Course:History 344 Nasty Families/Offices/Justices of the Peace
Justices of the Peace
Justices of the Peace were integral parts of English society, government and authority. The justices were commissioned as both local magistrates and enforcers of the King's (or Queen's) Peace [1]. These were unpaid positions, as they were seen as a civic duty done by those who were wealthy in their own right, nominally the gentry. In English society, the elite understood and accepted that they had a special role and responsibility to partake in the safe governing of their county and the kingdom as a whole [2]. The Justice of the Peace embodied the union of social and official power. It is no doubt then that being selected as a JP helped a member of the gentry climb the social ladder, with one Lord Chancellor Hardwicke quoted as saying “He does it, to gain Credit of having Influence" [3]. It makes sense, as Justices, responsible for preserving the peace and administering the laws of the land, were direct representatives of the Crown [4].
Fascinating to note is the amount of independence the Justices exercised in the performance of their duties [5]. Neither the central government nor the Parliament directed them in any specific manner. [BN: Well, not too often] Coupled with the pro bono nature of the position meant that these men (and they were always men) were directly motivated out of a sense of pride and duty. By the seventeenth century, Justices had considerable power, ensuring offenders appeared for court, he himself would often hear and try cases, supervised parish government and administered county government [6]. It was important that gentlemen be seen in office, as public works solidified one's place as a social better [7]. Gentlemen were known by the company they kept, and so they ensured that each Justice of the Peace was a worthy member of the gentry. Sitting amongst these prestigious men elevated the status of the individuals who called themselves members. The Justices of the Peace were another example of the dominance of the land owning gentry of English society in the 17th century.
In 1631, Charles I broke precedent with his Book of Orders, which established more government scrutiny of JPs' activities in order to make law enforcement more comprehensive. [8] The Book ordered that "all active JPs were to split into small groups and to divide their county into divisions." [9] JPs were required to hold petty sessions once a month and submit quarterly reports to the local sherrif or the judges of assize, who in turn submitted them to the Privy Council. [10] Even if the JPs' daily activities did not change greatly because of the Book, most of them saw it "as centralist intervention in their communities." [11] [BN: This could use a fair bit of extra explanation]
Justices of the Peace Act of 1361
The name, and the first official written record of the powers of, the Justices of the Peace was laid out in the Justices of the Peace Act of 1361:
I
Who shall be Justices of the Peace. Their Jurisdiction over Offenders; Rioters; Barrators; They may take Surety for good Behaviour. First, 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 their Trespass or Offence; and to cause them to be imprisoned and duly punished according to the Law and Customs of the Realm, and according to that which to them shall seem best to do by their Discretions and good Advisement; and to take and arrest all those that they may find by Indictment, or by Suspicion, and to put them in Prison; and to take of all them that be of good Fame, where they shall be found, sufficient Surety and Mainprise of their good Behaviour towards the King and his People, and the other duly to punish; to the Intent that the People be not by such Rioters or Rebels troubled nor endamaged, nor the Peace blemished, nor Merchants nor other passing by the Highways of the Realm disturbed, nor put in the Peril which may happen of such Offenders [12] [BN: Nice to have this quoted, although things had changed by 16th century]
- ↑ Norma Landau, The Justices of the Peace, 1679-1760, University of California Press (1984): 1
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid., 69
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid., 2.
- ↑ Ibid.,7.
- ↑ Ibid., 269,
- ↑ Henrik Langeluddecke, "Law and Order in Seventeenth-Century England: The Organization of Local Administration during the Personal Rule of Charles I," Law and History Review 15, no. 1 (Spring 1997): 53.
- ↑ Langeluddecke, 53.
- ↑ Langeluddecke, 53.
- ↑ Langeluddecke, 54.
- ↑ Justices of the Peace Act of 1361, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw3/34/1, accessed February 5, 2012.