The Justice Court System jurisdiction is required by the constitu tion. At common law the justices of the
peace held ofiice for an indefinite time, and were subject to removal at the pleasure of the King. The term of oflice continued until demise of the King, or
until a commission was issued removing incumbents and appointing other jus tices for the county. In the United States, a justice of the peace is elected or appointed for a term of years, usually
fixed by the state constitution at two or four years. Another much needed reform is the introduction of a salary system as adopted by California, instead
of the old-fashioned fee collection. When ever the salary system is in use we are more likely to have an economical admin
istration of the public finances. The fines collected go into the county treas ury instead of being divided with the justice courts. California may well be followed by every state. A vacancy in the ofiice may be caused by the failure of the person elected or appointed to the oFfice to qualify, where
there is no predecessor entitled to hold over; by the incumbent’s death, resigna nation, removal, conviction of a felony,
or ceasing to be a resident of the town ship or district for which he was elected or appointed.
The vacancy is usually
filled by appointment by the Governor or some other designated public ofiicial or body. Vacancies are also filled in
some states by a special election. A justice may be removed for malfeasance
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or misconduct in ofiice, such as inten
tional violations of the laws governing magistrates, disregard of legal rules, or intoxication while in the discharge of
his ofificial duties. But to warrant the removal of the justice, the acts charged against him must have been done in the discharge of his functions as a justice, and with corrupt, partial, malicious or
other improper motives, and with knowl edge that they were wrong.
During the past twenty years, the great tide of immigration to America has made a noticeable change in the
scale and style of living. This newer blood has had its influence upon the justice court system and especially in its change of duties. A justice has many duties, from serving as a coroner to the
closing of the marriage ceremony.
In a
large number of states, a justice is author
ized by statute to hold inquests in case the coroner is absent or is unable to at tend, or in cases of exigency, and in such
cases is entitled to the fees of a coroner. This is true of Georgia, Colorado, Illi nois, Iowa and Indiana. In New York the justice may act, if the coroner cannot
be secured in twelve hours after the body is discovered. In Georgia the coroner must be absent from the county to authorize a justice of the peace to hold an inquest.
It was a way of indepen
dence and mastery which caught the spirit of the American citizenship, and sooner or later the justice court system must be mastered. It means that some parts will
be changed and the judicial stage reset.
