The Justice Court System in America where such men are holding office as justices of the peace! Can we require them to have knowledge of the law of partnership, agency, torts, cor
porations,
negligence,
contract
and
statutory interpretation when they have never studied law? Of course not. You
may as well expect a trial lawyer to be an expert on the industry of farming. The attorney is not "in training” to give orders to farm employes, and the farmer
is in the same boat when it comes to handing down legal decisions. There is a story which has traveled through the legal profession about a fine old family of farmers living down in the state of Texas. The old gentle man was very popular with the people
near by and one day they elected him justice of the peace. A friend suggested that he go up to El Paso and see how the courts were organized.
He went
to the city and heard one of the judges tell some lawyers during a trial, that the
court would take the case under advise ment and render a decision the follow ing week. The old gentleman did not know what the word advisement meant, but he liked it just the same. There was a big crowd present when he opened
court for the first time in his township. The court room crowd remarked the farmer justice, calm, dignified and judi cious. When a distinguished lawyer from El Paso had finished his argument
and his opponent stood up to reply in the case pending, the justice rapped for
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at least one justice's court in each of the
townships of the state, for which one justice of the peace must be elected by the qualified electors of the township, at the general state election next pre
ceding the expiration of the term of ofiice of his predecessor. In any county where in the opinion of the board of supervisors the public convenience re quires it, the said board may, by order, provide that two justices courts may be established in any township, designating the same in such order; and in such case,
one justice of the peace must be elected in the manner provided by law. In every city or town of the third and the fourth class there must be one justice of the peace, and in every city or town of the first and one-half class there must be four justices of the peace, and in every city or town of the second class there must be two justices of the peace, to be elected in like manner by the electors of such cities or towns respec
tively; and such justices of the peace of cities or towns shall have the same jurisdiction, civil and criminal, as jus
tices of the peace of townshipsand town ship justices’ courts.
Said justices of
the peace of cities, and justices’ courts of cities shall also have jurisdiction of all
proceedings for the violation of any ordi nance of any city in which courts are established, both civil and criminal, and
of all actions for the collection of any license required by any ordinance of any such city or town and generally exercise
order in the court. “Gentlemen," he said courteously, “the court will take
all powers, duties and jurisdiction, civil
this case under advisement and will render a decision next Tuesday in favor of the plaintiff." The California legislature has passed two excellent provisions in reference to the justice court system. Section 103 of the Civil Code of Procedure, as
the police court, recorder's court or
amended, provides that, "there shall be
and criminal, of police judges, judges of mayor's court, within such city.
No
person is eligible to the ofiice of justice of the peace in any city or town of the first, first and one-half, second or third class, who has not been admitted to practise law in a court of record; and no justice of the peace is permitted to
