain knights to preserve the peace in unruly areas.
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